Atlantis Rising

There's a dangerous new sea monster in the Gulf of Mexico -- and it's man-made

There is a 58-million-metric-ton, semi-submersible behemoth with 18 wells sitting in the Gulf of Mexico. It is Atlantis, BP's massive oil and gas platform, named after the fabled island first referenced in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.

Located 150 miles south of New Orleans, this mega-rig is "drilled in some of the deepest waters to date -- 4,000 to 7,000 feet -- Atlantis' field size, water depth and reservoir structure make it among the most technologically challenging developments ever undertaken by BP," according to the company's Web site.

The nonprofit consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch has requested that construction be halted and an investigation into Atlantis' environmental impact be launched, citing that "more than 6,000 documents that should have required engineering approval -- including those for pipelines, flowlines, wellheads and other important systems -- do not have the required documentation."

"We are very concerned that the lack of final, engineer-approved documentation may mean that the platform has serious design problems," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch, in a letter sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Director Liz Birnbaum, according to a July 8 press release.

"We fear that these deficiencies increase the risk of catastrophic operator errors, leading to harm to platform workers, the marine environment and local fishing communities."

"A legendary Greek isle may have inspired the name," says BP. "But there is nothing ancient or mythical about it."

True, this project is brand-new and very real. But that doesn't mean it's good or forward-looking. After all, Atlantis is looking for fossil fuel. And if environmentalists have their way, the project will sink to the bottom of the sea, just like its legendary namesake.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign a Food & Water Watch petition urging Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Congress to launch an immediate investigation regarding the regulation of the Atlantis, to immediately suspend production at the Atlantis and to call for oversight hearings on the MMS (U.S citizens)
• Sign an Oceana petition urging Congress to reinstate the pre-existing moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (U.S. citizens)

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• Ashley Judd to Congress: Commit Some Cap and Trade Revenue to Help Wildlife (April 25, 2009)
• Selling the Arctic's Future to the Oil Industry (March 6, 2009)
• Lawsuit Filed to Protect Wildlife from Oil Drilling (July 12, 2008)

image: munchicken