Geologist on BP Well: ‘We know the formation is destroyed’
Controversial geologist Chris Landau weighs in with his latest thoughts on the Macondo well disaster. Snippets:
- He has little confidence in new cap and relief wells
- ‘We know the formation is destroyed, they destroyed it while drilling’
- ‘You cannot seal a blownout formation from the top or bottom’
- ‘Can’t seal a tire with 50 holes in it through the valve stem’
- Recommends drilling 8 total relief wells to relieve pressure
I don’t pretend to possess the expertise necessary to judge Mr. Landau’s claims. For me, his commentary is food for thought, and provides some balance against the rose-tinted views presented by BP and Wall Street analysts.
We should welcome outside perspectives on the Macondo well blowout. After all, official oil flow-rate estimate were still 5,000 bpd when NPR investigations suggested 50-100k bpd. We know now that the BP/govt numbers were likely underestimating flow by 10x. Whether this lowballing was intentional is secondary to the fact that it may have hampered response efforts.
We need input from independent experts. When they’re wrong, it will be refuted. If they’re right, it may assist response and containment efforts.
Here’s the interview with Mr. Landau. It’s worth a watch, plus it has some of the better leak footage I’ve seen so far. My advice: Consume with salt, but consider.
I did some quick research on Mr. Landau to make sure he is at least quasi-legit, and am happy to report he passed a quick PH test. He’s an oil & gas geologist with drilling experience, and has some rather unorthodox theories outside of the Macondo well.
I checked out a few of his peer-reviewed papers. And they’re quite intriguing. Chris is a proponent of Inorganic Oil Theory (inorganic, as opposed to fossil). Some of his peer-reviewed work on that can be found in PDF form here on page 94 and here on page 17. It’s a little chemistry-heavy, but there’s some good meat there.
Inorganic oil is an intriguing prospect. It’s not as if fossil fuels would be the first ubiquitous knowledge to be debunked.
Disclosure: I own BP puts
2 Comments
Matt Simmons is either disingenuous or really knows something..I suggest you listen because the guy is betting his good reputation on this:
Matthew Simmons: Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Energy Institute & Former Chairman Emeritus of Simmons & Company International – Matt was past Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association, and served as energy adviser to President George W. Bush, among others. Simmons is author of the book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy, which examines oil reserve decline rates to help raise awareness of the unreliability of Middle East oil reserves. Simmons is one of the top minds in the world when it comes to energy. His work has been followed internationally for over 35 years and Matt’s company Simmons & Company International has served as co-manager on over $38 billion in public debt and equity offerings. Simmons & Company has also acted as financial advisor in $140 billion of transactions, including 550 merger and acquisitions worth over $97 billion.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/24mpsf2
I posted a link to this article on another blog and I couldn’t believe the angry responses I received. It appears that there is a concerted effort out there to destroy Matt’s credibility. I have to ask why his theories are such a threat that so many would exert energy to smear his reputation? The truth is always dangerous to a corrupt ruling elite.