58 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Here we go, again.
SAO PAULO -- "An ongoing oil spill off the Brazilian coast occurred because Chevron
underestimated the pressure in an underwater reservoir, the head of the company's Brazil operations said Sunday.
Brazil's National Petroleum Agency has said it's possible more than 110,000 gallons of oil have spilled into the Atlantic Ocean.
George Buck, chief operating officer for the Brazilian division of the San Ramon, estimated that 420 gallons to 4,200 gallons (1,590 liters to 15,900 liters) a day are still leaking from the seabed cracks.
He declined to guess when the leaks would stop, saying it was hard to predict how long it would take the oil that rushed up the bore hole to make its way to the ocean floor, or even how much of it eventually would.
Brazil itself has had bigger oil spills than this one.

In 2000, crude spewed from a broken pipeline at the Reduc refinery in Rio de Janeiro's scenic Guanabara Bay, spewing at least 344,400 gallons (1.3 million liters) into the water.
Just a few months later, more than 1 million gallons (3.8 million liters) of crude burst from a pipeline operated by state-controlled oil company Petrobras into a river in southern Brazil.

Brazil's worst oil disaster was in 1975, when an oil tanker from Iraq dumped more than
8 million gallons of crude into the bay and caused Rio's famous beaches to be closed for nearly three weeks."
http://www.huffingto....html?ref=green
So it's no biggie because it's happened before, and the "before" was worse?
&^&^%$%^%&!!!!!!

[mariaandrea]

Shortpoet-GTD, on 20 November 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

So it's no biggie because it's happened before, and the "before" was worse?
&^&^%$%^%&!!!!!!

Ugh. Exactly. Terrible reporting, making it sound like it's not that big a deal because bigger ones have happened. For every big oil spill that happens a dozen small ones take place all over the world that don't even get reported or never make the national or international news. No wonder our oceans are dying.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Chevron fined but they probably paid it out of petty cash.
http://www.reuters.c...&videoChannel=1

[jasserEnv]

It sounds like a sports reporter wrote the story as it is "not news" unless it beats a previous record.

This sort of leak just highlights the dangers of such deep sea drilling where it is exceedingly difficult to correct problems that occur in the process. With the sea bed leaking, it will be a serious challenge to stop the leak as sealing the leak in one place will just lead to other problems in other areas of the sea floor. From what I understand, the fines being paid don't even come close to covering the damage being done. As a result there is no disincentive to creating these problems in the first place or being far more careful.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Has anyone heard a peep about this on-going oil leak?
I doubt it.
"It's over there"-so it shouldn't concern anyone in the so called media?
And chevron continues to get away with murder.

"Things just keep getting worse for Chevron. First, a deepwater drilling mishap off the coast of Brazil last month
caused thousands of barrels of oil to spill into the Atlantic, which only after some dodging did Chevron take responsibility for, followed by Brazil's petroleum agency
deciding to suspend the company's drilling rights altogether.
And then there are the fines which could end up costing Chevron close to $100 million.
But lo, it gets worst yet. Today, the oil giant admitted that the situation is far from resolved as many had assumed.
That's right, the leak continues, and Chevron's not sure when it can be stopped.

Weeks after the spill began in early November, loosing an estimated 110,000 gallons in the waters 230 miles off the
coast of Rio de Janeiro, Chevron moved to plug it with cement.
Still, several hundreds of gallons continued to trickle up from the sea floor.

And now, nearly a month after their initial fix was put in place, Chevron Brazil's environmental supervisor Luiz Alberto Pimenta Borges told leaders that oil is still leaking, and that his company
isn't quite sure how or when it can be capped."
HUH???


http://www.treehugge...continuing.html

[artistry]

What I find interestimg in the article, is the sort of lackadaisical attitude seemingly, of some of the people of Brazil, who don't think this is such a big deal. Let it leak, let it leak, we're on the cutting edge of progress. Do they like oil drenched seafood and beaches possibly? Those in charge don't appear to be in any rush to stop the leaks.either. Amazing.

[jasserEnv]

artistry, on 21 December 2011 - 12:04 PM, said:

What I find interestimg in the article, is the sort of lackadaisical attitude seemingly, of some of the people of Brazil, who don't think this is such a big deal. Let it leak, let it leak, we're on the cutting edge of progress. Do they like oil drenched seafood and beaches possibly? Those in charge don't appear to be in any rush to stop the leaks.either. Amazing.

Sadly it seems that if the oil isn't filling up the pool in the back yard, it is just another problem "out there". I often wonder at the developmental issues associated with brains that cannot look at an even slightly bigger picture. If they could only connect the dots that pollution elsewhere might come back to affect them...

[Shortpoet-GTD]

You're both assuming they're honest leaders that haven't been paid off by the oil companies.
With thousand dollar bills to wipe their butts with, what do they care?

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"Federal police have concluded their probe into an oil spill off the Brazilian coast last month and are recommending
that prosecutors charge oil companies Chevron and Transocean with crimes against the environment,
a top official said Thursday.
Authorities also asked that charges be filed against 17 people for failing to provide information to the police, said Fabio Scliar,
head of the Federal Police department's environmental affairs division.

Among them is George Buck, chief operating officer for Chevron Corp.'s Brazilian division. If indicted and convicted, he and the others could face jail terms of up to 14 years each, Scliar said.

Oil started leaking at the site of a Chevron appraisal well Nov. 7, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) off the northeastern coast of Rio de Janeiro state. Transocean Ltd. is the drilling contractor for the well.

