Big Friggin' Surprise

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1521&e=1&u=/afp/20030325/pl_afp/iraq_postwar_us_oil_1

― Marcel Post (Marcel Post), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 23:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Half of me says "How the hell can they keep getting away w/things like this?"
The other half says "Well maybe they actually were the best co. for the job."

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 23:26 (twenty-three years ago)

How many outfits can actually do something like this? How many have experience of doing it in a war zone?
Would you rather they 'put it out to tender' and wasted days while the oil burned?
I'm more interested in how they actually go about capping something like that, somehow I don't think a damp tea-towel would cut it.

― Simeon (Simeon), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 23:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, yeah...I imagine Halliburton knows the territory--they do have lots of experience with the Iraqui oil fields. After all, they sold the the country millions of dollars of parts (through foreign subsidiaries, circumventing in UN sanctions) while Cheney was in charge.

― Marcel Post (Marcel Post), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 00:08 (twenty-three years ago)

Oil well fires - first you cut off the oil, either cut the pipelines or pulg the well (I don't know how this is done but I have read and heard that this is the first and hardest step in terms of time and resources).

Then you simply set off an explosive at the site of the fire which robs the surrounding atmosphere of all oxygen for a brief period. With no O2 the oil cannot help but put itself out and with any luck it will cool off enough that it does not re-ignite itself once oxygen diffuses back into contact with it.

― Millar (Millar), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 00:15 (twenty-three years ago)

Cool, fight fire with BIG FUCKING EXPLOSION. Me likey!

― Simeon (Simeon), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 00:53 (twenty-three years ago)

I seriously doubt that there aren't dozens of companies in the USA who are just as competent.
I think that why so many people get so angry at the Bush Admin. They're really not much more corrupt than any other gov't(at a core level, I mean, the illegal invasion of Iraq puts them into rareified air), but they're so goddamn smu g about it.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 04:49 (twenty-three years ago)

They should get Homer and Bart to put out the fires!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 06:46 (twenty-three years ago)

boots and coots!!!

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 06:50 (twenty-three years ago)

You know, I always think to myself "I've got to stop reading stuff like Disinfo.com, it's making me paranoid" but then you see things like this and you realise, no, I'm not paranoid *enough*. The world really is that scary and nepotistic. Sigh.

― kate, Wednesday, 26 March 2003 09:21 (twenty-three years ago)

They should send in the cast of Jackass to take care of it. Be done in a jiffy, and cheap too. Downside: More unhealthy shots of man ass on TV.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 27 March 2003 04:13 (twenty-three years ago)

As far as putting out the fires I heard the company Boots & Coots on NPr, say the first line of defense was water. They're piping in water b/c they believe the fires aren't *too* severe and can be subdued this way. Even so, this route will take 30-45 days to extingush the fires.

If said fires are too extensive for mere water they will move on to explosives. (the explosives choke the fire of oxygen, thereby putting it out.).

― That Girl (thatgirl), Thursday, 27 March 2003 07:17 (twenty-three years ago)

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