'Not for public': the oil spill may be getting much worse

[Nordic]

why plug it with junk? just cut the riser off and put that cap on the BOP, as had been planned if top-kill hadn't worked.

I don't understand why they don't just get a big huge pair of vice grips and pinch the damn tube shut.

Guess that's why I don't make the big bucks.

[ninakat]

As of about an hour ago:

'Top kill' plugs gulf oil leak, official says

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 2115.story

From the above story:

Engineers have at least temporarily stopped the flow of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico from a gushing BP well, the federal government's top oil-spill commander, U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said Thursday morning.

But now the NY Times reports that officials were "encouraged" this morning. Jesus, they can't even get their fucking stories straight.

Setback Delays ‘Top Kill’ Effort to Seal Leaking Oil Well in Gulf

HOUSTON — BP had to halt its ambitious effort to plug its stricken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday afternoon when engineers saw that too much of the drilling fluid they were injecting into the well was escaping along with the leaking crude oil.

A technician at the BP command center said that pumping of the fluid had to be stopped temporarily while engineers were revising their plans, and that the company hoped to resume pumping by midnight, if federal officials approved.

The technician, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the problem was not seen as serious. “We’re still quite optimistic,” he said, but cautioned: “It is not assured and its not a done deal yet. All of this will require some time.”

Earlier in the day, officials had been encouraged that the heavy drilling fluid, known as mud, being pumped into the well appeared to be working. But the fluid had not yet overcome the upward pressure of the escaping oil and gas, according to Coast Guard commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen.

(...)

[justdrew]

why plug it with junk? just cut the riser off and put that cap on the BOP, as had been planned if top-kill hadn't worked.

I don't understand why they don't just get a big huge pair of vice grips and pinch the damn tube shut.

Guess that's why I don't make the big bucks.

there is a reason for that... without the mud in the well pushing down on the oil the pressure from the oil comes up the well. cap it at the top, that pressure is all too likely to eventually find a weak spot in the walls of the well and burst out sideways into the soft seabed and work it's way up that way. Which would be very bad to have happen. There seemed to be some speculation that this has in fact happened to some extent already, but who knows? not us.

[Jeff]

Unchecked oil flow would cause disaster ‘heretofore unseen by humanity’
By Ben Geman - 05/26/10 04:15 PM ET

If BP fails to plug its ruptured offshore oil well, intense underground pressure would be enough to pump vast quantities of thick brown crude into the Gulf of Mexico for months, even years.

If even BP’s backup plans fail, it would cause a pollution disaster "heretofore unseen by humanity," said one expert.

...

Patzek said the amount of pressure in the oil reservoir is at least 12,000 pounds per square inch and perhaps higher, while the pressure at the sea floor is around 2,300 pounds per square inch. “These are immense pressures,” he said, “by any standards.”

...

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2 ... y-humanity

[2012 Countdown]

Watched it a bit last night, it seemed to be doing okay. Woke up this morning, seeing articles that were hopeful, I was hopeful.
Now, not so much. This is fucked up beyond belief.

Backup tankers hauling more mud are en route. I just heard they may still try the 'junk shot'.

Garland Robinette will be on NBC nightly news this eve.

[Nordic]

I, who now watch almost zero tv "news", made the mistake of turning past CNN for a few moments this morning. Video of scientists out on an oil-besmudged boat, in a sea of deadness, pulling out dead creatures, even seeing a shark dying not far away.

This was very similar to nightmares I've had all my life, of a post-apocalyptic hell on earth.

It really got to me and I actually wanted to cry.

[DoYouEverWonder]

It's way past time to bring in tankers and start sucking this shit up.

We might never eat any more fish from the Gulf again, but we've got a seemingly endless supply of fuel to capture.

BP claims the reason why they haven't brought in tankers to start sucking up the oil is because they've got too many ships in the area. That's the biggest crock of shit I've heard all day. It's a very big ocean. Get the ships in now! Big Oil is afraid the glut of oil coming on the market will hurt their pocketbooks. That's what it's all about.

