Oil Spill -- Non-Political & Non-Legal Issues

[TromboneAl]

I'm not clear on whether this recent capping operation is designed to seal the top of the well, or capture all the oil.

 

[winger]

I'm not clear on whether this recent capping operation is designed to seal the top of the well, or capture all the oil.

I've read that BP is moving a larger capture ship into the area this week, so "capping operation" may be a misnomer.

It appears they are trying to remove the cap that was hacked at a while ago, and replace it with one designed for the latest capture contraption.

I hope it works.

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

This sounds good

More important, engineers succeeded in the tricky job of putting a "transition spool" on top of the dysfunctional blowout preventer. That will enable the lowering of the new cap, a 30-foot structure fitted with three rams that can close the well. That installation job should take place at some point Monday morning
​

BP to install new containment cap, test shutting down flow

 

[REWahoo]

I think the bottom line is the new cap "may" allow shutting down the well entirely, provided it can withstand the extreme pressure of the spewing oil. Short of that, it should provide a secure (non-leaking) means of attaching multiple lines to the well head, allowing all the oil to be piped to ships above.

 

[Westernskies]

I'd rather see the oil flowing to the gas pumps. If the relief well works, cap the old one, hook it up and start pumping. BP can better afford the cleanup if they are selling gas rather than abandoning a good producing well in the Gulf. And this one certainly proved to be a gusher.

 

[Texas Proud]

From what it looks like... the are removing an old section of pipe and bolting this new section on... they then will put something on top of that to capture all oil...

I was wondering why they did not bolt on a new section of pipe earlier... but hey, that is me who does not know how it works... and how long it takes...

 

[F-One]

Here's a video from BP describing the removal / recapping process:

Sealing Cap Installation Overview with Kent Wells - 9 July 2010

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

Graphics galore
+50 Ways of Visualizing BP’s Dark Mess | Inspired Magazine
like this one

via
50 Ways to Depict the Gulf Oil Spill | The Big Picture

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

Shell drilling engineer goes after BP well design and drilling practices at the Aspen conference. This does not look good for BP. A little shocking. I have never seen a big company go after another like this.
Shell Video on "How to Drill a Well" Now Posted - Science and Tech - The Atlantic

 

[John Galt III]

There's no more talk on the news about "capturing all the oil" anymore. It's all about whether they can close all 3 valves and seal the leak. "Capturing all the oil" is never mentioned now. The news is constantly leaving out lots of relevant info, perhaps to get it all into a 5 second sound byte.

Obvious solution, not ever mentioned : Just "capture all the oil" indefinitely to the tankers above ( sell for profit like a regular oil well ) , AND perhaps drill the relief wells.

 

[Avalon]

From what it looks like... the are removing an old section of pipe and bolting this new section on... they then will put something on top of that to capture all oil...

I was wondering why they did not bolt on a new section of pipe earlier... but hey, that is me who does not know how it works... and how long it takes...

I've had thoughts along that same line. When they 'pinched' that old line off with shears it seems to me it would have distorted the thin wall tubing (1/2" wall ? ) quite a bit. Trying to seal something egg shaped rather than round would be more of a challenge, and likely never completely seal.

I think they started off trying to saw the old pipe off? I can understand getting a blade hung up turning into a problem also. Just surprised they gave up on that so quickly.
I guess they were under pressure to make some sort of progress as soon as possible.

 

[Texas Proud]

There's no more talk on the news about "capturing all the oil" anymore. It's all about whether they can close all 3 valves and seal the leak. "Capturing all the oil" is never mentioned now. The news is constantly leaving out lots of relevant info, perhaps to get it all into a 5 second sound byte.

Obvious solution, not ever mentioned : Just "capture all the oil" indefinitely to the tankers above ( sell for profit like a regular oil well ) , AND perhaps drill the relief wells.

The big problem with that is when a hurricane decides to come a calling...

The ships have to leave.. oil is now flowing into the GOM to be moved around by said hurricane...

The cap was supposed to allow them to 'turn it off' when needed...

 

[Westernskies]

Shell drilling engineer goes after BP well design and drilling practices at the Aspen conference. This does not look good for BP. A little shocking. I have never seen a big company go after another like this.
Shell Video on "How to Drill a Well" Now Posted - Science and Tech - The Atlantic

Shell critiquing BP's operations is like the pot calling the kettle black. One only has to look at the Niger Delta, Sakhalin, etc. to see that there is plenty of leaking crude to go around.

This sounds like someone with an axe to grind got a media opportunity.

 

[TromboneAl]

Well, there's no oil flowing now -- it was closed off.

 

[ERD50]

Well, there's no oil flowing now -- it was closed off.

I know, I saw the stock price spike!

