dpb wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
...

It is extremely odd that the blowout-preventer cannot be used to stop
the flow of oil. By standard and law they are tested frequently.

Doesn't seem particularly odd to me at all...

...
Following excerpted from document written by former engineer on sister
platform and sent by an acquaintance who works in oilpatch around here...

"... all of the main pressure control equipment sits on the
seabed – the uppermost unmoving point in the well. This pressure control
equipment – the Blowout Preventers, or ‘BOP’s” as they’re
called, are controlled with redundant systems from the rig. In the event
of a serious emergency, there are multiple Panic Buttons to hit,
and even fail-safe Deadman systems that should be automatically engaged
when something of this proportion breaks out. None of them
were aparently activated, suggesting that the blowout was especially
swift to escalate at the surface."

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