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Antoine Agasse / AFP - Getty Images file
A file picture taken on May 29, 2009 shows the Total Elgin-Franklin oil and gas platform in the North Sea 150 miles off Aberdeen on Scotalnd's east coast.
A cloud of explosive natural gas boiling out of a leaking drilling platform off the Scottish coast has led to the evacuation of hundreds of workers and the creation of a two-mile exclusion zone.
Coastguard officials ordered shipping to come no closer than two miles from the abandoned Elgin platform, located 150 miles off Aberdeen, and said there was a three-mile exclusion zone for low-flying aircraft such as helicopters, the BBC reported.
Energy firm Total UK, which operates the platform, said it did not know the source of the leak and was considering all options including drilling a relief well – a solution that could take six months.
“We have mobilised experts from elsewhere in the Total Group to offer additional assistance and help us deal with the incident,” it said in a statement.
It evacuated 238 workers from the platform after the leak was spotted on Sunday, according to a report in The Scotsman. The report said Shell had reduced its workforce on two nearby offshore installations because of the drifting gas.
Reuters reported that the company has enlisted the services of Wild Well Control, which was heavily involved in the BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
In a statement, Britain’s Department for Energy and Climate Change said the environmental impact of gas condensate leaks is substantially lower than from oil spills.
Aerial surveillance flights have confirmed the presence of a sheen on the water, which is thought to be gas condensate, a petrol-like substance that normally evaporates naturally.
Workers’ union leader Jake Molloy warned there was there was the potential for a "major event" if the gas ignited.
"You're looking at something on the scale of Piper Alpha here,” he told Scottish channel STV, referring to the huge 1988 oil rig blaze that killed 167 workers. "On the positive side, nobody's there. So the human side has been dealt with. But the potential remains for an ignition source and for the complete destruction of that installation.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Oil thieves destroying the Land, Ocean, and Atmosphere .. what's left?
Bible says we have dominion so it's ours to destroy.
Volcanoes need to be subject to EPA Guidelines!
Yea, because volcanoes are man-made right?
Next time, try a better straw-man.
So Ruken, how is your life going without using any petrochemicals? OH you haven't been weened off them yet?
You mad?
hardto- So with your way of thinking, if we drive a car, or use any oil or gas products. That we aren't ALLOWED to care how Co's get those products, that all drilling, fracking any thing they want to do, even though un safe practices can lead to oil spills, polluting ground water etc, we just have to except it, like good little consumers? Get a grip, as a consumer it's my right to question them, as inhabitant of this earth, it's my right to try to protect the environment!
Natural Sources of Marine Oil Pollution
Oil drilling is relieving the pressure and stopping "natures" pollution, let that rattle around in that empty head for a while.
does anyone know what would happen if they ignited the gas underwater as it was coming up? i'm assuming the gas forms bubbles, so if they managed to ignite it, and if they did it deep enough (so that by the time it reached the surface, any fuel would be expended), what would be released when it hits the surface? and if they did it at depth, would the pressure keep the ignition in check?
Incredible. Destroy everything in the quest for cheap fuel. Only thing is, there won't be any place to go to use the fuel except to work. Amazing shortsightedness.
Humm...., nosf....., & Ruken I'm just tired of people jumping on big oil every time there's a spill. Its not like the oil companies want to spill oil, every barrel that ends up spilled is one more they have to clean up, pay fines, lost revenue, etc. We don't have an alternative to oil now or anytime soon enough to make a difference. Our economy will not survive $4.00+ gasoline, we will slide back into recession/depression if this condition continues into the summer. I am 100% in favor of affordable, plentiful, alternative energy. We don't have it, we won't have it anytime soon, so you people better get a grip and either accept an occasional minor upset to the environment or a depression. Furthermore, consider this that a full blown depression will be devestating to the environmet as people resort to whatever means they need to survive.
Can you breathe under water? Remember your fire pyramid from grade school science; Ignition, fuel, AIR.
Hardtostarboard, I would counter your arguments by pointing out that during the Gulf disaster BP recorded record profits because the spill caused prices to skyrocket. They made more money than if they had actually sold the oil. Oil companies don't care if there is a disaster. They have weathered so much bad PR that they just don't care what people think anymore. As long as we keep paying whatever price they demand for gas.
