SkyTruth: If you can see it, you can change it

Thanks for this info!

2012-02-06T11:01:26.751-05:00

Thanks for this info!

It's a treatment plant for phosphates run by t...

2012-02-05T17:10:37.891-05:00

It's a treatment plant for phosphates run by the OTP (Office Togolais des Phospahtes), a government-owned facility not far from the Dagbati phosphate mines. There appear to be a railroad line and some kind of road leading to the area. Not sure what the ship was carrying, but it is possible it picked up its cargo at the location.

Thanks for this information!! I will be waiting fo...

2012-01-26T08:35:50.084-05:00

Thanks for this information!! I will be waiting for more news.

The Envisat ASAR radar satellite image above that ...

2012-01-23T11:01:47.138-05:00

The Envisat ASAR radar satellite image above that shows small slicks (dark patches) in the vicinity of the burning rig was taken at 9:31 am UTC - 10:31 am local time - on January 20, 2012.

Thanks for this information Kurt. It conforms with...

2012-01-23T10:52:34.951-05:00

Thanks for this information Kurt. It conforms with what we've seen on the satellite images so far ("reason for optimism").

But we have a few technical questions about the Funiwa Deep-A well that was being drilled when the blowout occurred, and would appreciate this additional info:

1) Does the well produce liquid gas condensate? That is not uncommon for natural gas wells.

2) Does the well produce crude oil? Many gas wells produce relatively small amounts of crude oil in addition to natural gas liquids.

3) Had the Funiwa Deep-A well penetrated any oil-bearing horizons before the blowout occurred? The Funiwa Field is well known for oil production from shallower formations: the blowout of Texaco's Funiwa No.5 well in 1980 spilled an estimated 8.4 million gallons before it bridged over, making it one of the worst accidental oil spills in history (http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6256).

This guest comment was emailed to me yesterday (1/...

2012-01-23T09:30:44.046-05:00

This guest comment was emailed to me yesterday (1/22/2012) by Kurt Glaubitz, and is published here with his permission. Mr. Glaubitz is the Upstream Media Relations Team Lead for Chevron.
--
Chevron Statement:

There is no oil spilled as a result of this incident. This is a natural gas well.

The incident occurred six miles (10 kilometers) off shore on Monday, Jan. 16. A sheen on the surface of the water that was visible following incident has been dispersed. We estimated the sheen at approximately 13 barrels in size as of January 17, 2012. It was no longer visible as of January 20, 2012. No chemical dispersants were used.

During the period the sheen was visible, the sheen was generally moving away from the shore. We analyzed the sheen to determine it was composed largely of diesel fuel, likely from the rig, and drilling mud.
--

http://www.shell.com.ng/home/content/nga/aboutshel...

2011-12-21T17:47:35.871-05:00

http://www.shell.com.ng/home/content/nga/aboutshell/media_centre/news_and_media_releases/2011/bonga_leak_21122011b.html here you go

Thanks HH - this is very helpful! "Rainbow sh...

2011-12-21T17:42:19.677-05:00

Thanks HH - this is very helpful! "Rainbow sheen" is in the 5 to 10 micron range according to the CONCAWE guidelines, and 0.3 to 5 micron range according to the BONN convention. 5 microns would mean a spill of 1.2 million gallons (28,571 barrels).

On their website (http://www.shell.com.ng/home/content/nga/aboutshell/media_centre/news_and_media_releases/2011/bonga_leak_21122011b.html) Shell reports the slick is "less than a hundredth of a millimeter" in most areas. 1/100th of a millimeter is 10 microns, which would be a spill of 2.4 million gallons (58,000 barrels).

The Shell photos are in this PDF file - http://www-static.shell.com/static/nga/downloads/media/bonga_oil_spill_20-dec-2011.pdf

Shell has offered its pictures taken by helicopter...

2011-12-21T17:25:48.704-05:00

Shell has offered its pictures taken by helicopters on its webpage. According to them its a sheen shining in rainbow colors rather than a thick slick

Hi John, Another serious problem was reported in ...

2011-12-02T12:39:58.310-05:00

Hi John,

Another serious problem was reported in the Brazilian media today.

