Why not mandate drilling relief well at same time as original well

[Nancy Waterman]

Isn't that how Canada does it? then you have something in place to immediately fix a leak.

[AtomicKitten]

1. I vote yes on this. nt

[Cant trust em]

2. Because then you wind up doubling your chances of a problem.

Also, Canada doesn't mandate this.

I heard this on an NPR show.

[Pirate Smile]

3. I'm sure drilling a concurrent relief well along with the $500K safety device will now both be

required - unless Republicans take over.

[Uben]

4. Just cuz!

What if the well is a dry hole.....no oil. That would mean it would cost twice as much to find out there is no oil there. Now, they could mandate drilling a relief well before production is started, which is what I think they should do.

[WhiteTara]

6. exploratory wells prove the oil

production wells should have a relief well drilled at the same time.

[Jakes Progress]

5. Why not mandate that corporations.

not drill in places where they cannot fix problems. Shit happens. You can't fix shit 5000 feet down. Suppose the relief well broke? Suppose there were a sea quake that ruptured both? We have no business doing this kind of thing.

[golfguru]

9. The shallow water drilling is prohibited cuz

it is mostly close to the coastal areas.

[Jakes Progress]

11. Then don't drill.

Simple. Either do it safely or don't do it.

[golfguru]

16. The reality is this country runs on oil

Another reality is we have huge trade deficits.
Another reality is we import oil from people who mostly
do not like our culture and our policies.
Another reality is all the machinery and cars running
on oil based products can not be changed quickly. It will
take a few decades to get away from oil without breaking
the economy.

All that makes us beholden to drilling for domestic oil. IMHO we
should stop drilling in deep water area's as the BP disaster
has proved. Drill only on land and shallow water where accidents
can be brought under control quickly. Someday alternate & green
energy must take over, but I don't see it happening in less than
20 to 30 years.

[Jakes Progress]

18. You just said what I said.

Don't drill if it can't be safely done.

As far as our dependence on oil, it is a disease. Nothing good for the country will come of that dependence. I think a six dollar a gallon tax on gasoline would help along with tax incentives for alternative energy devices and extremely efficient devices. You tax the behavior you want to stop, and you incentivise the behavior you want to increase.

[golfguru]

19. If gas moves up to $6/gallon then....

unemployment rate goes to 20%+
Not good for the population.

[Jakes Progress]

20. So just drill baby drill. Is that your only solution?

[golfguru]

22. Drill in shallow water or solid ground...not deep water n/t

[Cleobulus]

24. We pretty much already tapped all the reserves in shallow water...

why do you think they are drilling in deep water in the first place?

[golfguru]

27. because several near to coast areas are banned from drilling n/t

[Cleobulus]

31. Yes, but tapping them wouldn't make a difference...

The best estimates on the amount of oil off the east coast is approximately 5 years worth of oil at current consumption rates, and we cannot suck it all up in that amount of time, so spread it out over decades, and you are talking about lowering the price of gas at the pump about 3 cents in 10 years time.

[Cleobulus]

23. Gas is going to hit 6 bucks a gallon with or without offshore drilling...

being expanded.

[golfguru]

28. If you add up...

the huge confirmed oil reserves in ANWR, and the oil
locked up in tar sands in US & Canada, $6 gallon gas can be
postponed for 30+ years, inflation adjusted. That will give us
enough time to develop alternate energy sources.

[Cleobulus]

30. Tar sand are just that, tar, production will be low(below daily consumption)...

and ANWR has, at best estimates, 300 days worth of oil for US consumption alone. We don't have 30 years, hell, we will be lucky if we have 5.

[jberryhill]

37. We import more oil from Canada than anywhere else

They don't like our culture and politics?

[Ozymanithrax]

7. According to this story, the rule is not what you think it is...

BP Sought To Ease Canada's Policy On Relief Wells
The Canadian Policy

The policy applies to the Beaufort Sea, stretching across the top of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon next to Alaska. The drilling season there is cut short by ice. The policy isn't even all that strict.

"An operator needs to demonstrate that there is a viable system that can be deployed to drill a well, a relief well, in the same season as the original well, should the original well go out of control," said Bharat Dixit, leader of the NEB conservation-of-resources team.

In fact, the policy is called "same-season relief well capability," making clear that a company doesn't actually have to drill the relief well unless there's a blowout; it just has to be prepared.

***snip***

"What operators are proposing is that their methodologies, their additional training, their new tools provide for a similar degree of comfort," Dixit said.

In its submission to the energy board, dated March 22, BP said that if one of the Beaufort wells went out of control, there probably wouldn't be enough time to drill a relief well before the ice came in. It called relief wells an "after-the-fact tactic."

Relief wells cost the same amount to dig as the main well. Also, they have the same small chance of a blowout as any other well. In 1978, a relief well blew out. So, you double the cost and double the chance of a blow out.

That said, I think it would be a good idea, as long as there are strong mandatory government regulation requiring regular inspections of the wells and safety equpment, and that blowout preventers were tested under the conditions where they are required to work.

[golfguru]

8. Cost is not cheap to drill a 2nd well sitting idle

But for DEEP WATER drilling it is probably a necessary cost.

[Nancy Waterman]

10. If cost goes up then so does the price of oil

That would push us more towards renewables. Clearly they need to put a lot more effort into many layers of safety if they expect to continue drilling at all.

[golfguru]

17. Yes, I agree that safety is paramount n/t

[Cha]

12. Yeah, it would have

saved BP a lot of money and saved our Gulf of Mexico environment which is in Incalculable, of course.

[golfguru]

15. You are absolutely correct on this n/t

[phleshdef]

21. A lot cheaper than paying for the damages after something goes wrong.

[golfguru]

29. But as you know, corporations only look at

the bottom line for the next quarter or two.

[Doctor_J]

13. Cheney's Energy Task Force made this optional

the better to protect BP's shareholders.

[killbotfactory]

14. Pfft. What are the odds of the blowout preventer malfunctioning?

Oh, right...

[boppers]

25. Why not drill 10 at the same time? 30?

Hey, would could go wrong on one that couldn't go wrong on 30?

[HughMoran]

32. Canada's law is a good idea

no need to make fun of it - it greatly minimizes the chance of a spill like we are experiencing.

[boppers]

34. Tell me when it's worked.

I'm curious.

[HughMoran]

35. In this current situation - the worst spill in US history - damage in the billions

This one case would pay for every extra well dug everywhere in the world I'd bet.

Plus, there is no price on the ecology - this is horrible for animal and human alike.

[ShadowLiberal]

26. A better idea is pass laws giving jail time to people who make negligent safety decisions

BP has caused multiple accidents by cutting corners on safety, which is clearly causing an increase in the number of accidents. We need to make the penalties for doing that much worse.

In Europe you can go to jail for not getting something like an oil platform safety certified if an accident happens that kills people, if you were a top executive/manager who made the decision. The same applies to other potentially dangerous devices that could kill people if they fail and an accident happens.

You can also go to jail in Europe if you get your stuff safety certified, and then don't follow your safety procedures you got certified. It's even possible to go to jail if you lie when getting your device safety certified so that you don't have to spend as much time/money making it as safe as you should have.

[tomm2thumbs]

33. it should be said that Obama could have mentioned this outright - but hasn't

he didn't need to say 'I will demand it' but he could say 'it is my expectation that this will be the new rule as a direct result of the inability to plug this well outright'

wish someone in the WH would say it - maybe Michelle can step in - it took Bush's wife to come out for gay marriage and pro-choice issues

[oviedodem]

36. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$