When will we learn? We only really consider safety and possible measures to ensure these disasters after they occur. Before they occur, we're more concerned with saving money and how many jobs the project will create.
Now, do any of you understand why the Keystone Pipeline requires more in-depth study before approval of the whole project than just a simple up or down vote for political gain?
@dadoftim: you DO know that people regularly take air underwater with them to breathe, don't you? and that some of these people (it's crazy, i know, but stick with me on this one) have a job where they... wait for it... weld. under the water. there's even this thing called a thermic lance, and one of the places you can use it is... underwater.
you CAN start a fire underwater, believe it or not. even so, fire isn't necessary to ignite natural gas.
honestly... before you try to ridicule someone (and in turn become ridiculed yourself), open your mind a little and let your imagination work itself loose. think... what would happen IF... ?
once you've thought it through and have an answer, even if you think it's ridiculous, come back and post it.
nobody gets anywhere by not asking a question.
Jerk; You didn't ask if you could weld, don't change the premise to justify a question to which you already knew the answer. Most here recognized it as idiotic and ignored it, you now are flaying around trying to rescue your dignity by attacking me. Your challenge would require tremendous amounts of oxygen to carry out, costly, dangerous and to what end? And what about the natural seeps, would you try and stop them too?
Jerk, I would assume, and I hate to assume, that the leak is above the water surface, probably on the rig itself. It might be a good idea to ignite the source prior to going aboard, then trying to extinguish the fire once the initial explosion has done its damage. The article said there is a sheen on the water surface indicating the leak is underwater but it might be both. I'm with you on this one, light it up and go from there.
@jerkincoolclothes
natural gas among most things need O2 to burn. There is not enough 02 in natural gas for it to burn by itself. Some chemical reactions produce 02 and can sustain a burn underwater. As far as underwater welding .. they take their own gas with them that contains enough 02 for the other gas to burn.
They could however light the gas at the surface of the water because it would make one heck of a video.
dadoftin your a troll.. post elsewhere
Think about it people. If they have a two mile perimeter around the rig, the experts expect a person striking a match within a mile of the rig could light the gas that is leaking from the well. That's a lot of gas. The rapid burning of all of that gas would cause a concussive force strong enough to cause extensive damage to the rig and probably a huge oil spill to go along with the gas leak. Natural gas does not need an enclosed space to explode. That is why you don't light a match and look for the source of a gas leak outside your house.
@dadoftim: do you realize how hypocritical you sound? i gave you a taste of your own medicine, and now it's you trying to rescue your own dignity. if you can't take it, it's nobody else's problem but your own.
@mbin: when they said they were considering drilling a relief well, it sounded to me like the leak was closer to the source, but if i look at it from your perspective, i can see how the leak could also be above the surface.
I love when people say stupid sh1t like this as though if we don't drill and strip mine like there is no tomorrow we will all dry up and blow away. We will always need petrochem's but if we stop using fossil fuels to run cars and power plants we will have cut down on the vast majority of their use and we will have drastically lowered the amount of, spills, greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere and pollution of the biosphere in general.
Dogma; "we will have cut down on the vast majority of their use and we will have drastically lowered the amount of, spills,"
From my above post
As pointed out by the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, "natural oil seeps contribute the highest amount of oil to the marine environment, accounting for 46 per cent of the annual load to the world's oceans.
Aren't spills part of nature? Wouldn't drilling help ease the pressure?
Dogma Bites
We will always need petrochem's but if we stop using fossil fuels to run cars and power plants we will have cut down on the vast majority of their use and we will have drastically lowered the amount of, spills, greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere and pollution of the biosphere in general.
