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BP announces 'top kill' has failed to stop Gulf oil leak

jamesrage said:
I am wondering why they can't shove some epanding foam down the hole and let it expand or and inflatable bladder down a pipe and expand the bladder with water to plug the hole and then seal it with cement. Of course I am no engieneer and I do not know how those thigs would work that deep, but it sounds like a better than idea than just hoping a box or tophat can stop the leak.
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It is because of the suspected location of the actual leak. Several thousand feet down, the production casing is ruptured. This means that the oil can flow up between the production casing and the outer casing. Normally a blow out will travel between the drill string and the production casing, which is easier to catch in the annular of the BOP. Complicating things further is the fact that there was still 8000+ feet of drill string in the well, with no drill bit on the end. This makes it essentially an open pipe at the bottom. Since the shear rams on the BOP did not completely sever the drill string and close, there is also oil coming out of the drill string. Very very difficult situation here.

Jerry said:
I was wondering why they can't service the BOP's seals, refill it's hydraulics and then activate it. I mean the damn thing tried to close, it just couldn't because of a leak. I'm no engineer but it seems to me that a hydraulic leak on a piece of equipment should be faster/better/cheaper than plugging the well.
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The annular seal that was damaged during drilling is not something you can go in and service while the BOP is in it's current state. Also, the shear rams that were supposed to cut the drill string and then seal failed, apparently because they tried to sever the pipe at one of the joints (which it is not designed to do).

Jerry said:
Alternatively, BOPs are designed to stack on top of each other. Can't they attach another BOP unit to this stack and flip the switch?
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The concern with this here is that nobody knows what the runaway flow has done to further weaken the BOP. If another were stacked on top and then closed, the extreme pressures that would build up inside of the original BOP could make it fail completely, making the leak astronomically worse. In an even worse case scenario, since there is little confidence in the cement job, the entire production casing could get blown out of the well (along with both BOP's), and now you have a GIANT hole spewing a unrestricted flow from the reservoir.

LMRP cap has potential, but after they cut off the damaged riser, getting it on there will be like trying to attach a slip fitting onto a firehose while it is blasting full force. This will not fully end until the relief wells are complete and the runaway well is cemented at the reservoir ceiling.
 
danarhea said:
Easier said than done. You do realize that the pressure of the hydrocarbons coming out of that well is thousands of pounds per square inch, don't you?
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Of course easier said than done. Any fool would know that.... so...
I was merely mocking The Alinsky Trained Agitator at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

zimmer-albums-conservitoons-picture67111810-plug-damn-hole.jpg


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How so?

Please, explain the logic of that statement. Be sure to include links that back up the 'thought process' you used to reach that conclusion.
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The problem is the depth of the accident.
It is more difficult to cap gushers at the depth they're drilling than if it were on land or in shallow waters.

Doesn't it make sense?
If not, why don't you explain the logic as to why it would not be so.

For example, if you have a bathtub that is 50 meters deep, it is more difficult to pull the plug than one at 2 feet.
Unless of course you are half otter.

We have a lot to thank enviromaniacs and their enablers for.
Inability to access easier oil.
Blocking the construction of refineries.

That's just the oil industry.
Obama wants to bankrupt the coal industry.

.
 
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zimmer said:
The problem is the depth of the accident.
It is more difficult to cap gushers at the depth they're drilling than if it were on land or in shallow waters.

Doesn't it make sense?
If not, why don't you explain the logic as to why it would not be so.



For example, if you have a bathtub that is 50 meters deep, it is more difficult to pull the plug than one at 2 feet.
Unless of course you are half otter.

We have a lot to thank enviromaniacs and their enablers for.
Inability to access easier oil.
Blocking the construction of refineries.

That's just the oil industry.
Obama wants to bankrupt the coal industry.

.
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Typical environment destroyer apologist nonsense. Blame everyone EXCEPT the greedy bastards who ACTUALLY DID THE DAMAGE.
 
The leak will be stopped by August this year. This is the same thing that happened during the gulf of campeche oil rig leak in 1979. It will be done by drilling relief wells.

A caveat: There is more than one leak that they are not telling us about.
 
Our local weatherman was kind enough to provide satellite pics of the oil slick this morning and computer simulations. Today it will penetrate deeper into the Louisiana delta. Tomorrow it will begin to impact Mobile, Alabama. By Wednesday or Thursday it will extend to the Florida panhandle.
 
