US refuses foreign help in BP oil crisis.... WTF

[Geronimo '74]

Belgian group DEME (Dredging and environmental and marine engineering) offered to help in solving the oilcrisis and was not allowed due to the Jones act.

IIRC the Jones act prohibits non American vessels (not made in the US or not sailing under US flag) to dredge or do any similar activity in US waters.

DEME is a the top of it's game, a world leader in dredging and any type of marine engineering, they have state of the art technology and more than 150 years of experience on all continents.

I've worked for them for five years, from the smallest dregding jobs to the largest wreck salvaging in open seas (Google Tricolor, North Sea...)

Sorry, but to refuse this kind of help in what is becoming a global issue, not just an American one, is just plain dumb.
I don't know if it is BP or some politician who made this decision, but it is time to wake up and smell the coffee.

48 days and counting, how much more oil on shore do we need???

[widgeon13]

Govt. doesn't want any more criticism from outside sources. It's embarrassment enough w/o experts that can confirm how badly it has been handled by BP and govt.

[Geronimo '74]

Understandable, but this goes beyond that.
I heard an interview on national radio this morning from a DEME representative. I believe that they really didn't offer to help just to point out which mistakes were made.
This is a huge problem, and it needs to be solved.
To refuse any kind of help in this matter just does not seem wise.
Embarrassment will be many times greater if one refuses help at first and then have to go and ask for it later...
There are probably many other countries/companies that offered to help and got declined.

[jyl]

Is DEME able to cap the well or drill the relief well?

What help would they be able to provide?

[Geronimo '74]

They did not say in the interview how exactely they would help.
But I can't imagine them drilling the relief well so I suppose it would be capping the well.
They do a lot of work for the oil industry in the North sea.
They are familiar with the needs and difficulties of such operations.
As far as one can get familiar with capping an underseas oil leak, of course.
But I guess BP doesn't do this kind of job every day either.

Don't get me wrong, I does not bother me that they declined DEME's offer in particular.
I don't really understand why a company in such a problematic situation would not want help at all. Especially a company that has a lot of expertise in that area.
Over here it comes across like they use the Jones act as an excuse not to allow others in while in this case an exception is easily made, no?
Clearly the common good is more important than corporate image. ( at least that is what I think, BP officials might think differently...)

[GH85Carrera]

It is government bureaucracy and red tape, and arrogance on BP’s part. From what I heard the Saudis offered help and were turned down as well.

It is BP’s problem but the American taxpayer and environment are getting screwed, and will get screwed a lot harder. BP needs to double the work to stop the oil flow, and quadruple the cleanup effort.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

...but the American taxpayer and environment are getting screwed, and will get screwed a lot harder...

...for many years to come...

[jyl]

What do the Saudis know about deepwater oil drilling?

[Joeaksa]

Typical. Bet that in August when its still not capped that they will then open it up to anyone or any company worldwide...

[The Gaijin]

When the USS Cole was damaged, I believe it was a Dutch heavy lift ship that brought it home..

You would think that a Jones Act crew could be hired to operate these DEME ships. Or at least hire on enough guys to keep the maritime unions happy.

That Maersk Alabama of piracy fame was under a US flag of convenience and a US Jones Act crew (as the ship was carrying US aid).

A million stories of what could have been done better will come out of this.

[bivenator]

I think the DEME group should be considered for the berm creation that is currently stalled due to dithering by research groups unsure of the ecological impact.

[jyl]

Is there a lack of dredging capacity in the US, that requires DEME's dredges - and I missed it, how many dredges are they proposing to send?

In other words, has the berm-building been slowed because there isn't the dredging capacity here, or because it is not a good idea?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=oil-spill-may-change-shape-of-gulf-coast-louisiana


Now the U.S. government has given its approval to a plan to build as much as 70 kilometers worth of such sand walls—90 meters wide at the base tapering to nearly eight meters at the top and a little less than two meters higher than high tide—in front of barrier islands off the coast. It will be a colossal undertaking that would result in 3,900 hectares of sand barriers and could take at least six months and $360 million to complete. The only problem: it may not work and it definitely will not last.

"If we build these berms, one tropical storm that either crosses the berm or even sends large waves towards the berm from offshore could do tremendous damage to the structure before it's even completed," says coastal geologist Rob Young of Western Carolina University. "It might not make it through hurricane season," which ends November 30.