I love it when people say stupid $hit like this as though alternative energy will magically be there to replace the fossil fuels currently driving our whole economy. Dog...., are you prepared for the kaos that will ensue if we cut down on the vast majority of the fossil fuels we use today? Are you prepared for years of a subsistence lifestyle until we have enough green energy to support the needs of our country? If you want to see devastation to the environment, go to a 3rd world country and see how they treat the planet, and thats what the USA will become unless we continue to Drill Baby Drill until we can transition to green energy over the next 20 years. Thats how long it will take.
dadoftim- I understand your point...but if 46% occurs naturally - that would indicate that 54% occurs un-naturally (man?). If the oceans are able to handle 75% - then one side or the other is gonna have to give it up. And I don't think 'man' can fully shutdown the 46% ( or at least reduce it to 20%)
The "other sources" are, Natural: Natural seeps and erosion of bottom sediments, Biosynthesis by marine organisms, Anthropogenic: Marine oil transportation (accidents, operational discharges from tankers, etc.), Marine non-tanker shipping (operational, accidental, and illegal discharges), Offshore oil production (drilling discharges, accidents, etc.), Onland sources: sewage waters, Onland sources: oil terminals, Onland sources: rivers, land runoff, Onland sources: rivers, land runoff.
Man may be "Accidentally" responsible for half of the oil pollution.
My point is, drilling will reduce the overall pollution, by relieving pressure on the natural seeps, and with ever improving technological advances actually clean the oceans by increasing production. What a thought; man and big oil isn't the bad guys after all.
Jerk,
Hate to break it to you, but most underwater welding is electric arc and even if you could manage to gas weld underwater, gas welding uses two gases. One is a fuel like acetylene, natural gas or similar, the second gas is oxygen. You need oxygen to burn. (which is a form of "oxidizing") And a thermal lance is a device which burns iron at high temperatures with oxygen pressure. It is also called an oxygen lance. Natural gas will not burn underwater unless you supply it with oxygen. In fact if you were to fill a sealed container with natural gas and no oxygen, you could set off an electrical spark igniter in it all day without it every igniting the gas. Natural gas will not burn in space either because there is no oxygen. A gas burner in a furnace or stove requires the surrounding oxygen to burn.
Water, (H2O) has oxygen in it, but it is tightly bonded and will not easily dissociate to free it up so it can support underwater combustion.
If the leak's bubbles could be collected and funneled to the surface in a pipe, it could be flared at the surface using the surrounding oxygen, but it would not burn below the surface where the air can't get to it. In a gas appliance, the flame will not burn down into the feed line because the pressure is higher than the surrounding air and therefore the air can't get into the pipe to support combustion.
The big problem with a leak like this is that it readily mixes with the air forming a cloud of mixed natural gas and air. That mixture will combust and working within it is extremely dangerous.
I love when people say stupid sh1t like this. As though we would be flipping off the fossil fuel supply in one day or a year. Wake up, man.
Ah, just fire a missile in there and let the whole thing burn to the waterline. With that concentration of natural gas spewing out, you couldn't even get near that thing with a lit cigarette without blowing yourself to pieces, let alone big machines operated by internal combustion engines.
If it ignites? How about when it ignites? All it needs is a spark. In the six months it will take to drill another well, I'm sure there won't be a single lightning strike! And where are they gonna drill from? With all that gas how can they operate/breathe? Maybe they can drill sideways to get at it from a safe distance? That much gas could make a hell of a bang. I think we'll be hearing more about this, for sure.
Gas doesn't explode unless it's under pressure. Otherwise it just burns.
But this is pressurized natural gas spewing out of a rupture on the rig somewhere. That could easily create the ideal fuel-air mixture for a pretty intense blast.
You are right. However, that much gas igniting at once will still flame quickly, and create a concussive wave. When something burns, it generates heat which rapidly expands the combustion gasses. Years ago, beore they made charcoal lighter fluid less volatile, the ignition of the fumes coming off the charcoal could be felt by anyone standing within a few feet. Now multiply that to the size of the fume zone here.
And what is being released? Lots of methane in the natural gas, and a mixture of other hydrocarbons, and a little CO2. Where's the problem? (This is sarcasm for those of you who need a hint).
To those of you who'll show your scientific ignorance here, do you have children, and do you have ANY concern for their future? Don't you think that you should turn off Fox noise and attempt to learn the truth? 98% of the scientists of the world are NOT lying to you. Please make an attempt to think for yourselves. When you do, the truth is straightforward, and the science needed to understand the basics of what we're (yes, WE'RE) doing to our climate is simple. You'll be condemning your children to a bleak future if you don't.
