Total’s “Well from Hell” Forces Air and Sea Exclusion Zone

It may take 6 months to stop North Sea poisonous gas cloud: Total

TOTAL E&P UK has confirmed that the gas leak at the Elgin Well Head Platform remains ongoing. The oil giant has also confirmed the presence of an oil sheen on the water near the  platform.

Both TOTAL and SHELL have evacuated hundreds of workers aboard the Elgin rig as well as two nearby rigs operated by SHELL.

So far there are no reports of injuries, but explosive natural gas has been observed bubbling under the Elgin platform.

“Shipping was ordered to come no closer than two miles from the Elgin platform and aircraft no nearer than three miles if they flew lower than 4,000 feet – effectively shutting out helicopters but not affecting airline traffic,” said a report.

TOTAL’s Titanic?

Elgin/Franklin is a high pressure/temperature (HP/HT) development in the Central Craben Area of the North Sea’s UK sector, about 240km (149 miles) east of Aberdeen. Average daily production for the Elgin and Franklin fileds is around 230,000 barrels of oil equivelant.  Elgin/Franklin comprises two wellhead platforms, one on Elgin and one on Franklin and a Production/Utilities/Quarters (PUQ) platform. The PUW is on the Elgin field and is linked to the Elgin wellhead platform by a 90-metre bridge and to Franklin by an inter-field pipeline bundle.  Hydrocarbons produced from the Elgin, Franklin, Glenelg and West Franklin fields are collected, separated and treated at the central processing facility on the PUQ. Liquid hydrocarbons are exported through the BP-operated Forties Pipeline System via Cruden Bay to Kinneil for processing and commercial quality gas compressed and exported through the SEAL (Shearwater Elgin Area Line) pipeline to Bacton in Norfolk. (Source: TOTAL website)

The Elgin well (field) on which the platform sits, lies about 150 miles east of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland and is dubbed “the well from hell” by a Norwegian environmentalist who believes the well is “out of control.”

Related Links

• Disasters Caused by Oil and Gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Polluting Land, Water and Air

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun

Drought Disaster Declared in Half of Thailand

Planetary Denial of Service (P-DoS)

Thailand declares drought disaster in 32 of its 76 provinces

At least 32 provinces in Thailand, about half the country, have been declared drought disaster areas, according to the country’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – March 27

[March 27, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,450 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Thailand.   At least 32 of Thailand’s 76 provinces have been declared drought disaster areas, according to the country’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.
  • Drought has affected millions of people throughout the agricultural sector.  In three northeastern provinces of Buriram, Chaiyabhumi and Nakorn Ratchasima alone, at least half a million people have been affected, requiring water rations, reports said.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Idaho, USA.  The city of Moscow in Idaho has declared a disaster emergency following weeks of torrential rains and extensive flooding, a report said.
  • City officials have warned residents to immediately go to higher ground if rising water threatens their safety.
• Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic States.  NWS has issued Freeze Warnings for Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic States:
  • “After an extended period of record-breaking warmth across the central and eastern United States, high pressure will usher in colder air into the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic regions tonight. Low temperatures are forecast to range from the lower 20s to the lower 30s at several locations. With an early growing season already in progress, any vegetation susceptible to freezing temperatures over an extended period of time may be at risk to severe damage. In addition, pets should be brought indoors during the overnight.”

• Colorado, USA. A fast-moving wildfire in the mountains southwest of Denver has consumed at least 3,000 acres, leaving 1 person dead, destroying dozens of structures and forcing thousands of residents in and around Conifer (Jefferson County) to abandon their homes.
  • “The fire is the largest of about a dozen that burned from the northeast plains to the southern part of the state, and scorched four-and-half square miles in only a few hours,” said a report.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar:  Collapse has already Begun