Oil Wars

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/10/gulf-oil-spill/bourne-text

This is an extremely interesting article to me. It gets down to the nitty gritty as to what is really going on and the war mankind is fighting with the Earth.


"For decades the exorbitant costs of drilling deep kept commercial rigs close to shore. But shrinking reserves, spiking oil prices, and spectacular offshore discoveries ignited a global rush into deep water. Recent finds in Brazil's Tupi and Guará fields could make that country one of the largest oil producers in the world. Similarly promising deepwater leases off Angola have excited bidding frenzies involving more than 20 companies.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Congress encouraged companies to go deep as early as 1995. That year it passed a law forgiving royalties on deepwater oil fields leased between 1996 and 2000. A fleet of new rigs was soon punching holes all over the Gulf at a cost of up to a million dollars a day each. The number of leases sold in waters half a mile deep or more shot up from around 50 in 1994 to 1,100 in 1997."

WHY?

"Since the early 2000s, reports from industry and academia warned of the increasing risk of deepwater blowouts, the fallibility of blowout preventers, and the difficulty of stopping a deepwater spill after it started—a special concern given that deepwater wells, because they're under such high pressure, can spout as much as 100,000 barrels a day."

---- "Congressional investigators and industry experts contend that BP cut corners on its cement job. It failed to circulate heavy drilling mud outside the casing before cementing, a practice that helps the cement cure properly. It didn't put in enough centralizers—devices that ensure that the cement forms a complete seal around the casing. And it failed to run a test to see if the cement had bonded properly. Finally, just before the accident, BP replaced the heavy drilling mud in the well with much lighter seawater, as it prepared to finish and disconnect the rig from the well. BP declined to comment on these matters, citing the ongoing investigation."

I wish that it was covered more that the way BP drilled was not legitimate and I get really sad when I read articles such as this. I follow the oil spill quite frequently with the investigative reports on Mother Jones, however, this is becoming a little ridiculous. This article talks more about BP's oil history as well as cites people that used to work for the corporation, which they talk about the lack of experience and the lies they have been feeding the public (YouTube channel, anyone?)

I think this is an absolutely great investigative piece on what is happening. It breaks my heart to know what is going on not only because of how many species have been affected but as well as humankind. Sad panda.