Tashah said:
Our local weatherman was kind enough to provide satellite pics of the oil slick this morning and computer simulations. Today it will penetrate deeper into the Louisiana delta. Tomorrow it will begin to impact Mobile, Alabama. By Wednesday or Thursday it will extend to the Florida panhandle.
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Yuck. I think one thing we can all agree on is that this whole thing really does suck.
 
LiberalAvenger said:
This is only the beginning. The worst is yet to come.
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That almost rates as an understatement. The costs of this, the biggest environmental disaster in the history of this Nation, in so many terms, well beyond that which caused it, unmitigated, blind greed will have far-reaching effects we can't even begin to imagine. Hopefully, one of which will be that we finally embrace the reality that if we are to survive as a Nation, we MUST once and for all, divorce our addiction to the suicidal overuse of fossil fuels.
 
zimmer said:
We have a lot to thank enviromaniacs and their enablers for.
Inability to access easier oil.
Blocking the construction of refineries.
Click to expand...

The 1979 Ixtoc oil spill in the GOM was from a well that was 31 times shallower than Macondo is (160 ft vs 5000 ft). It raged on for almost a YEAR. Sorry but deepwater oil recovery will be going on regardless of what we do in shallower waters and what we do on land. Blaming "enviromaniacs" for deep sea drilling is ridiculous.
 
LiberalAvenger said:
The leak will be stopped by August this year. This is the same thing that happened during the gulf of campeche oil rig leak in 1979. It will be done by drilling relief wells.

A caveat: There is more than one leak that they are not telling us about.
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The politicians can't say "it's gona leak until the relief wells are operational, so deal with it". They have to be seen doing something, and sure if some of the oil can be recovered in the process that's bonus.

IMO its not that they're trying to hide these other leaks, it's that they're making a show of the main leak to focus public attention. I think you're right, the situation won't be resolved until the relief wells are going.
 
505 said:
It is because of the suspected location of the actual leak. Several thousand feet down, the production casing is ruptured. This means that the oil can flow up between the production casing and the outer casing. Normally a blow out will travel between the drill string and the production casing, which is easier to catch in the annular of the BOP. Complicating things further is the fact that there was still 8000+ feet of drill string in the well, with no drill bit on the end. This makes it essentially an open pipe at the bottom. Since the shear rams on the BOP did not completely sever the drill string and close, there is also oil coming out of the drill string. Very very difficult situation here.



The annular seal that was damaged during drilling is not something you can go in and service while the BOP is in it's current state. Also, the shear rams that were supposed to cut the drill string and then seal failed, apparently because they tried to sever the pipe at one of the joints (which it is not designed to do).



The concern with this here is that nobody knows what the runaway flow has done to further weaken the BOP. If another were stacked on top and then closed, the extreme pressures that would build up inside of the original BOP could make it fail completely, making the leak astronomically worse. In an even worse case scenario, since there is little confidence in the cement job, the entire production casing could get blown out of the well (along with both BOP's), and now you have a GIANT hole spewing a unrestricted flow from the reservoir.

LMRP cap has potential, but after they cut off the damaged riser, getting it on there will be like trying to attach a slip fitting onto a firehose while it is blasting full force. This will not fully end until the relief wells are complete and the runaway well is cemented at the reservoir ceiling.
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Thanks for your information. Although I worked in the oil business (refining), I never worked on an offshore rig. Some things cross over, some things don't.

As for solution you have to just shake your head at some of these arm-chair quarterbacks and their simplification of the situation. At the same time let me say that Jerry and jamesrage are at least putting forth legitimate, reasonable thoughts to their suggestions.

Just to clarify, I'm not a huge cheerleader for corporations, but I'm 100% positive that BP and associates are doing everything imaginable to bring this well under control. It's costing them money and it's costing them PR. They don't like losing either one. They are calling on the expertise of the world. Scientists, engineers and experts from around the world are examining this problem and offering their solutions.

As far as the LMRP goes, the only way I can imagine it being installed is with it in the 'open' position. Then using a valve to control the flow to the recovery vessel

Link to pictoral of LMRP fix

The LMRP cap is not a cure all, but hopefully it'll slow things down a little.
 
BWG said:
Thanks for your information. Although I worked in the oil business (refining), I never worked on an offshore rig. Some things cross over, some things don't.

