NTUCB says gov’t can’t afford to ignore coalition
dylan reneau
On Wednesday, Elsa Paz, San Pedro’s U.D.P. mayor announced that she is joining the Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage, the fast growing group that is calling for a ban on offshore drilling for oil. Paz resonated quite clearly that she intended to canvass Manuel Heredia, area representative for San Pedro and Minister of Tourism, to give his support to the coalition. That decision pitted Paz against her own government. Coming on the heels of that bombshell in which the San Pedro town council along with its residents are calling for a ban on offshore drilling, was the announcement that the National Trade Union Congress of Belize was also joining the coalition. According to NTUCB’s president, Dylan Renau, the coalition’s voice is one which the government can no longer afford to ignore and suggested that GOB should not try to test their strength.
Jose Sanchez
Can the government afford to not listen to the NTUCB?
Dylan Reneau, President, NTUCB
“Government cannot afford to not to listen to us, two and a half years has passed; we have been monitoring what they have been doing, what they said they would have done. And we are of the opinion they have not been as genuine as they came into office. And certainly we are here to use the quote unquote, our power to try and steer them in the right direction. I don’t think that government can afford that; honestly they can’t afford to fight against the NTUCB right now. The NTUCB has decided to join the coalition. There are certain particular areas that we want to work on. One of them is Labor legislation as it pertains to the oil industry. We have an oil Industry in the country already with B.N.E and looking at our labor laws, certainly they don’t do justice to that industry. We also have the issue of the strengthening of legislation that deals with oil industry. We believe that the legislation is not strong enough so we want lend our hand to the coalition to strengthen that legislation because obviously we are under assault. Obviously, we are blessed with oil, so I think it’s a matter of trying to set all the cards in place to ensure that we have equity and fairness with the oil industry.”
Jose Sanchez
Now, with the call of the coalition, some say ban, some say moratorium, specifically what do you want as N.T.U.C.B with that?”
Dylan Reneau
“Well, ourissue right now, is ban because we’re not ready for it, especially for offshore drilling. As we get all the parts in place then maybe if we can do it safely and for the benefit of the country of Belize then we would consider indulging in some of it; but for right now, its ban because we are not ready for it and it will be a catastrophe waiting to happen.”
Jose Sanchez
In terms of numbers, how strong is the NTUCB?
Dylan Reneau
“Well certainly, I will just point you back to 2005 and you know what happened then, so we have been quiet, we been grouping, we’ve been retooling and re-strengthening. So if the government doesn’t believe we’re strong enough then they will have to test us and see what we can bring to the table.”
From June 21st New York Times article:
“Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas found 11 cases where crews on deepwater rigs had lost control of wells and then activated blowout preventers to prevent a spill. In only 6 of those cases were the wells brought under control, leading the researchers to conclude that in actual practice, blowout preventers used by deepwater rigs had a failure rate of 45%.”
In two studies , in 2002 and 2004, one of the oil industries premier authorities on blowout preventers, West Engineering Services of Brookshire, Texas, found a more basic problem: even when everything worked right, some blind shear rams still FAILED to cut pipe.
West’s experts concluded that calculations used by makers of blowout preventers overestimated the cutting ability of blind shear rams. (the blades that are pushed together with hydraulics to pinch pipes shut and stop oil leaks like the one in the Gulf).
Modern drill pipe is nearly twice as strong as older pipes of the same size. In addition, the intense pressure and frigid temperatures of new deep water drilling make it tougher to shear/cut a drilling pipe. These and other “additive pressures” the researchers found, can demand HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of pounds of extra cutting force that blowout preventers being used now cannot produce.
The team examined 14 new rigs, they found that 7 were not even checked to see shear rams would work in DEEP water. Of the remaining 7 only THREE were found to be able to shear pipe at their maximum rated water depths.
This non-functional drilling equipment is likely not only used in the U.S., but also worldwide in the deep sea oil drilling industry. As we all know these multinationals oil companies operate worldwide and often standardize their drilling equipment. (use the same equipment worldwide).
There is much more damming information in this article and it is worth reading for the statistics and facts concerning deep sea oil drilling, the title of the article is: “Between Blast and Spill, One last, Flawed Hope”—New York Times, Monday June 21st, Page A1.