[82_28]

Taken from Chump's post on page 7 of the Spill, baby, Spill thread. Just in case anybody happens to miss it.

THERE MUST BE A MUCH LARGER LEAK 6 or 7 MILES AWAY!!!! (according to Matt Simmons)



Oh boy. . .

[Nordic]

Okay, it's official: I hate Obama now as much as I hate Bush and Cheney.

[82_28]

Okay, it's official: I hate Obama now as much as I hate Bush and Cheney.

Yup. I said the same thing to people last night.

[Nordic]

Oh, the irony of calling this "Top Kill". The whole fucking mess is one BIG "top kill". And bottom kill, and middle kill ....

Top Kill.

Assholes.

And how about this whopper from the O-bomber:

"The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort"

Uh, no, Obama. Obviously, very obviously NOT the truth.

You are BP's bitch. No amount of lying will change that simple FACT.

[Perelandra]

I watched a minute or so of his ridiculous press conference or whatever, and he looks like he's beginning to hate himself.

[82_28]

From a comment on the oildrum and I paraphrase: What BP is doing is basically trying to stuff butter up a cat's ass with a hot needle. Thought I would meme that out there a little more.

[Hugo Farnsworth]

Well, the head of MMS resigned today. No big surprise. When the industry's safety standards (BP being the exception of course) exceed that of the regulatory agency, something is amiss. I was reading some industry literature I picked up at OTC early this month, and there was an article about SEMP (industry) vs SEMS (MMS). I won't go into the details, but SEMP exceeds SEMS in nearly every way, and the upshot of the article is that it will be very easy for the industry to meet SEMS standards. The industry does this because the insurance companies that underwrite their operations and charge huge premiums want it. If anybody puts BP out of business, it will be them.

Also read about the Perdido platform Shell put online in the GoM March this year. Shell invented a lot of new tech to bring it about--hydrate production was a huge problem. If there is an oil company with the internal expertise to deal with the Macondo blowout, it would be them.

I had my doubts about the top kill as it was planned and executed--I think BP is keeping their fingers crossed. The only way to make this work is to pinch off or constrict the oil flowing out of the riser. In a conventional bullhead procedure, the BOP is actuated (not possible here, since if that were possible, there would be no spill, and no problem). In terms of pressure failure, the riser is the weak link. Riser aside, I do not think very high pressures are possible without the risk of damaging the well head. At some point, someone is going to have to make a decision about the riser being cut from the BOP stack. This decision would have to weighed from the point that the well could produce more oil, since whatever constriction the riser is creating would be gone, against the fact that a mechanical plug of some type could be inserted into the open end of the riser, thus making the top kill effective.

I watched the Simmons video, but could not understand the business about the O-rings. In a well head, there are bolted flanges that use a steel ring for pressure sealing--they may be referring to them. The well head is a very heavy steel ring-like structure that the well's casing strings are hung from and the BOP is flanged to the top of it.

[2012 Countdown]

It's way past time to bring in tankers and start sucking this shit up.

We might never eat any more fish from the Gulf again, but we've got a seemingly endless supply of fuel to capture.

BP claims the reason why they haven't brought in tankers to start sucking up the oil is because they've got too many ships in the area. That's the biggest crock of shit I've heard all day. It's a very big ocean. Get the ships in now! Big Oil is afraid the glut of oil coming on the market will hurt their pocketbooks. That's what it's all about.

I agree, so do others. He was asked this today. It was within a 2 part question, and he didn't answer that part. Where are the tanker/skimmers????


He did take blame for one thing as I recall. He said he should have gotten a better estimate of the flow rate. I keep harping on this, but it is/was very important.
He let them tell him, and he was fine with it. ASSHOLE. For 4 weeks, lost valuable time.


Hugo, thanks for your input.