-ERD50

 

[Leonidas]

Well, there's no oil flowing now -- it was closed off.

Good, now it's on to the next major potential earth-ending disaster that we all have to fret over, and the media whines on about, and the government decides only they can fix (just by taking a little more of our money and a little more of our rights), and so on, blah, blah, blah.

I wonder what it will be this time. What haven't we done lately? Ah, I think we're due for another virus, or terrorists maybe.

 

[ERD50]

Good, now it's on to the next major potential earth-ending disaster that we all have to fret over, and the media whines on about, and the government decides only they can fix (just by taking a little more of our money and a little more of our rights), and so on, blah, blah, blah.

I wonder what it will be this time. What haven't we done lately? Ah, I think we're due for another virus, or terrorists maybe.

What was the one before this one, I forgot already? I know it was something, really, really bad though. Wait a minute, Toyota brakes? iPhone antennas?

-ERD50

 

[kumquat]

H1N1

 

[Zathras]

Good, now it's on to the next major potential earth-ending disaster that we all have to fret over, and the media whines on about, and the government decides only they can fix (just by taking a little more of our money and a little more of our rights), and so on, blah, blah, blah.

I wonder what it will be this time. What haven't we done lately? Ah, I think we're due for another virus, or terrorists maybe.

Perhaps it would be better to Prevent disasters rather than paying the much higher cost of cleaning them up?

The flooding after Katrina and Deepwater were both preventable.
And Deepwater isn't over yet...

 

[ronocnikral]

t-al, resistance is futile...

 

[ronocnikral]

The big problem with that is when a hurricane decides to come a calling...

The ships have to leave.. oil is now flowing into the GOM to be moved around by said hurricane...

The cap was supposed to allow them to 'turn it off' when needed...

from what i have seen, the new "cap" has some simple BOP's to contain the well. i would be surprised if they didn't have some type of EDP (emergency disconnect package, most likely run on the end of the riser) included so when they run riser (or pipe), they can drive off if needed and the well can still be contained.

worse case scenario from here...1 well volume of hydrocarbon into the big drink. if they are unable to get connected up with the riser.

get the relief wells down, circulate around some mud, chase with some cement, shut in, pressure test, viola. i guess they could lube and bleed, but why risk screwing with everything having the relief wells so close?

 

[TromboneAl]

I can't find any news about that "A Whale" supertanker skimmer. I saw one news item that said the test was complete bust, and they were trying to rig something up to get the oil funneled into the input ports.

 

[Westernskies]

Well, now that the leak has stopped, it is time to shift the microphones over to the Monday-morning quarterbacks with 20/20 hindsight so than can start testifying in the court of public opinion about how this (and every other conceivable) calamity could have been prevented. Second- guess every decision. Where were these self-proclaimed [-]media whores[/-] experts BEFORE the latest "disaster of the week" befell us? I get tired of hearing these smug I-told-you-so wonks whining "nobody listened to us before" -apparently they didn't have the credibility in their professional/academic communities to get their theories and processes implemented upfront... Why should we listen to them after the fact?

 

[ERD50]

I can't find any news about that "A Whale" supertanker skimmer. I saw one news item that said the test was complete bust, and they were trying to rig something up to get the oil funneled into the input ports.

I do google news, sort by date, but there was not much:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/334941,joining-gulf-oil-cleanup.html

This one is dated yesterday 7/14 - but they refer to 'this weekend' rather than a date, so it is possibly an old story re-posted? Maybe you could work backwards from their 'testing for two weeks comment'.

Taipei - The Taiwan Marine Transport Co said Thursday that it was expecting a verdict this weekend on whether its ship, dubbed A Whale and touted as the world's largest oil skimmer, would be allowed to join in cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"A Whale is undergoing the final test this weekend," company spokesman Danny Wang said in Taipei. "We are waiting for the result."

The company converted the ship from a supertanker, and there were questions about how effective it would be as a skimmer. The US Coast Guard and the US government's Environmental Protection Agency have been testing it for two weeks.

I still don't get the 'testing' requirement. Why not put it to work, and find out as you go? If it isn't doing much, well there is your answer. As long as it picks up more oil than the engines leak I fail to see the harm. Getting back to my "house on fire" analogy, you don't stop the fire trucks and say "let me build this small test fire to check your effectiveness before I let you spray water on the real fire".

Something tells me the answer is outside the scope of the thread title....


-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

I still don't get the 'testing' requirement. Why not put it to work, and find out as you go? If it isn't doing much, well there is your answer. As long as it picks up more oil than the engines leak I fail to see the harm.

I agree with you. One guess is that whoever will be paying a bazillion dollars per day for this thing (BP) wants to make sure that it works better than a guy in a rowboat with a colander.