"I am convinced that Chevron's policy regarding the drilling of wells in Brazil is a reckless one, and should the companies be found guilty, they could be permanently banned from operating in Brazil," Scliar said.

Brazil's Environment Ministry fined Chevron $28 million, 50 million reals ($27 million) but has said the company could
face further penalties.
Last week a federal prosecutor filed an $11 billion lawsuit against Chevron Corp.

Chevron has said the spill occurred because the company underestimated the pressure in an underwater reservoir."

http://www.msnbc.msn...oil_and_energy/

(Transocean- gulf oil spill too.)

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Oh, and did everyone notice the massive ad from Chevron right next to the story?

Please.

[zararina]

Big oil spills usually not been in the news and I just knew some of this oil spills through forum like this. Sad to know that oil spills like this had happens several times but never become a big issue/concern all because of covering it through money.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"Chevron initially claimed only 400 to 650 barrels of oil leaked from a spill 120 miles off the coast of Brazil.
However, environmental group Skytruth said satellite images showed the spill to have released as much as
157,000 gallons a day, -over ten times larger than Chevron’s estimate of 330 barrels a day.
Although Brazilian energy minister Edison Lobao told the BBC that the oil spill “was not as serious as had been
announced,” he said that if Chevron “is not fulfilling its responsibilities, it will be more severely punished.”

Hopefully Chevron will be more severely punished than its counterpart BP was for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Skytruth puts it more bluntly: “We hope all of this information becomes public:
deepwater drilling is a global business and these were two of the biggest global players,
so lessons learned from this incident will apply here in the U.S. too.”'


http://www.environme...brazilian-coast

[msterees]

This is horrible and to think that it happens all the time and people are not even concerned about it. They need to make an example out of Chevron so they won't think it's okay to let this happen again even if it is in a country where the law is more lenient on that sort of thing.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"On Christmas 2010, I took my three daughters, to Ecuador's Amazon to take part in a "Toxi-tour" and stand
witness to what could be the
worst environmental disaster on the planet.
This is the awful mess that Chevron left behind at the headwaters of the Amazon after drilling for oil for almost
three decades on the ancestral lands of five indigenous groups.
Chevron, via the Texaco brand, dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon waterways that local inhabitants
used for drinking water.
Several independent health evaluations show that cancer rates in the area have skyrocketed.
The magnitude of the damage -- recently confirmed by a three-judge appellate panel in Ecuador that relied on extensive
scientific evidence -- makes the impact of BP's recent spill in the Gulf of Mexico seem small by comparison.

Chevron's irresponsible operational practices are now responsible for a catastrophe that has cost untold lives and destroyed an area of pristine rainforest the size of Rhode Island.
Chevron lost the legal case in Ecuador, and a U.S. appellate court recently blocked efforts by the company to
prevent enforcement of the judgment. The company is on its last legs after battling to deny the claims of indigenous groups for almost two decades since the was filed in 1993.

Chevron has behaved in a way that reinforces the worst stereotypes about large corporations: it has cynically avoided
responsibility for its past and watched in indifference as more people become sick and die because of its failure to deal with its legacy environmental issues."

http://www.huffingto....html?ref=green

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Another side effect of that cruise liner grounding on the rocks-fuel leaks.

"As the Costa Concordia shifted dangerously on Monday, Italy's environment minister raised the prospect of an environmental disaster if the 2,300 metric tons of fuel on the half-submerged cruise ship leaks.
The ship's fuel tanks were full, having just left the port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome, for a week-long Mediterranean cruise,
when it ran aground on Friday.
The area where the ship capsized, off the island of Giglio, is a natural maritime park noted for its pristine waters,
varied marine life and coral. It is known as an excellent diving site.
The ship is carrying heavy fuel, or bunker fuel. Because of its density, it is harder to pump out unless it is heated or diluted."
http://www.msnbc.msn...ld_news-europe/

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"A Brazilian prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against Chevron Corp and some of its local managers within weeks,
adding the threat of prison sentences to an $11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill.
Transocean Ltd, whose rig was used in the operation, and some of its employees in Brazil are also expected to be charged.
Chevron acted in a "careless and irresponsible way," an official who investigated the 2,400-barrel spill told Reuters.
The charges would come more than a month after a Federal Police investigator submitted a report saying Chevron
and Transocean took "unacceptable" risks in the Frade oil field off Brazil's southern coast, and recommended
that 17 individuals be indicted.
Chevron is also fighting a separate 20-billion-real ($11 billion) lawsuit brought by the same Brazilian federal prosecutors."
http://www.reuters.c...E80P22M20120126

[ConservativeGreen]

Wasn't  Transocean the rig owner in the gulf spill?  Seems they have a rich history of negligent behaviour.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

ConservativeGreen, on 27 January 2012 - 10:13 AM, said:

Wasn't  Transocean the rig owner in the gulf spill?  Seems they have a rich history of negligent behaviour.

From the article:
"Transocean is the world's biggest offshore oil rig operator."
Kind of like Wal-Mart-only oily.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — "Crude oil that spilled from a ruptured pipeline has blackened a river in eastern
Venezuela, and the state oil company said workers are containing the spill.
State oil company officials said a pipe that transports crude to a processing plant ruptured on Feb. 4. Ramirez
didn't say how much crude has spilled. He said officials were investigating what caused the accident."
http://www.huffingto....html?ref=green

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Supposedly no oil was spilled but the North Slope oil well blow-out spews mud and gas.
http://www.adn.com/2...s-on-north.html