Sounds like the results of a chili cook off, LOL
Have you seen;
Is this finally proof we're NOT causing global warming? The whole of the Earth heated up in medieval times without human CO2 emissions, says new study
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2120512/Global-warming-Earth-heated-medieval-times-human-CO2-emissions.html#ixzz1qKnsOAvB
The Nonsensus: 97% to 98% of climate scientists believe in global warming?
Posted on September 8, 2011 by Steve Milloy | 33 Comments
During Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate, Jon Huntsman attacked Rick Perry with the claim that 97% to 98% of climate scientists believe in the manmade global warming hypothesis. This claim is also gaining currency in the lamestream media
The claim arises from this June 2010 PNAS study. Read it if you have the time and stomach, but the bottom line is that about 97% to 98% of climate researchers (if not more) are paid by the government and climate interest groups to support and to advance the global warming hypothesis and, guess what, they do.
This doesn’t make these researchers correct or credible, just employed.
The study’s premise that unless you’ve published 20 papers on climate your views don’t matter or are uninformed is patently arbitrary and absurd.
If you can read a graph, then you have all the tools necessary to decide the climate controversy for yourself. You only need the PhD and track record of publications if you want to rip-off taxpayers in the name of alarmism.
http://junkscience.com/2011/09/08/the-nonsensus-97-to-98-of-climate-scientists-believe-in-global-warming/
Just toss in a match and then no more gas buildup. Problem solved. Must we over complicate everything?
I got the marshmellows...
Dominion over the planet and it's creatures or not, we seem to be proving that we lack the technology and wisdom to do so without wreaking havoc on ourselves and everything around us. Our grandchildren will surely pay the price for our lack of willingness to change. If this turns out to be a methane hydrate eruption, we will be forced to accept the fact that we are screwing around with things we don't understand and cannot control. In 2010, General Atomics announced their development of a nuclear power plant (EM2) that runs on the used fuel rods that are piling up at every single nuclear power plant currently on line. I'm not a huge fan of nuclear power, but the alternative of turning the planet into swiss cheese so that the oil companies can continue to reap their profits at our expense, is even less appealing.
Not only are they drilling to get oil, but they are digging to bury the nuclear waste we create. Which by the way takes over 100,000 years to become non toxic. I would hardly call nuclear energy an alternative. We have to use resources that are pure and renewable.
@ NIC - Name one that's truly pure and renewable and viable right now.
Iowa is doing great with wind. And no, the windmills do not make a lot of noise. You are thinking of the old wooden dutch windmills.
I see at least a convoy of trucks a week hauling another windmill out to be put up here. Those blades are so long that the semi's actually have a hard time taking corners.
Hemp
@ Iowa - Do you really want to put all your eggs in wind power? Winds takes a lot of wind and real estate to be viable. I read an article about a year ago about how all of the proposed wind farms in the southwest had halted their permit process due to environmental concerns. (Mostly bunny huggers suing the government to force them to stop IIRC. But still they were all canceled.)
nic danger how do you know it takes 100,000 years, noone has lived lng enough to measure it. and if nuclear waste takes that long then tell me why Hiroshima is not a complete baren area yet is well populated????
And by noone i mean that nothing nuclear has been studied in a controlled setting for anywhere close to any length of time as to have an acurate estimate of the time it would take.
"The meek shall inherit the earth". Yeah, whatever's left of it.
we are destorying this planet in just a short time. I t took billions of years to form the planet we call earth but yet since man has walked this planet for a few million we have killed off animals that were here for millions of years.Some plants can not be found any more forests are at 30% of what they was when man first walked this earth.
But hears one that no one speaks of all the people we have killed whole races of people have been killed for the riches of this planet from wars that no one remembers 100's of millions or it could be billions have died and the thing is no one has done the math of the past wars on this planet.
But now we are just killing the planet for a piece of paper called the dollar which has only been around for some 200 years. I ask myself every once in a while is it worth it is it worth tthe death of such a place a place that took a act of God to make.
