Old Rocks
Diamond Member
The Gulf of Mexico is currently reeling from the human and environmental tragedy unfolding after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore oil platform. The Horizon, operated by BP, exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers, injuring many others and spilling millions of gallons of oil into the ocean.
While the cause of the Horizon explosion is being investigated, it is important to note that BP has a devastating history of accidents and evading government oversight. Worse yet, an even bigger tragedy in the Gulf could be looming. An internal BP email admits that a catastrophic accident is possible at another one of its platforms, the BP Atlantis. An accident at this platform could result in a spill that is many times larger than the one currently unfolding from the Deepwater Horizon.
BP?s Atlantis: Another Catastrophic Accident Waiting to Happen? Spill the Truth
BP Atlantis poses a serious, immediate and potentially irreparable threat to the Gulf of Mexicos marine environment, oil workers and communities. BPs Atlantis platform became active during the Bush administration in October of 2007. Located in Hurricane Alley, more than 150 miles from New Orleans at a water depth of more than 7,000 feet, it is one of the deepest moored semisubmersible oil and gas platforms in the world. In August of 2008, a BP contractor made a startling discovery about Atlantis: The company was operating the massive Atlantis platform without proper up-to-date and engineer-approved documentation. Some of the problems included:
More than 6,000 critical documents including those for pipelines, flowlines, wellheads and other important systems did not have the required engineering documentation.
Over 85 percent of the projects subsea piping and instrument diagrams, critical documents for operating the platform, were not approved by engineers.
Many of its safety shutdown system logic diagrams were not up to date.
Over 95 percent of its subsea welding documents had no final engineering approval, calling into question the safety of the welds.
While the cause of the Horizon explosion is being investigated, it is important to note that BP has a devastating history of accidents and evading government oversight. Worse yet, an even bigger tragedy in the Gulf could be looming. An internal BP email admits that a catastrophic accident is possible at another one of its platforms, the BP Atlantis. An accident at this platform could result in a spill that is many times larger than the one currently unfolding from the Deepwater Horizon.
BP?s Atlantis: Another Catastrophic Accident Waiting to Happen? Spill the Truth
BP Atlantis poses a serious, immediate and potentially irreparable threat to the Gulf of Mexicos marine environment, oil workers and communities. BPs Atlantis platform became active during the Bush administration in October of 2007. Located in Hurricane Alley, more than 150 miles from New Orleans at a water depth of more than 7,000 feet, it is one of the deepest moored semisubmersible oil and gas platforms in the world. In August of 2008, a BP contractor made a startling discovery about Atlantis: The company was operating the massive Atlantis platform without proper up-to-date and engineer-approved documentation. Some of the problems included:
More than 6,000 critical documents including those for pipelines, flowlines, wellheads and other important systems did not have the required engineering documentation.
Over 85 percent of the projects subsea piping and instrument diagrams, critical documents for operating the platform, were not approved by engineers.
Many of its safety shutdown system logic diagrams were not up to date.
Over 95 percent of its subsea welding documents had no final engineering approval, calling into question the safety of the welds.
