ST Alpha - "there is, supposedly, but it failed." (Reading a Post)

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In response to "I know I don't understand but like...there isn't a shutoff valve anywhere? " by Mel Profit

there is, supposedly, but it failed.

Posted by tRuMaN (aka Truman) May 26 '10, 07:42

which appears to happen a lot.

its called an acoustic shutoff, or something like that. it was the only failsafe at the bottom of the ocean, and it failed.

Responses:

It got all messed up when the platform sank and dragged the pipe connected to it along with it. -- nm - Ender May 26, 07:44 10
- yeah. you would have thought someone would have thought of that when designing the thing for the worst case scenario stuff -- nm - tRuMaN May 26, 07:45 9
  - What I don't understand is why they didn't implement the shutoff in the time between when it caught fire and when it sank. - Ender May 26, 07:48 8
    - maybe they were too busy running for their lives... -- nm - znufrii May 26, 07:51
    - well, the way npr explained it, its automatic based on a signal from the platform - tRuMaN May 26, 07:50
    - I thought the same thing but didn't post it because I figured there was a reason. - Mel Profit May 26, 07:50
    - I think the fire may have prevented them from doing that. And, of course, eleven people died - that may have affected things, too -- nm - Beryllium May 26, 07:49 4
      - Then that's a piss poor crisis response team those people have. - Will Hunting May 26, 07:51 3
        
        the rig exploded and sank in pretty short order. it's not like they had heaps of time sitting around, wondering "hey, did anyone hit the shutoff?" - mafic May 26, 08:28
        
        I do feel sorry for BP in the sense that they were the company unlucky enough to have it happen on their platform - znufrii May 26, 07:54
        
        I think any doubt of that has been washed out to sea. -- nm - Beryllium May 26, 07:52
I guess I just can't wrap my head around the fact that after 5 weeks we can't stop it. -- nm - Mel Profit May 26, 07:44 21
- This just proves we need to keep drilling. baby. -- nm - Don Homer May 26, 07:48
- Honestly I can't believe it took them 5 weeks to come up with the idea of cramming a bunch of junk and cement in the hole. - pmb May 26, 07:47 19
  - because in doing so, they cap the well forever (supposedly) - tRuMaN May 26, 07:48 18
    - Obviously I'm no geologist/engineer, but there's no ability to tap the well from a different spot? You can't drill again 200 feet away and get there? - pmb May 26, 07:51 16
      - I drink your milkshake! -- nm - Epiphany May 26, 07:55
      - My understanding is that they are doing this, but it's a process that takes months -- nm - Roger More May 26, 07:55 1
        
        Oh hang on, you're asking something completely different -- nm - Roger More May 26, 07:57
      - I don't think that would stop the flow from the first hole. I'm sure they are losing so much product that preserving costs is not on the table now -- nm - zork May 26, 07:54
      - Not to mention the enormous costs to their image (which, rightly or wrongly, was that of the "green" oil company). -- nm - Don Homer May 26, 07:51 11
        
        yeah, once this is done, they will totally have to change their logo (and possibly their name) -- nm - Beryllium May 26, 07:53 10
        
        I don't think image matters that much when you produce the thing the entire world runs on. -- nm - mara May 26, 07:55 8
        
        good point especially since they haven't had retail BP stations for years AFAIK -- nm - zork May 26, 07:56 3
        
        Here's a search for finding one near you... -- (link) - Don Homer May 26, 07:59
        
        That's not true at all. There's one right near where I live, for one. -- nm - Don Homer May 26, 07:57 1
        
        and not only that, they just spent a few million rebranding themselves entirely about 4 years ago -- nm - Beryllium May 26, 08:00
        
        they make batteries?? -- nm - Don Homer May 26, 07:55 3
        
        i'm really annoyed at my brain for instantly doing the duracell chime thing when i read your post. - Andie May 26, 07:57 2
        
        The Intel jingle is the worst. - Mel Profit May 26, 08:00 1
        
        does that toyota ad with the 'when i think of you my heart goes beep' song play in the US? it's PAINFULLY earwormy. -- nm - Andie May 26, 08:05
        
        xfinity! -- nm - Don Homer May 26, 07:54
    - there's the answer. -- nm - Mel Profit May 26, 07:49
blowout preventer. -- nm - znufrii May 26, 07:43 6
- funny name for something that didnt work -- nm - tRuMaN May 26, 07:44 5
  - Or possibly didn't exist. They got a special approval, I heard, to skip one safety system completely. For a savings of $500k. -- nm - Beryllium May 26, 07:45 4
    - it's what happens when you effectively allow the industry to regulate itself. - znufrii May 26, 07:47 3
      - Indeed, this post preaches to my anti-corporate choir ... -- nm - Beryllium May 26, 07:48
      - see also: baseball -- nm - tRuMaN May 26, 07:47 1
        
        Baseball should start taking batting practice directly into the stands... - Mel Profit May 26, 07:51

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there is, supposedly, but it failed.

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