Anecdotal BP Rumor

[Coyote_Bandit]

I'm told by a trucker that hauls sand for fraking operations that he has been told to prepare to spend a lot of time in the Gulf area in the not so distant future. Apparently BP plans on having the tainted beach sand trucked to a refinery.

Small wonder that nobody is trying too hard to protect the shore and marshes. Once again it is all about the money.

[JuniperLea]

1. $$ is their only concern...

I said it from day one... and was royally pummelled for the opinion by many here. In this case, I really do hate saying I told you so... :cry:

[gateley]

3. It's always about the money. Always. nt

[glinda]

15. Yup. Focus is on money and not stopping the leak.

[babylonsister]

2. What does that mean? They're going to separate the sand from the

oil and use it? I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly don't know. I wonder if they'd then return the sand? Or replace it??

[Coyote_Bandit]

5. I don't know how

they intend on separating the two. Or whether they intend on returning the sand.

Just reporting what is widely rumored among truckers in the oil industry.

[TheWraith]

16. I don't think that that's possible.

Even aside from separating the oil from the sand, after oil has been exposed to the elements for awhile, it begins to "weather," or oxidize and break down. Not quickly, mind you, but even breaking down a bit is enough to make it unusable for refining.

[handmade34]

4. unfortunately

it always is the money and that is exactly why we are in trouble... I am outraged by the people wanting to continue drilling because of jobs and the economy... our society is full of short sighted lunatics

[ipfilter]

6. Other than refining it, what else could they do with the oil?

It's not like it can go to a landfill.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. they will try to squeeze every last fricking penny out of that tragedy...

[lunatica]

8. If it isn't taken out of the sand then it will be toxic sand and

where are they supposed to put the oil soaked sand? Because there's going to be a hell of a lot of it in the months to come.

[Swamp Rat]

9. I doubt they will extract any significant profit

Nothing surprises me anymore, though.

[Llewlladdwr]

10. Geez folks...

BP is going to truck contaminated sand to a facility where it can be cleaned and y'all are complaining? I'm not understanding the logic here...

[babylonsister]

17. That was not clear in the OP which is why we're questioning

what exactly this means. If that's their intent, that sounds good to me.

[MineralMan]

11. Hmm...it's one way to clean the sand. I can't imagine that it's

profitable, though. Oil just isn't that valuable. It might, however, be cheaper than on-site sand cleaning. If that's the case, then it's an economic decision, but not necessarily one designed to make a profit, but perhaps one designed to reduce cost.

BP sucks. Their disaster is an unmitigated horror. However, it may be that this is a practical solution for cleaning contaminated sand. I just don't know. We shall see.

[Politicalboi]

12. The British are coming!

They will probably sell back the sand they cleaned. Always looking for money. Here's a video of how executives handle a spill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM&feature=youtube_gdata

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. If only Costner could invent a sand cleaning machine....

[nenagh]

14. I don't know how much money they get out of the oil/sand mix..

But I, for one, am delighted that it is not being dumped into a land fill somewhere... surely it is toxic waste..

I would hope thay can 'purify' the sand in some way that it can be used, recycle, reuse..

But BP has so much to answer for.. I am still glued to TheOilDrum... which is really a Peak Oil site...

[Ruby the Liberal]

18. Maybe they are going to build barriers?

IIRC, that was Jindal's request.

[Hansel]

19. I'm not sure there is anything nefarious here. Where else should they put it?

I'd rather have them take it there than to a landfill.

The process of hauling the sand and sifting through it to extract the oil is likely to be far more expensive than it's worth so I don't think the intent is to make money.

I just hope they can clean the oil out and return it.