Can we fix it? No we can’t.
So according to the operator of the oil rig which been leaking 400 barrels of oil into the Timor Sea every day for the last ten weeks, the http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9BNDESG0.htm rig is now “engulfed in a massive blaze and is at risk of total collapse”.
The chief financial officer of PTTEP, the operator of the rig, said “The fire is out of control.”
Indeed, things are now so bad, Prime Minister Rudd is reduced to having to ask himself his own questions:
“Do I think this is acceptable? No, I don’t,” Rudd told Fairfax Radio Network. “Are we angry with this company? Yes we are. Are we trying to do everything we can to get this under control? You betcha.”
Not much to show from more than ten weeks of ‘doing everything we can’, but as long as we all know it’s unacceptable, I guess that’s OK.
According to the operator of the oil rig which been leaking 400 barrels of oil into the Timor Sea every day for the last ten weeks, the rig is now “engulfed in a massive blaze and is at risk of total collapse”.
The chief financial officer of PTTEP, the operator of the rig, said “The fire is out of control.”
Indeed, things are now so bad, Prime Minister Rudd is reduced to having to ask himself his own questions:
“Do I think this is acceptable? No, I don’t,” Rudd told Fairfax Radio Network. “Are we angry with this company? Yes we are. Are we trying to do everything we can to get this under control? You betcha.”
Shifting from an uncontrolled oil spill to an out of control fire isn’t much to show from more than ten weeks of ‘doing everything we can’. Still, at least we have confirmation that it’s unacceptable.
2 Comments
Actually Andrew having delved into open source on this over the last week, the evidence of officials at Senate Economics Estimates on 21 Oct 2009 from Fed Dept Env, quoting Geo Science Australia is that 400 barrels per day is the company’s assertion. The experts in GSA reckon it could be up to 2,000 barrels a day.
This upper figure is anathema to Minister Ferguson and the company. The latter PTTEP assert it’s impossible to say scientifically what the final figure is, but then they are sure it’s 400. Get it? Ferguson says the 2,000 figure is only at full production.
But again, that’s not the evidence under oath to Senate Estimates by objective observers in the public service. At 2,000 barrels per day we are talking 5.8 million gallons, namely 70 days x 2,000 barrels x 42 gallons per barrel.
Exxon Valdez as per wikipedia was 10.8 M gallons. So we may be well past 1/2 infamous Exxon Valdez.
Another thing from that senate estimates evidence – the official Mr Squire said to the effect of ‘its hard to know the actual figure without access to the oil rig’. And now we have a big intense fire … on the oil rig.
Very lastly regarding intensity of fires on oil blowouts on land IMAX made a movie in 1992 on DVD now called Fires of Kuwait. Worth a look.
where is John Wayne when you need him, they put out the Irag/Kuwait fires pretty damm quick what is really going on