SW10Chap

There are some who have tried to explain football's offside rule at the breakfast table ("...so the jam is the goalkeeper, the Marmite is the last defender and this attacking sugar=spoon is going to flick the sugar-cube - just as the milk-jug is level with the Marmite...") and others who have related the size of oil-spills to swimming-pools. For those who prefer this simplified-visual approach…

On the Sep 1 2011, Halliburton filed a claim against BP for "for negligent misrepresentation, business disparagement and defamation" according to this press release on Halliburton's website. The remarkably short release goes on to say that "Halliburton has learned that BP provided Halliburton inaccurate information about the actual location of hydrocarbon zones in the Macondo well. The actual location of the hydrocarbon zones is critical…

Having carefully observed the two characters focused on the computer for a few minutes, the man in the tailored suit turned to his colleague. "So what exactly is the proposal?" he asked. "It's quite simple," answered his younger colleague, "they're prepared to sell their place at the table, their hand and all of their chips - for cash." "Mmm. And you've seen what they're holding?"…

Ed Milliband wins the Labour leadership over his brother with a margin of around 1%. With a debt apparently owed to the Unions and perhaps the old left, will he be able to create a credible shadow cabinet of MPs who didn't support his candidacy? Is Labour doomed to a Parliament of infighting as they try to discover the successor to New Labour? What kind…

Image Credit: Image by BP, copyright BP plc. High-res version available here. More here from the Houston Chronicle and the BBC. Cause not yet known, but given that Transocean say the rig was drilling then I can only assume there's been a blowout. Another possibility may be a problem during testing, though that wouldn't really fit with the 'drilling' statement. Estimates of 11 to 15…

the FPSO testing programme is likely to take several weeks, because they will want a few days steady reservoir info at each stage. ...because it will take a few days to obtain steady reservoir info at each stage. The pressure graph looks like an inverted exponential curve and the trick is to call "stable!" when you believe there won't be another millibar increase in the…

I would suggest that they have picked that location because it is the only FLAT drilling site for miles around It probably is a question of flatness - there are certainly much higher points nearby! <arben - you're right about the complexity of the geography: this is the terrain - it's pretty daunting, dipping steeply from SW to NE, but with two steep-sided ridges running…

I see from the photo's source that it is captioned "Oil drilling platform in Jayawijaya Mountains, Indonesia" It's a picture that's all over the web, and if that's an oil-drilling platform then I'm a gorilla's uncle. More likely to be related to mineral prospecting/mapping - there's quite a bit of gold in them there mountains. It just illustrates that tournesol's statement that "people don't climb…

Thanks for all the thoughts on this - it would be good to hear more from the company because, as things stand, it leaves me feeling a little uncomfortable. I have no problem with a company deciding to elevate their VP of Finance to the Board, normally I would expect a statement  to go with it explaining why the shareholders' company is going to benefit…

Does anyone know what Cindy Cagle is expected to bring to SOCO International (LON:SIA) as an executive director? (Announcement here.) Apart from her personal relationship, I know nothing of her previous experience or specializations outside Soco and I'd be interested to know why the Board believe her to be a valuable addition.   SW10