What will our children think of us when ther is nothing left for them to enjoy.
What will the think of us when their children are dieing of poisons that we made for a few dollars.
What will our childrens children think when there are wars over what little bit of food, forest animals is left.
When their kids only can look a a video of a eagle a whale in the ocean a blue ocean that is now black and dead and the list goes on.
WHEN WILL WE STOP KILLING THIS EARTH AND EACH OTHER OVER SMALL THINGS LIKE MONEY AND POWER.
hardtostarboard,, The EPA has nothing to do with the UK..IF epa regulations had been enforced,, The BP oil spill would not have happened.. quoting the CEO of exxon/mobil. BP subcontractors failed to follow basic safety regulations. Thats the opinion of BP,,,Exxon/Mobil..Shell Oil engineers. And their bosses agreed.
Even though we don't get one drop of oil from that company, our gas will explode in prices and Congress and OBAMA will sit on their hands.
While they are trying to force American citizens to buy health insurance they let the oil companies run free with cooperate greed and with every excuse they can come up with.
IF ANYTHING should be regulated by CONGRESS it is the oil companies. Too many politicians in the back pockets of the oil companies.
You are correct that gas prices will sky rocket here because of it.
Beyond that congress and Obama can't really do anything about how this will affect the price of gas.
This example of the limitation of technology is why GOP Governor Jeb Bush and GOP Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposed drilling off the coasts of their States while John Boehner, the Eddie Haskel of Congress, was trying to con us into believing only Democrats opposed such things.
You may have just given me a reason to give a Bush a glimmer of respect.
How lucky we are to have Ruken trolling all the comments sections and enlightening us!!
Nice to see how safe offshore drilling is. Hey, let's drill off our coast more, our beaches are just too pretty.
Drilling in deep waters is precarious at best. All that gas is now spewing into the atmosphere, adding to the already large enough amounts of greenhouse gas, and will be for what, six months?!? The oil companies, they just never seem to learn, do they? What greedy, arrogant, cynical group of outstanding citizens they are!
Cthulhu rises!
Drill baby drill??? Just don't do anything that would cause a spark.
Complain, argue, call names, political rhetoric...Complain, argue, call names, political rhetoric... It amazes me that, regardless of the article or topic, the patterns stays the same.
So far, we have determined that:
I think we have accomplished a lot with this conversation.
Uh - you forgot the part about the Nazi's. Complain, argue, call names, political rhetoric, Nazi's.
Ah yes, the Nazi's. Can't forget them.
Yea, weird. I am sure they will take a look at what happened at Piper Alpha. Trying to remember all what happened in that one besides so many people being killed. But, if this blows, how many secondary fires or explosions will it set off and what are the consequences of that. Pipelines blowing up and as well as other oil rigs being lit up? This thing could get a lot worse before it gets better, especially if it takes 60+ days to cap this thing. Is this oil and gas really worth it?? Seems all these deep water drills are turning out disasters. Is the Arctic next?
"TIME TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO OUR WORLD"
All of us can and should to be working on Global Pollution SOLUTIONS YESTERDAY !
Start Building above ground Plankton farms & Algae farms globally.
Plankton & Algae are a natural oxygen producing plants that can help to restore oxygen on our Planet.
We should be building plankton farms & algae farms Immediately. We could use some of our current fish hatcheries to start with.
Also start cleaning up contaminated soil areas around the World.
One way to clean up soil is by mixing Plankton, Ilmenite soil & Peridotite soil with fertilizer in contaminated soil areas. (plankton had oxygen in it, Ilmenite & Peridotite actually filter air borne fossil fuel pollutants, and ground pollutants)
Plankton Farms will add clean oxygen to our Atmosphere but only if the World Got On Board, Teamed Up and focused on this Plan/Program or something similar to these ideas.
The more green plants we grow including trees the more we can slow down Global Warming just common sense . "NOT ROCKET SCIENCE"
"PUTTING OXYGEN BACK INTO OUR OCEANS IDEA"
I have built and used Simple PVC Plastic Pipe Aerators where I drilled several small holes in pipes, plugged off one end hooked up to an air compressor thus creating a larger version of a Home Fish Aquarium Filter.
