No one dead this time; relatively shallow water-
This well was in production, unlike the Deepwater Horizon, BP disaster. It tells me that major oil pollution might have become a permanent feature of the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil sheen spreading from Gulf platform explosion. By Alan Levin and Julie Schmit, USA Today
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Added Sept. 3. There was an interesting article in the NYT today on this. Mariner Rig Accident Undercuts Efforts to End Drilling Moratorium. By John Collins Rudolf. From Green, NYT’s blog about energy and the environment.
The rig was owned by Mariner Energy and it is interesting that some of their executives were busy in Houston protesting against the moratorium on new deepwater drilling. The moratorium lasts until the end of November. It also seems these folks would rather engage in political protest rather than clean up their act. Certainly a bad omen for the future.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
Where are we headed as a species?
Do any of the major players have a clue?
Are we simply powerless to stop the madness?
6.8 BILLION humans with billions more on the way.
The wall can’t be far away.
Yeah, and it’s not the last one. There’s no safe offshore drilling whatsoever. By the way, pelicans need our help because of oil spill. Moreover, they are dying at the west coast too.
There is only one way to save pelicans – to put them back on the endangered species list. Rescue centers need financial support from the state and Federal authorities. Our pelicans depend on it. There’s a petition on Change.org titled “Save U.S. pelicans”, and I’d love your support. You can sign the petition in less than 30 seconds by clicking the link below:
http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/please_help_us_to_save_our_pelicans
Thanks so much for the help!
nellypc
There are conflicting reports about any oil slick. Some say it’s just a thin ” sheen”; other overflights say nothing at all is visible. It doesn’t sound like any appreciable amount of oil was released. A couple of barrels of oil would be sufficient to make a ” sheen” 100 feet wide and a mile long.
Just a friendly reminder from Mother Nature for the offshores to clean up their act…
It was a natural gas well, so there wouldn’t be much oil to be released, and certainly not anything like the BP spill. But the small Houston based owners and operators have a bad safety record over the past several years. More evidence that MMS was basically a wholly owned subsidiary of the oil and gas industry.
BTW, check out the story in today’s NY Times on BP’s threat to blackmail Congress with lack of revenues if they pass legislation impeding their ability to conduct business in the Gulf. F;ing cajones, I will give them that. And they might get away with it. Congress is dithering over the legislation addressing increased safety in offshore drilling operations..and the continued sell out of the Republicans to big oil continues, along with a few Blue Dog Dems.
It was a natural gas well, so oil leakage would be minimal. But the safety record of this company is bad over the past several years, according to some reports I read, including a fatality.
Check out the story in NYTimes about BP’s blackmail message to Congress if they pass reform legislation that impedes BP’s ability to conduct business in the Gulf. Amazing.
I just updated this story will an interesting sideline on the owner of the rig, Mariner Energy.