The big platform almost tipped completely over during that incident, and it took a week to pump out the water and get the ballast tanks balanced again. Six weeks later it weathered a blow from Hurricane Katrina, and the last few brushes from the big storms never seemed to bother the immense platform—until now. The 650mm torpedo was a little more than the design engineers had ever planned for.
“What could have caused this?” The engineer aboard knew they had not suffered a direct hit from Victor this time. Yet the damage was plain to see. “Can you get a bit lower, I want to check the other side.” The platform had finally sorted out its teething troubles and was brought on-line in June of 2008. She was expected to deliver all of a billion barrels of oil over her 25 year industrial life span, but this was a problem that could cause a drastic setback in that schedule. The 250,000 barrels she might have contributed to that total today were obviously not going to be delivered, let alone the daily expected quota of 200 million cubic feet of gas. She was obviously floundering, and in very deep water, sitting right astride block 778/822 in the Mississippi Canyon, the bottom over a mile away, some 6300 feet below. One of her massive cranes was already completely underwater.
“Damn, with Mad Dog damaged we can’t lose Thunder Horse,” said the engineer.
Mad Dog was dubbed one of the 50 projects to change the world by Goldman Sachs, sporting the world’s largest single piece truss spar, one of the biggest lifts ever set in the Gulf of Mexico, about 190 miles south of New Orleans in the Green Canyon plot. The big dog was permanently moored to the seabed, with a capacity to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil and 60 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, much smaller than Thunder Horse, but significant. She was also damaged, but still intact.
“Shall I spread the word?” The pilot gave the engineer a sheepish look.
“Better tell the techs on Mad Dog to get over here first,” said the engineer. Crews were already working to restore the 24-inch lateral connecting Mad Dog to the Caesar oil pipeline. Her Natural gas was transported via a 16-inch lateral connected to the Cleopatra gas pipeline, both part of BPs Mardi Gras Transportation System in the Gulf.
“Lord,” the engineer was scratching his head, eyes wide as he surveyed the platform below them now. “We’ve got a fire down there too! With Caesar and Cleopatra off line, and big rigs like this in the water, we’re buggered for weeks, mate. Better blow the horn. This baby needs help fast. Damn thing’s about to go down under!”
“Right-o,” said the pilot, flipping his headset on to begin transmitting. “Mad Dog, Mad Dog, this is BP Survey, Over. “
A scratch voice answered in a few seconds. “Go ahead, Survey.”
“Thunder Horse down, mates. Repeat. Thunder Horse down. Survey engineer says we’ll need all your people out this way on the double, with anything you can float, over.”
Someone swore on the other end of the transmission. Then the voice came back, “Roger that, Survey. Thunder Horse down.”
The Saga Continues…
Kirov Saga
Nine Days Falling
As Fedorov launches his daring mission to the past to rescue Orlov, Volsky is caught up in a web of intrigue spun out from the dark corners of the KGB. The long journey west is fraught with danger for Fedorov’s team when they encounter something bewildering and truly astounding, an incident that leads them deeper into the mystery and origin of Rod-25. Yet even as they stalk Orlov’s shadow, the hunt is joined by Beria’s NKVD and Haselden’s 30 Commando in 1942.
Karpov faces his toughest challenge yet when Kirov is hunted by a US Carrier Strike Group and a determined Captain with orders to sink the Russian battlecruiser at any cost. Meanwhile, a desperate situation in the Caspian Sea endangers Volsky’s attempt to reach and rescue Fedorov’s team. The lines of destiny meet in a Nexus Point of violence and mayhem that will decide the fate of the world.
As the fuse of conflict is lit across the globe, the dread war has finally begun when the Chinese move to bring home their long wayward son—Taiwan. Combat begins from the very first chapter and rages throughout the entire novel as the war begins on the high seas and burns like a searing fire into the vital oil rich regions of the world. From the pulsing