These Pipes Aerated water inside Large tanks of water and injected Fresh Oxygen back into the water.
WE CAN & WE MUST.. build thousands of these fast simple devices (just simples PVC Pipes or any other kinds of non rusting pipes with holes drilled in them hooked up to a filtered clean air compressor.
"THESE ARE SIMPLE & CHEAP DEVICES TO BUILD"
This idea uses the same principle as home aquariums we just utilize long 1" round pvc pipes with holes drilled in them and the end plugged off to duplicate the air stones that are attached by an air line to a compressor for your Fish Aquariums.
Our 1" round pvc pipes can be any length or sized as needed (2' to 6' long as an example) attached to onboard filtered air compressors with air lines these Aerators will need to be weighted if we use PVC Pipe to keep them down.
Or maybe they could be attached to ships anchors somehow or build a cable lowering device. Or we could build the Aerators out of brass or something heavy. Ocean Oil Rigs, Could & Should Be The First to Test these Units being that they are Responsible for most of the Pollution in our Oceans.
"ANYONE READING THIS ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION"
What Do we have to gain and what do we have to loose by trying this idea ? ?
Answer.. A Few Bucks If It Didn't work.
"IF IT DID WORK EXTENDED LIFE FOR ALL CREATURES ON OUR PLANET INCLUDING OURS"
It's Past Try This Idea and Start Placing These Life Saving Filtered Oxygen Aerator Devices into our Oceans that Could Recover "OUR WORLDS OXYGEN DEPLETED OCEANS" This Idea Could Help Our ATMOSPHERE As Well.
Just Imagine How Much Oxygen We Could Put Back Into Our Oceans If The World Teamed Up And Started Doing This Tomorrow ? ?
We Already Have The Most Expensive parts of these devices on board Most Ships and Boats "AROUND THE WORLD"
Ships All Have On Board Air Compressors Including Ocean Oil Rigs.
"IT'S PAST TIME TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO OUR OCEANS, OUR ATMOSPHERE AND OURSELVES THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED TO STAY HEALTHY... "CLEAN AIR"
These Simple Aerators as described above are the same type of Aerators in your Home Fish Aquarium that keep the Fish & Plants Alive.
"COMMON SENSE TELLS ME THAT THIS IDEA SHOULD WORK" But Only If we Did It On A WORLD WIDE BASIS. It Would Take Thousands Of Boats, Ships Etc. to make a dent in Our Oceans depleted Oxygen Levels But If We Don't Try To Do Something Soon. 'NOTHING WILL HELP..
This idea could be tried in a Small Bay some where to see if it it would work. It would be easy to take an oxygen sample of the testing area before and compare it to an oxygen sample after this idea was tried for a Month in any Bay.
I Realize That If We Used All Of The Above Resources To Build and Utilize these Aerating Devices That it would be Just A Drop Of Water In a Bucket Idea That Could Slow Down Global Warming..But Remember "EVERY STORM STARTS WITH A DROP OF WATER"
I get your point. I just hope you didn't hold your breath while you banged that out on the keyboard.
Wow, Marko 440 is right. All that for a solution, I hope it did not too badly while you exercised your brain on that one. Yes it may help, but are we missing the obvious? If we as a creature of this planet do not take on the majority role as being its best steward in all possibilities we have failed the planet and ourselves. Plankton farms, alternative fuels, or just plain common sense, if it does not happen soon we better improve our space travel abilities because this planet will be destroyed.
there is plenty reason to be angry over yet another accident. why bother, it will change nothing. you will change no ones mind that is already made up. no ammount of logic or reason will prevail. instead i ask you to be comforted in the fact that this great planet, our home is wise beyond its years and knows exactly how and when to reset the balance. if you are a person with keen observation skills you will surely notice the scales of justice are already in motion. be comforted that we here and now will be the subject of the same argument 300 million years from now when our bodies have been turned into a fossil fuel as well. long live the carbon cycle and long live this great planet earth. PS earth doesnt care wether humans are here or not