Chevron did not report the presence of poisonous gas in one of its wells offshore, in the Campos Basin area of Brazil:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://g1.globo.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2011/12/chevron-nao-informou-existencia-de-gas-venenoso-em-campos-diz-anp.html&ei=BwjZTv6YF8X-ggfK8_WVDw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEYQ7gEwAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dg%25C3%25A1s%2Bt%25C3%25B3xico,%2Bg%25C3%25A1s%2Bsulf%25C3%25ADdrico,%2BH2S,%2BChevron,%2Bbrasil,%2Banp%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1262%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns

posted by Armando Rozário - Cabo Frio, Brazil - December 02, 2011.

Hi John, Another excellent article, written by a ...

2011-11-30T16:43:36.646-05:00

Hi John,

Another excellent article, written by a Brazilian scientist Marcelo Gleiser. I modestly point out that I beg to differ on two points. Petrobras holds less than 50% of its shares and not 51%. The term "pre-sal" (pre-salt) is only used in Brazil. The correct term is sub-salt, the massive oil deposits are beneath the salt strata.

CHEVRON'S BRAZILIAN OIL DÉBÂCLE: TO DRILL OR NOT TO DRIL - by Marcelo Gleiser

Chevron's Brazilian Oil Debacle: To Drill Or Not To Drill

Categories: Science and Society

01:34 pm

November 30, 2011

by Marcelo Gleiser

After a few days in Rio de Janeiro, my hometown, I was horrified to see the local headlines saturated with news that Chevron's Frade project, located 230 miles off the northeastern coast of Rio in 3,800 feet of water, had leaked for over 15 days. While Chevron says the leak, which started on November 7, is now contained and that the total amount of the spill was under 2,400 barrels, there have been accusations from Brazilian environmental and regulatory agencies that the company is only telling part of the story. A week ago, the main local newspaper, O Globo, ran this headline: "Chevron lies and may be forbidden from operating in the country." A Brazilian regulator put its own estimate on the spill at as much as 3,000 barrels and, on November 23, banned the company from further drilling, as well as fining Chevron $28 million.

While Chevron says it had engaged 18 ships in the cleanup on a rotation basis, the environmental division of the federal police sent a crew to the region who reported seeing only one. Local authorities have accused the company of overlooking the fact that the oil has moved dangerously close to regional river mouths. Residents have complained of sickness, including dizziness and vomiting.

To add to the drama, the drilling contractor, Transocean, owns the Deepwater Horizon rig that involved in last year's Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill, the largest in U.S. history.

Brazil, the world's seventh-largest economy, is poised to continue its amazing growth in the near future. In the past few years, an estimated 50 billion barrels of oil have been found in very deep waters northeast of Rio, the biggest found in the West in 30 years.

When you fly to Rio nowadays, it's clear that a substantial fraction of the passengers work for the oil business. Meanwhile, Brazil's own giant oil company, the stated-controlled Petrobrás, is the fourth-largest company in the world by market capitalization. Whoever still thinks Brazil is a third-world country should think again. Or come down and take a look.

The new oil reserves, known as "pre-salt," present an extraordinary technical challenge, lying under a salt deposit over one-mile thick. The oil reserves themselves are located over four miles deep. I have nightmares thinking of what could happen to this spectacularly beautiful coast. Since its discovery, one hears a lot of euphoric statements of the economic potential of such discovery and precious little about the enormous environmental dangers of exploiting oil at such depths and under such conditions.

The current Chevron oil spill, I hope, will raise the awareness of both politicians and the population to what could happen if a really bad spill were to occur here.

While much of the world is debating how to move away from oil and fossil fuels, Brazil, with its vast natural resources and the largest hydroelectric power usage in the world (around 90 percent of the country's total usage), seems to be going backwards. I wonder if their dream of becoming the world's fifth-largest economy in a decade is feasible without a deep re-evaluation of its energy policy. Oil is becoming harder and harder to extract here and everywhere. Why is it so hard to get the picture?

You can keep up with more of what Marcelo is thinking on Facebook.

re-posted by Armando Rozário - Cabo Frio, Brazil - November 30, 2011

Redmike - we're more concerned with drilling o...