Nor does it require a storm for these man-made sand barriers to shift. Normal wave action—potentially exacerbated by the offshore dredging of the sand itself—will erode the berms. "They are immediately susceptible to erosion," Young says. "It's a question whether this first portion of the [70 kilometers] will still be there when they get to the end."

I don't know the answer. But seems to me when people are desperate for any solution, they are vulnerable to taking action for action's sake, that doesn't lead to solutions. The answer may be that, when this much oil has been spilled in the ocean, you can't stop it from getting to the beaches, marshes, coastline - in other words, maybe there simply isn't a "solution".

[widgeon13]

I'm not an environmental advocate but I certainly hate to see all the wildlife perish in this debacle. Where is the outrage by the environmental groups. Either I'm missing the news or maybe not looking at the right sources but I'm hearing very little from the staunch greenies. We're dumping a million gallons of dispersant into the Gulf and have very little knowledge of the long term effect on the environment or sea life. These waters won't render edible sea life for years or if it does people will be dying from benzene poisoning in the near future.

It's very disappointing that the richest, most technologically advanced country in the world has no more effective solution other than drilling more relief wells which will take 2 -3 more months.

[jyl]

Just an aside - reading estimates of $37BN cost to BP of spill cleanup and liability claims. No wonder the govt has been criticizing BP for promising to maintain its dividend. If true, this would be equal to every penny of their cash on hand plus all of their typical annual free cash flow ($5BN/yr) for the next 3+ years. No room for dividends.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

I'm not an environmental advocate but I certainly hate to see all the wildlife perish in this debacle. Where is the outrage by the environmental groups. Either I'm missing the news or maybe not looking at the right sources but I'm hearing very little from the staunch greenies. We're dumping a million gallons of dispersant into the Gulf and have very little knowledge of the long term effect on the environment or sea life. These waters won't render edible sea life for years or if it does people will be dying from benzene poisoning in the near future.

It's very disappointing that the richest, most technologically advanced country in the world has no more effective solution other than drilling more relief wells which will take 2 -3 more months.

There's plenty of outrage, you're not reading the right stuff.

I do think there is an opportunity to use this disaster to push alternative energy (e.g. nat gas, electric, hybrid cars). That is, so far, not being used.

[widgeon13]

No problem, they'll declare bankruptcy, restructure and walk away from most of the financial burden, either that or they'll say they are going under and the govt. will bail them out because they are too big to fail.

The only one's making a buck off this will be the scumbag lawyers and environmental consultants that will be asked and paid dearly to assess the impact and really, they don't have a clue.

This is uncharted water!

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by jyl

There's plenty of outrage, you're not reading the right stuff.

I do think there is an opportunity to use this disaster to push alternative energy (e.g. nat gas, electric, hybrid cars). That is, so far, not being used.

Bobby Jindal, the out of work shrimpers, some of the locals. I just don't see it on the national news or media. There's more concerned w/ Israel, Gaza, Hamas and Helen Thomas.

Pushing alternative energy is not a solution to the problem at hand. Yes, it's an opportunity for the future and better decisions but no one was ready for this and the clean-up will never take things back to the way they were, irreparable damage has been done.

I personally think this is a field day for terrorist groups who are now looking at new opportunities for attack sites and weakened national security because of the huge distraction this has created.

[jyl]

Why would the US govt bail out a British oil company?

Is any oil company too big to fail? There is plenty of oil currently available, check out storage levels and oil prices. If all of BP's wells shut down, it wouldn't make a big difference to global supply/demand.

[Instrument 41]

Trust me the enviro's are here. We get it locally . BP is really putting the squeeze on the media.

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by jyl

Why would the US govt bail out a British oil company?

Is any oil company too big to fail? There is plenty of oil currently available, check out storage levels and oil prices. If all of BP's wells shut down, it wouldn't make a big difference to global supply/demand.

For the same reason we gave billions to keep Greece afloat, JOBS and economic stability!! I know it sounds silly but stranger things have happened.

They can't pay for the clean-up if their out of business. Once the financial burden of clean-up becomes so great it makes more sense to dissolve the company, spin off assets and walk away. BP wells would not shutdown but simply be operated by another owner.