More Turtles Are Dying Than Before Oil Leak: Experts
At least 156 dead or dying sea turtles have been found along the U.S. Gulf Coast since April 30, some 10 days after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded.
This number of dead or dying turtles that have been washed up along the coasts of Alabama, Florida Louisiana and Mississippi is greater than the number of dead and injured turtles that that we expect to see this time of the year, said Dr. Michael Ziccardi, a veterinarian and director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network in California.
“The toll among sea turtles has been steadily rising since the deep-sea well ruptured last month, and the stranding count began to reach an unusually high level in the past week,” Ziccardi was reported as saying.
Moderators introduced the Thunder Horse platform, the world’s largest semisubmersible facility, as another likely candidate that might cause another oil spill mega disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Which of the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Wells Would Leak Next?
Located 150 miles (241 kilometers) southeast of New Orleans in Mississippi Canyon Block 778 in a water depth of approximately 6,050 feet (1,844 meters), the Thunder Horse platform is the world’s largest semisubmersible facility. British Petroleum received approval from the Minerals Management Service to debottleneck the topside production facilities to 275,000 barrels of oil and 220 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of March 20, 2009, production was approximately 260,000 barrels of oil and 210.5 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day from seven wells. The Thunder Horse Field is the largest producer in the Gulf of Mexico. (Image courtesy of BP America Inc.). Source: DOI, MMS Report. Mississippi Canyon Block 778 could turn out to be another “Challenger” of deepwater oil production.
In 2005 Hurricane Dennis forced the crew to evacuate Thunder Horse, which was later found listing when the crew returned.Source: USGC.
The Atlantis
Blog Moderators have since learned that the U.S. government has decided to investigate another big BP oil rig, the Atlantis.
Atlantis PQ is believed to be a BP plc/BHP Billiton joint venture deepwater semi-submersible oil platform which is located over the Green Canyon Atlantis Oil Field in Gulf of Mexico, about 300 km (185 mi) south of New Orleans.
The Atlantis PQ oil and gas production platform is the deepest moored oil and gas extraction facility in the world producing about 200,000bpd. BP is the majority shareholder with 56 percent of the oil field while BHP owns the remaining 44 percent. Image is a BP copyright and is included here for educational purposes.
Growing Oil Slick in the Gulf of Mexico
Nearly a month after a deadly explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, the damaged well on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico continued to spill oil. In the weeks since the accident occurred, the oil slick has periodically drifted northeast toward the Mississippi Delta and reached the the Chandeleur Islands. On May 17, 2010, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image, a large patch of oil was visible near the site of the accident, and a long ribbon of oil stretched far to the southeast. Image and [edited] caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (1 MB, JPEG) Click image to enlarge.
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