Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

I am happy to report to you that as of 1:30PM EDT, there has been ZERO oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

That's ZERO flowing out the well head. I trust BP would not tell us if oil from this well was leaking out the sea floor elsewhere.

[Roughneck]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

The fact that BP is blocking the well in suggests to me that they suspect the well bore has issues. I cannot see them blocking in the well and exposing it to high pressure which in itself could cause problems or make them worse if they didn't suspect a leak. They also may be trying to find the depth at which it is leaking to give then an idea about the depth of the relief well. About three hours in the gauge was only showing 500 psi. Just checked and the gauge camera is off line. That is just my .02. My big question is why they didn't do this earlier. Early on they did not have enough surface capacity to contain all of the leak but you would think they could have done so in less than 90 days. It could be that the flow and pressure readings they obtained from the slip cap led them to believe the well bore may be leaking sub surface. We should know pretty quick.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

About three hours in the gauge was only showing 500 psi.

Dang - 500 psi is nothing. Was this with the flow out their new BOP completely closed off?

Do you have some idea how (and how well) they can determine the depth and the extent of any such sub surface leaks, given what they have in place at present?

[reggie]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

Government’s Expert Witness: Over 42 million gallons of dispersant used during BP oil disaster
By oilflorida, on July 14th, 2010
http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/go...p-oil-disaster


More dispersant applied “than the amount of OIL spilled in any single accident prior to the BP disaster”

Presidential oil spill commission urged to address dispersant issue promptly, New Orleans Times Picayune, July 13, 2010:

Christopher Reddy, an associate scientist of marine chemistry and geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said the use of surface dispersants is extremely typical and well understood to be safe, but some concern remains about their use in the sea’s depths. …


Reddy said he is also concerned about the total amount of dispersants used, which is unprecedented. He noted that 1 million barrels [42 million gallons] of dispersants have been applied to the Gulf of Mexico to fight this spill, more than the amount of oil spilled in any single accident prior to the BP disaster.


Reilly also said the dispersants’ unknown effect on fisheries is troublesome. “You know a lot of fishermen have very strong reservations about dispersants, that it hides the oil under the surface and makes it hard for the fish to avoid it,” Reilly said. “That’s what we found in Prince William Sound” after the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska, during Reilly’s time as EPA chief.

Another report in the Times Picayune restates the massive 42 million gallon figure:

Reddy said the total amount of dispersants used is unprecedented and cause for more study. He noted that 1 million barrels of dispersants have been applied to the Gulf of Mexico to fight this spill, more than the amount of oil spilled in any single accident prior to the BP disaster.

Previous reports have put the amount of dispersants used at between 1-2 million gallons (25,000-50,000 barrels).


Was the 1 million BARRELS an error by the Picayune?

The scientist noted the amount of dispersants applied to date are “more than the amount of oil spilled in any single accident prior to the BP disaster”. The Exxon Valdez released at least 10 million gallons (approximately 250,000 barrels) of crude oil. The widely reported 1-2 million gallon dispersant figure is no where near the 10 million gallons spilled during the Valdez.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

Dang - 500 psi is nothing.

According to The Washington Post: Oil leak is stopped for first time since April 20 blowout, they got near 7,000 psi:

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander, has said that a pressure reading of 8,000 or 9,000 pounds per square inch would be ideal, while below 6,000 psi might indicate leakage. Hunter, who witnessed the test from BP's war room in Houston, told The Washington Post that the pressure rose to about 6,700 psi and appeared likely to level out "closer to 7,000." He said one possibility is that the reservoir has lost pressure as it has depleted itself the past three months.


"It's just premature to tell. We just don't know whether something is leaking or not," Hunter said.

[Roughneck]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

So far so good this morning. The pressure is up close to 7000 psi( by news reports) I haven't seen the actual gauge on the live feeds. I guess I shouldn't have been so pessimistic last night but given how things have gone optimism is something we are short on down here. The other side of the coin is perhaps BP was encouraged by the signs they were seeing from the slip cap and thought the well could handle the pressure.I still cant see them leaving it blocked in under that pressure given the circumstances. More than likely they will resume collecting oil until the relief well is drilled.

