BP Spokesman Odone Confirms BOP is Tilting

Oil Spill containment efforts could be putting strain on damaged well

Meanwhile, observers monitoring the video feeds from the robotic vehicles working on the sea floor have noticed BP measuring a tilt in the 40-ton blowout preventer stack with a level and a device called an inclinometer.


Odone, the BP spokesman, confirmed that his company has been monitoring the lean of the blowout preventer, which BP believes began tilting when the Deepwater Horizon rig sank and the riser pipe got bent. "That is tilting and has been tilting since the rig went down," Odone said. "We believe that it was caused by the collapse of the riser."

source article

The above quote comes from a long article so you will need to scroll down to see it. The article was published 2 days ago yet this comment seems to have slipped by un-noticed . So, official confirmation of an issue many have been talking about for weeks

[edit on 20/6/10 by cosmicpixie]

This is wild... Since last night we also had an ATS member notice this very thing!!!

The thread is www.abovetopsecret.com...

This really corroborates what that member saw!

Ut oh.

Here is quite the blog from June 11 on this subject. I read it the other day and wondered if it was true. This guy has all sorts of links and data and illustrations. Source

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Can i just say i am amazed at the level of information we at ATS have been able to put together about this, and the conclusions which many of us comet using the data available is shown to be true....

Now this is obviously excluding the high level of conjecture that occurs as well, but ATS is definitely the first place to find out about this stuff...

reply to post by HunkaHunka


Yep, I have. I read through that thread and noticed the discussion of the tilt, which is what made me find the Higgins blog. Makes me worry more now. Ha.

Did you see my WaPo story about Atlantis in your whistleblower topic?

reply to post by HunkaHunka


That's because it's full of information junkies like myself who forget they have work to do and sit here for hours drinking tea and scouring websites It is indeed an amazing forum and great community to be part of

reply to post by cosmicpixie


currently, it doesn't appear to be tilting.
www.sanaracreations.fi...
Do you have another site that offers different camera views than the above?

[edit on 20-6-2010 by Violater1]

reply to post by Violater1


people have been talking of the tilt and/or swaying for days if not weeks. Looking at the pics on that link to be honest it's not easy to tell. You have a BP spokesman saying this stuff....granted BP speak alot of BS but I doubt this is the kind of thing they would lie about in a comment that they know would be picked up on around the globe ? There's only so long they can keep a lid on certain things (excuse the pun), this was bound to come out after many weeks of people noticing it for themselves .

reply to post by Violater1


I'd think it would be a bit hard for the untrained eye to see the tilt on those live feed cams at a glance.

BP confirmed it was tilting. Scientists and some continuing observers are saying it is after and are posting live feed screenshots and doing comparisons and measurements.

So did you look at the information in the links posted so far in the topic and somehow disagree with something?

So my simplistic understanding is that basically the pipe is holding up the BOP and that the BOP is not resting on the sea floor at all. The pipe mechanism, sub-surface, is pipe in the hole surrounded by cement surrounded by the earth's rock. If the BOP is leaning, then it is an indication of the degradation of the sea floor (or sub-sea floor) itself. Is this correct?

Thank you cosmicpixie for the information and the link.

Part of my soul is in the gulf and every time something changes I get butterflies in my stomach.

S&F for you.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


I'm not doubting that it's leaning. I've seen the links and read the comments from the device's manufacture in Scotland. I believe that it is supposed to be leaning 15% more than it was at at the beginning of the blow-out. I just don't see it in the collection of live stream videos from
www.sanaracreations.fi...
This site has an array of 12 displays, from several ROV's.
I just want to know if there is another site that displays additional views of the BOP.
I do believe that the seafloor beneath the BOP is eroding away, even to the point of causing a web of cracks with additional leaks.
If we could all monitor the live feed displays, one's that would currently display the leaning BOP, when TSHTF (collapse of the seafloor) we could pass it along through the internet (that is if the obamanation doesn't use the kill switch).