2011-11-30T11:15:44.789-05:00

Redmike - we're more concerned with drilling on national forest-owned land, not on private surface inholdings. Property rights go both ways. The rights of surface owners to access and enjoy their property are compromised in favor of mineral rights owners. When it comes to public lands like state and national forests, we taxpayers are the surface owners, and users of the forest - hunters, anglers, recreation seekers - are losing their rights in favor of industrial use of these public lands. Drillers are also insisting they be allowed to take water resources from forest land to use in the drilling and fracking processes (several million gallons per frack job; typically several fracks per horizontal well).

As a society we have to strike a balance in the way we use and manage our resources and public lands. There is plenty of drilling going on in the Allegheny, but that doesn't mean we can't do a much better job minimizing the impacts of that drilling on all of the surface owners - you and me - who enjoy those lands.

Hi John, Chevron may be held responsible for poll...

2011-11-30T05:51:07.397-05:00

Hi John,

Chevron may be held responsible for polluting the rivers which flow directly onto the Guanabara Bay of Rio de Janeiro. Lest we forget ECO 2012 will be held in Rio next year. read O GLOBO's report which was posted today, the 30th. of November 2011:

Issue of the day 29/11/2011

29/11/2011 21h22 - 21h35 Updated 29/11/2011
Oil collected in the waters of the Campos Basin threatens to contaminate rivers
Commission of the Chamber of Deputies discovered irregularities in the new company that received the waste spill from Chevron.

A committee of the Chamber of Deputies discovered irregularities in the new company that received the waste spill from Chevron for over 20 days, in the Campos Basin. The Federal Police found stains of oil channels that may constitute a risk of contamination to rivers.

The Contecom, company of Duque de Caxias, in the Lowlands, who received the oil that leaked from one of Chevron's oil wells, the license was expired for over a year. Information is the external committee of the House of Representatives investigating the handling of the leak. On Tuesday (29), the parliamentarians were Contecom and filmed in the reservoirs filled to capacity. The company received about 80,000 liters of waste from the Campos Basin.

The Federal Police was also on site. According to agents, there is waste oil into channels within the company. The channels carry water to the drains, which in turn are in contact with the network that flows into rivers.

According to the officer investigating the case, the pools where they are stored waste had overwhelmed the company, so the oil reached the channels. Now, the Federal Police also want to know if the Contecom worked above the capacity limit.

"If there is contamination, expert evidence can only say that. The company serves all the determinations of INEA, "said Bruno Rodriguez, representative of Contecom.

That was not the only irregularity found in the company. An administrative assistant was taken to the headquarters of the Federal Police to provide information. She had signed documents in place of the technical.

Chevron released images taken on Monday (28) in the Frade Field. There are still leaks, but the company claims that they are smaller and that the causes of the accident remain under investigation.

In a hearing on the Environmental Committee of the Senate on the oil spill, the president of IBAMA said that after two days, the institute will complete the analysis of compliance or not, by the company's emergency plan, as licensed . If you have not met, the company will be assessed again in the limit of $ 10 million.

The State Institute for the Environment said the Condecom is in the process of license renewal and able to operate. Technical Institute were second in the company and said they had found irregularities.

re-posted by Armando Rozário - Cabo Frio, Brazil - November 30, 2011

Hi John, You may be interested in an article whic...

2011-11-27T11:26:14.233-05:00

Hi John,

You may be interested in an article which was published today in Folha de S.Paulo. Professor Marcelo Gleiser's topic is "THE LEAK" Nov. 27 - 27/11/2011
The leak
"Every operation within the limits of knowledge involves huge risks. The pre-salt is not an exception to this fact," notes Marcelo Gleiser, professor of theoretical physics at Dartmouth College in Hanover (USA), in an article published in the Folha de S . Paul, 11/27/2011.

According to him, "while other economies struggling to move beyond the use of fossil fuels, Brazil, with its vast hydroelectric network and potential solar and wind, seems to want to go back."

Here is the article.

All operating within the limits of knowledge involves huge risks. The pre-salt will be no different

It was the first serious disaster in recent history of oil exploration off the coast of Rio arrived here this week and was horrified by the headlines about the oil spill in the Frade field, operated by Chevron well in the Campos Basin, 370 kilometers from the continent.

The leak occurs at a depth of 1.2 km and, until Wednesday, was released, according to the company, around 2,500 barrels after 15 days. There are disparities between what the ANP (National Petroleum Agency), observers and NGO SkyTruth Chevron spokesmen are saying.