[GRG55]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

This proves that the original Cameron BOP used by Transocean doesn't work. Was it Made in China?

Doesn't "prove" anything. There's two pieces of pipe side-by-side in the wellhead and original BOP. They discovered this when they finished cutting off the collapsed riser a couple of weeks ago. You can see the stub ends of the two pipes in the video when they lifted the top half of the high pressure flange connection. The BOP isn't designed to deal with two pieces of pipe jammed in it. That is why the pipe rams and blind rams wouldn't seal. Despite all the hysterics about "casing" being blown to bits and getting jammed in the wellhead, I am certain that when the well is killed and they retrieve the BOP stack they will confirm that the drill pipe hydrauliced when the well blew out and that is what is stuck in the BOPs.

The force of a blowout is phenomenal. There is an infamous video of the 1982 Amoco Lodgepole [Alberta] sour gas well blowout that shows the entire drill pipe string being ejected from this deep gas well in a matter of seconds. The amount of drill pipe in that well was much greater than the BP well because Amoco was on bottom trying to circulate out a kick when they lost control of the well. The force of the out of control natural gas flow snakes the drill pipe out of the hole and all the way up through the derrick of the drilling rig like wet spaghetti. The sparks from the drill pipe striking the derrick ignited the gas from the well. Fortunately the crew had already abandoned the rig and there were no fatalities.

[GRG55]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

So far so good apparently. No reported indications of any subsurface breech of the wellbore [Matt Simmons must be soooooo disappointed...]. The current pressure is at least 1000 psi lower than they were anticipating so I expect they will leave the well shut in and see if it continues to build overnight. There is no way to accurately know the reservoir drawdown or formation damage, each of which can influence the pressure build up behaviour.

As I mentioned in a post above, what the engineers are most interested in is the "the characteristics of the pressure build up". Be assured that what all the armchair experts and the media will blather on about will be the maximum pressure itself...which is merely one data point.

[touchring]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

So far so good apparently. No reported indications of any subsurface breech of the wellbore [Matt Simmons must be soooooo disappointed...]. The current pressure is at least 1000 psi lower than they were anticipating so I expect they will leave the well shut in and see if it continues to build overnight. There is no way to accurately know the reservoir drawdown or formation damage, each of which can influence the pressure build up behaviour..

So you mean there is no need to nuke the well? LOL

[LargoWinch]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

So far so good apparently. No reported indications of any subsurface breech of the wellbore [Matt Simmons must be soooooo disappointed...].

Disappointed indeed:

[GRG55]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

Disappointed indeed:

...

Well if there really is an "open hole spewing 120,000 barrels a day" of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico from "several miles away", once BP kills the Macondo wellbore it'll be pretty hard to ignore the continuing rapidly growing slick that will keep spreading across the water in the weeks and months to come.

To my knowledge none of the NOAA supported investigations into the subsurface effects of the blowout has been able to detect any source for the contamination other than the Macondo wellhead. Seems to me a 120,000 barrel a day "open hole" would be rather difficult for BP or any else to cover up for very long.

Frankly, I think Simmons has completely lost it...

[touchring]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

Frankly, I think Simmons has completely lost it...

I guess he could plead for insanity if BP decides to sue him for defamation. lol

[GRG55]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

I guess he could plead for insanity if BP decides to sue him for defamation. lol

His statements have become so outlandishly ridiculous for anyone applying even a modicum of common sense that I don't think BP will feel any need to sue him. The company that he founded has already disowned him...

[touchring]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

His statements have become so outlandishly ridiculous for anyone applying even a modicum of common sense that I don't think BP will feel any need to sue him. The company that he founded has already disowned him...

Yes, that is why he has to be as ridiculous as possible. You can't sue a mad man. lol

[reggie]

Re: Update on BP's top kill efforts, now largest spill in US History

MSNBC July 15: Matt Simmons still says BP covering up MASSIVE HOLE miles away, cap test is "absurd"

I think to put this entire event into perspective one might find the theories of 5GW relevant.