Can anyone answer these...

When the BOP topples how likely is in in % terms that the sea bed will collpase around the area and how many square miles of collapse are likely ?

If the sea floor collapses is it pretty certain a tsunami will occur ?

If the sea bed collapses and no tsunami then BP can still be out there on the gulf with it's various ships collecting as much oil as they can/burning the rest off etc...?

The question is not is it tilting,

it is if the degree of tilt is CHANGING [or not].

there could be a static unchanging angle of tilt. [leaning tower of Pisa (although it is shifting a little bit)]

It is if the angle, degree-of-tilt is changing.
Which could indicate if the sea bed is shifting or frighteningly threatening to rupture.

Originally posted by slank
The question is not is it tilting,

it is if the degree of tilt is CHANGING [or not].

there could be a static unchanging angle of tilt. [leaning tower of Pisa (although it is shifting a little bit)]

It is if the angle, degree-of-tilt is changing.
Which could indicate if the sea bed is shifting or frighteningly threatening to rupture.

so in other words a BOP sway rather than a BOP lean ?

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
So my simplistic understanding is that basically the pipe is holding up the BOP and that the BOP is not resting on the sea floor at all. The pipe mechanism, sub-surface, is pipe in the hole surrounded by cement surrounded by the earth's rock. If the BOP is leaning, then it is an indication of the degradation of the sea floor (or sub-sea floor) itself. Is this correct?

You are totally correct. I read an article about this last week that I will try to find. But the gist is this: These rigs are so heavy that engineers don't bother trying to design a tube large enough to hold it up on their own (it would be way to wide and thick). So they rely on the well's sides (the sea floor) to hold the pipe upright (they used a metaphor of many hands grasping the well bore to hold it upright, up and down the shaft). Now, there are two ways that the BOP rig could fall. 1 is from a break above the sea floor (which I don't think we are seeing), and another is if the "web of hands" ie, the sea floor, loses it's integrity and is unable to apply the usual pressures along the well. This is the worst case scenario, and also appears to be what is happening. Esp. in light of recent news that leaks were occurring into the sea bed even before the rig sank, and evidence from the top kill attempt that indicated the well was no longer patent 1000 feet into the ground.

When this collapses, it won't be an either or situation (collapse of BOP rig or the underlying sea floor). It will be happening simultaneously: the floor will collapse as the lean of the rig will exacerbates it further, causing a massive upheaval underwater as they both fail. I believe the article was also the one to state that this is not an "if" but "when" scenario, and that BP is essentially in a race to get the relief wells working prior to the collapse.

Edit: Here is an excellent summary from a moderator of another board concerning this subject. It also has all of the references from which the summary was created, so there is a lot to research. I know there is some bad blood between these 2 sites, but I'm hoping the TPTB at ATS see the importance of rapid information sharing no matter what the source on this issue, as we try and piece together what will directly effect all of us.

www.godlikeproductions.com...

[edit on 6/20/2010 by DeathTribble]

What does this mean? If it complelely falls over what happens?

What does BOP mean?

I can't believe no one has answered my questions about this.

I need to change my nickname to "thread killer".

Haha...nah...you'd have to fight me for the title of thread killer.

The BOP is the shorthand for the Blow Out Preventor, the mechanism that was supposed to slam shut and shut off the oil flow in the event of any type of problem or trouble.

If it falls over or shifts I believe it represents either the surrounding sea floor degrading or the whole structure eroding down to nothing meaning there is nothing other than sea floor and what would then become simply an oil "vent"

Thats my best take on it, but I am not even close to an expert and its simply my best understanding.

reply to post by XKrossX


Thank you for answering my questions.

It does seem that I'll post something in a thread and then it sits and never any replies.

Sorry this happens to you too.

I thought if it tilted over completly it would cause a larger hole to open up for the oil to escape.

Thank you for the great explainations.



[edit on 20-6-2010 by MagicaRose]