According to SkyTruth, the leak was about 15 million barrels, much higher than stated by the company. While Chevron says it has 18 ships engaged in rotation for the cleaning of the region, the Federal Police said there was only one. To make matters worse, the company contracted to drill the well, Transocean, is the same that operated the Deepwater Horizon, responsible for the largest spill in U.S. history, the Gulf of Mexico last year.

Consequently, the ANP suspended the activities of Chevron in Brazil and the company denied the possibility of drilling a new well to explore the pre-salt layer. With an estimated reserve of 50 million barrels, the pre-salt is one of the greatest discoveries of the last 30 years. It is no coincidence that when the flight to Rio today, I notice that a reasonable fraction of the passengers work for the oil industry and its subsidiaries.

With increasing world population and, consequently, the consumption of petroleum and its products, it becomes increasingly difficult to find easily exploitable reserves. But the pre-salt really beats all records. With depth of 6 to 7 kilometers of the surface and passing through a salt layer with thickness varying from 200 meters to 2 kilometers, the extraction will be extremely difficult, challenging current technology.

Since I heard about the pre-salt the first time I've had nightmares about the real possibility of ecological disaster of catastrophic proportions, which could compromise the coast of Brazil from Espirito Santo to Santa Catarina.

We hear a lot about the excitement of discovery and how it is feasible to extract oil under these complicated conditions, but very little about measures taken if leaks occur, which seems inevitable. All operating within the limits of knowledge involves huge risks. The pre-salt will be no exception to this fact.

While other economies struggling to move beyond the use of fossil fuels, Brazil, with its vast hydroelectric network and potential solar and wind, seems to want to go back. Of course everyone wants the royalties that come from oil exploration, always with the view of the short-term profit. But such accidents in the Frade field, show the dangers of unbridled exploitation and without strict measures of control.

The pre-salt might be the goose that lays golden eggs in Brazil. Remember that, in Aesop's fable, the owner of the chicken, greedy, impatient, turns out to kill her to get the eggs that she believed she had in her womb. And with no end.

posted by Armando Rozário - petroamerica/macanese - November 27, 2011 - GOOGLE translation

Hi Ali Moshiri, Chevron was named the MOST TOXIC ...

2011-11-26T16:04:38.874-05:00

Hi Ali Moshiri,

Chevron was named the MOST TOXIC energy company of 2011. Congratulations! Your company deserved the environmental trophy!

http://www.accidentsdisasters.com/amazon-defense-coalition-chevron-named-most-toxic-energy-company-2011-g374283982

posted by Armando Rozário - petroamerica - Cabo Frio, Brazil - November 26, 2011

Hi John, The president of Chevron in Latin Americ...

2011-11-26T12:23:15.250-05:00

Hi John,

The president of Chevron in Latin America presented some very strange data on the oil spill in the Campos Basin. READ THIS REPORT: Chevron Says Rio Oil Leak Controlled: Daily
November 25, 2011 | Filed underDaily Update | Posted by Ben Tavener

By Ben Tavener, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Chevron for Africa and Latin America, Ali Moshiri, said on Thursday that the Frade oil field leak was under control and that the slick some 75 miles (120km) from the Rio coastline has now practically disappeared.
Ali Moshiri, Chevron's President for Africa and Latin America, after meeting Brazil's Energy Minister Edison Lobão

Chevron's Ali Moshiri highlighted the region’s “complex geology” and blamed Mother Nature for his company's troubles, photo by Valter Campanato/ABr

He said the U.S. oil giant is now concentrating on sealing the well at the center of the incident, which would now be abandoned, and that the any oil floating in the ocean amounted to one-tenth of a barrel (about four gallons or 16 liters).

Moshiri – who was in talks with Brazil’s Energy Minister, Edison Lobão – said that the company’s response had been “first-class” and that Chevron’s Brazilian subsidiary has one of the best safety records.

He also said that cause of the spill, which first came to light on November 8th, was as yet unknown and that investigations would continue, denying any issue of control within the company.

On Wednesday, the ANP – Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency – decided to suspend all drilling in the Frade oil field – which is completely operated by Chevron some 230 miles (370km) off the Rio de Janeiro state coastline.