As for solution you have to just shake your head at some of these arm-chair quarterbacks and their simplification of the situation. At the same time let me say that Jerry and jamesrage are at least putting forth legitimate, reasonable thoughts to their suggestions.

Just to clarify, I'm not a huge cheerleader for corporations, but I'm 100% positive that BP and associates are doing everything imaginable to bring this well under control. It's costing them money and it's costing them PR. They don't like losing either one. They are calling on the expertise of the world. Scientists, engineers and experts from around the world are examining this problem and offering their solutions.

As far as the LMRP goes, the only way I can imagine it being installed is with it in the 'open' position. Then using a valve to control the flow to the recovery vessel

Link to pictoral of LMRP fix

The LMRP cap is not a cure all, but hopefully it'll slow things down a little.
Click to expand...

Or it could cause another rupture in the bottom.
 
Tashah said:
Our local weatherman was kind enough to provide satellite pics of the oil slick this morning and computer simulations. Today it will penetrate deeper into the Louisiana delta. Tomorrow it will begin to impact Mobile, Alabama. By Wednesday or Thursday it will extend to the Florida panhandle.
Click to expand...
That's just what you see on the surface. Think of what can't be seen. Product being carried by underwater currents (imagine underwater rivers).
 
BWG said:
That's just what you see on the surface. Think of what can't be seen. Product being carried by underwater currents (imagine underwater rivers).
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I saw one report about an under water river of oil on the media, but have heard nothing about it since. The river of oil was twenty two miles wide and two hundred miles long headed for Alabama.

Meanwhile there was just a news blitz about how people should still go on vacation there.
 
Erod said:
And you can thank the beloved environmentalists for pushing us out into the middle of freaking nowhere to have to drill. If this were on land or in shallow water, this would have been capped by Day 2.
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What specific legislation forced them to have to drill a mile underwater? I was under the impression they were building there simply because they could get more oil and turn more of a profit.
 
zimmer said:
Of course easier said than done. Any fool would know that.... so...
I was merely mocking The Alinsky Trained Agitator at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

zimmer-albums-conservitoons-picture67111810-plug-damn-hole.jpg


.
Click to expand...

What does Obama even have directly to do with this? At this point, it looks like you're just trolling.
 
hazlnut said:
How so?

Please, explain the logic of that statement. Be sure to include links that back up the 'thought process' you used to reach that conclusion.
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It doesn't take "links" to explain that drilling in shallow water, or ON LAND, which environmentalists fight with every breath, is far easier, less costly, and much safer than having to go out to 5,000-foot deep water to do the same. The reason we can't plug the hole right now is because of where the hole is, and you can thank the enviros for that.

Do you need a link to understand this?
 
Erod said:
It doesn't take "links" to explain that drilling in shallow water, or ON LAND, which environmentalists fight with every breath, is far easier, less costly, and much safer than having to go out to 5,000-foot deep water to do the same. The reason we can't plug the hole right now is because of where the hole is, and you can thank the enviros for that.

Do you need a link to understand this?
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How do you figure it is the enviros fault? They are the least to blame or no blame at all. Since big oil lobbyists outspend them about a thousand to one, or more, it does not sound like a sound argument to me.

I can see the headlines: "Big oil blames tree huggers for oil spill":boohoo::boohoo:
 
LiberalAvenger said:
How do you figure it is the enviros fault? They are the least to blame or no blame at all. Since big oil lobbyists outspend them about a thousand to one, or more, it does not sound like a sound argument to me.

I can see the headlines: "Big oil blames tree huggers for oil spill":boohoo::boohoo:
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Because there is absolutely no reason we need to be that far off shore to drill for the buttload of oil we're standing right on top of.
 
Erod said:
Because there is absolutely no reason we need to be that far off shore to drill for the buttload of oil we're standing right on top of.
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I think we should be drilling it all. If we don't go that far off shore to drill for the oil that is there, then someone else will. Do you really want Chinese oil rigs in the GOM?
 
the makeout hobo said:
What specific legislation forced them to have to drill a mile underwater? I was under the impression they were building there simply because they could get more oil and turn more of a profit.
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The legislation that doesn't allow them to drill in shallower waters off the coast of California, FLorida, The Carolinas, Virginia, etc.
 
apdst said:
The legislation that doesn't allow them to drill in shallower waters off the coast of California, FLorida, The Carolinas, Virginia, etc.
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We don't want black and blue crabs in chesapeake bay.
 
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