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Originally Posted by BigDL  |
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Seems the onus of proof is on pipeline operator to prove the line was well maintained and operated.
First there was a leak, if this is in the maintenance and operating plan not a good idea IMO.
Second the operator is one that introduced the idea of being lucky. Why pick on CM? |
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Pick on CM? Hah. I think he can take it. I’ve seen him wrassle a bear.
My efforts in this thread are not as much directed at individuals, even though individuals have given me the examples to work with. My objective is to battle this outdated, unhelpful perception of industry.
It’s been a long time (about 100 years) since oilmen were running around in glee when oil gushed from the top of a derrick, spreading for miles. Crazy bastards. Now we do everything we can to prevent that from happening.
Oil Blowout.jpg
It’s been even longer since we stupidly placed hundreds of derricks in the same field, racing against our neighbors to pull the most the fastest. Now we know that not only is that not safe, nor equitable, it can irreparably damage the reservoir making the remaining reserves inaccessible to anyone. Greed and ignorance is always an ugly pairing.
oil history 1.jpg
We no longer, in a display of pyrotechnical idiocy, routinely flare terrible quantities of natural gas to produce oil. We could light up the sky for miles around and BBQ weinies from a mile away. Now we recognize the value of natural gas and have developed the technology to conserve it.
Being a maritimer BigDL, do you remember the time when the farmers used to pitchfork lobsters into their fields for fertilizer? Or more recently, the cod fishing industry issues?
Gone are the days when other industries are permitted to use the rivers as sewage outlets, or routinely spew toxic clouds from their stacks. Agriculture thankfully discontinued the use of DDT and other chemicals that turned out to be more harmful than helpful.
Are we all good now? No, and probably never will be. But it’s a foolish assumption to believe that any long-standing major industry player having made a significant investment would not operate, maintain or inspect their equipment properly.
The petroleum industry has enough risk to manage without needlessly adding more in the form of sloppy management or regulatory non-compliance.
Industry is helped by and appreciates public feedback and reporting. We are hopefully going to be neighbors for a very long time. However, those members of the concerned public who (despite having access to the facts) constantly feed back and disseminate false assumptions or claim outdated practices are still in use today are being about as helpful as they can be without being any help at all.
Have you ever operated and maintained a piece of machinery properly and still had it fail? I have and still view Jeep products with some trepidation today. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so hypocritical. I understand they build Jeep products much better these days.
And, lastly, if I was the spokesperson for Plains Midstream, I too would be humbly lauding luck and not boasting about my company’s management or maintenance skills (even if I believed they were without fault). Wouldn't you?
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