The ANP has also rejected Chevron’s request to drill a new well to reach the pre-salt layer, saying that “pre-salt drilling poses risks of a similar nature to that at the affected well, only larger and deeper”.

Read more (in Portuguese).

* The Rio Times Daily Update is a new feature we are offering to help keep you up-to-date with major news as it happens.

posted by Armando Rozário - Cabo Frio, Brazil - November 26, 2011

Development of private holdings inside the forest ...

2011-11-26T09:38:10.949-05:00

Development of private holdings inside the forest cannot be denied and has been going on prior to and since the Allegheny was formed. This is a property rights issue, not an environmental issue.

Yes, there will be drilling on the Allegheny.

Sara, I forgot to post the URL/link, here it is: ...

2011-11-25T16:39:02.497-05:00

Sara,

I forgot to post the URL/link, here it is: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2011/2011-02-14-03.html

posted by Armando Rozário

Sara, This report on Equador's rainforest and...

2011-11-25T16:31:11.316-05:00

Sara,

This report on Equador's rainforest and what Chevron had done, may interest you a lot. The U.S. Forest Service might have already taken notice.

posted by Armando Rozario - Cabo Frio, Brazil - November 25, 2011

Hi John, Thanks for suggesting a much smaller URL...

2011-11-24T11:23:13.789-05:00

Hi John,

Thanks for suggesting a much smaller URL. SkyTruth has shown that censorship in not imposed on radical points-of-view. Paulo Schueller's opinion on the Chevron issue is rather strong, nevertheless he has raised some important issues....which were not posted nor published by the mainstream media in Brazil.
posted by Armando Rozário - Cabo Frio, Brazil - November 24, 2011

I think Chevron's CEO inferred that his compan...

2011-11-23T18:20:40.736-05:00

I think Chevron's CEO inferred that his company acted responsibly to the spill, but we all think that he is a good 'pretender', Check Reuter's latest report, which was posted a few hours ago: CHEVRON SAYS ACTED RESPONSIBLY TO BRAZIL SPILL (sic.) - http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/23/chevron-brazil-idUSE5E7J404520111123
Like · · about an hour ago ·

Armando Rozario Updated report, issued one hour later - http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/23/chevron-brazil-idUSN1E7AM1DR20111123
UPDATE 1-Chevron says acted responsibly on Brazil spill
www.reuters.com
‎* Local CEO Buck says Chevron acted quickly, safely* Chevron brought spill unde...See More
about an hour ago · Like ·
Armando Rozario ANP SUSPENDS CHEVRON'S DRILLING RIGHTS - http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/23/us-chevron-brazil-anp-idUKTRE7AM2G420111123?type=companyNews
ANP says suspends Chevron drilling rights in Brazil
www.reuters.com
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's National Oil Regulator (ANP) said on Wednesday th...See More

Possibly elevated temperature in the creek IF the ...

2011-11-23T18:13:49.263-05:00

Possibly elevated temperature in the creek IF the overflow from the pit is occurring during drilling/fracking; if it's been sitting around long enough (a few days?) the pit fluids will be at ambient temperature.

What do you suppose an aerial thermal image would ...

2011-11-23T16:42:14.466-05:00

What do you suppose an aerial thermal image would reveal?

Here's a small link to Paulo Schueller's a...

2011-11-23T14:26:40.544-05:00

Here's a small link to Paulo Schueller's article: http://bit.ly/u5D0fj

Hi John, We all want to know what went wrong. Jou...

2011-11-23T13:57:32.007-05:00

Hi John,

We all want to know what went wrong. Journalist Paulo Schueller has some information, I have already posted it about 4 hours ago in the Pravda website, here is a Google translation: - CHEVRON: The bill belongs to ANP, the "National Agency of Privatization" - posted by PCB in Brazil yesterday - http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcb.org.br%2Fportal%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D3272%3Achevron-a-conta-e-da-anp-a-agencia-nacional-da-privataria%26catid%3D35%3Ao-petroleo-tem-que-ser-nosso&ei=SRPNTuKaLpO-gAfw3OTWDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ7gEwAA&prev=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DCHEVRON%3A%2BA%2Bconta%2B%25C3%25A9%2Bda%2BANP%2C%2Ba%2B%2522Agencia%2BNacional%2Bda%2BPrivataria%2522%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1003%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns
Like · · 3 hours ago ·