BP Teams Try To Level Listing 'Thunder Horse' Oil Platform

ENERGY TECH

File photo of the Thunder Horse oil platform during intial deployment.

Miami (AFP) Jul 14, 2005
BP has sent teams to level its Thunder Horse oil platform, which has been listing since Hurricane Dennis hit the Gulf of Mexico, the British oil giant said Wednesday.

The platform, located 150 miles (250 kilometres) southeast of New Orleans, was slipping by around 20-30 degrees following the passing of the storm, but no injuries or leaks were reported. Dennis has however killed at least 62 people, the majority in the Caribbean.

"BP has re-boarded the platform and established power on the facility," according to a statement from the repair team. "Crews are now focusing their efforts on pumping operations in order to right the vessel."

The statement added that the platform waxs stil listing by about 20 degrees.

An oil-spill response vessel was on location to deal with any potential environmental issues, it added.

Thunder Horse was in development and due to start production at the end of

"We are still investigating the case to find out what was the precise cause of the problem," BP spokeswoman Julia Yakimova told AFP earlier, adding: "We don't know when the problem is going to be resolved frankly."

An underwater ROV (remotely operated vehicle) inspection "revealed no damage to the whole of the platform", while observation teams had concluded that "the platform is stable".

Workers were evacuated from all Gulf of Mexico oil facilities last Friday before Dennis struck, but have since begun returning to work after most infrastructures escaped its impact.

Thunder Horse is 75-percent owned by BP and a quarter-held by US oil giant ExxonMobil. It was to have with an eventual output of 250,000 barrels per day of oil and 5.7 million cubic metres of natural gas.

BP currently produces more than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the area -- about 7.5 percent of the group's total daily production.

Meanwhile, the region was braced for another possible hurricane as Tropical Storm Emily roared across the Atlantic, just days after Dennis killed people in Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and the southern United States.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

ENERGY TECH

Patented Device Creates Electricity And Treats Wastewater

St Louis MO (SPX) Jul 13, 2005
An environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has created a device similar to a hydrogen fuel cell that uses bacteria to treat wastewater and create electricity.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.