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| Home Front: Economy |
| BP Thunder Horse Listing in Gulf of Mexico |
| 2005-07-14 |
| 150 mi. south of New Orleans. Something like this was never supposed to happen, but it has. Thunder Horse, the largest and most advanced semi-submersible platform in the world, was built to extract oil and natural gas from more than 6,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. Right now, it appears as though the platform is struggling just to stay afloat. At this point, no one knows why. Last Friday, Thunder Horse was one of many platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico that was evacuated as a precaution in advance of Hurricane Dennis. But when the weather cleared, Thunder Horse was the only platform in trouble. In fact, according to the Coast Guard, other smaller rigs in the area sustained little or no damage. So, as a result, the Coast Guard is not prepared to say the rig's list of some 20 to 30 degrees was brought on by the storm. Officials with BP are obviously concerned about the safety of their multi-billion dollar investment and are working as quickly as possible to determine what went wrong and what must be done to correct it. But at this point, BP says priority number one is making sure this cutting-edge platform won't sink, even if that means delaying the scheduled start of drilling. Developed at a cost $5 billion, the Thunder Horse is a joint venture involving BP, which owns 75% of the platform and Exxon Mobil that owns the other 25%. The semi-submersible weighs more than 50,000 tons and is designed to drill in waters up to 6,000 feet deep. The Thunder Horse and its 185-man crew is combination drilling, processing and exporting facility with a deck large enough to accommodate three football fields. In February of this year, officials with the Bush administration who were on hand for the platforms dedication, called the Thunder Horse the largest and most technologically advanced semi-submersible in the world.Interior Secretary Gale Norton proudly stated the platform exemplifies the evolution in energy production technology that will provide a means of increasing domestic energy production in difficult to reach places in a safe and environmentally sensitive way. Thunder Horse was scheduled to begin operating later this year,but at this point, officials are just trying to keep it from sinking. Impressive pictures at the link. The thing is huge. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #6 You know, Mrs. Davis, I think the word's meant to be used in a different context than you're suggesting. I've heard speculation that it was something to do with a mistake in a ballast tank. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-07-14 23:00 |
| #5 sounds like it will be come the largeest and most advanced fully submersible platform in the world. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-07-14 22:33 |
| #4 ...Well, there's another $5/bbl... [self-interest] Darn good thing too, the prices were really tanking on the news out of China! [/self-interest] |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-07-14 21:27 |
| #3 ...Well, there's another $5/bbl... Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-07-14 21:22 |
| #2 Looks like a good time to flood one side? I think they already did that, Ship. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-07-14 18:35 |
| #1 Looks like a good time to flood one side? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-14 16:16 |