The Official Oil Spill Thread....

[Beer]

So why can't they cap the pipe at the flange? Is there a potential issue with being able to stop the flow at all, even if they cap it off?

I am a marine guy, more so keep the rig on location and deal with Marine issues vice drilling...but here's my thoughts...

Well pressure coming out 3000-5000 psi? It is certainly exceding the hydrostatic pressure of the depth (2000ish psi?)

The Flange is connected to the riser with bolts torqued to 1600 ft/lbs (if its comparable to our rig/equipment).
Flying the ROV or multiple ROV's in that proximity would be like flying a RC helicoptor near the end of a fire nozzle discharging (not the case when relief wells close it in, that might make it possible).  Visibility is a issue as well, imagine trying to loosen a bolt torqued to 1600 ft/lbs, a mile away with limited visability (the oil plumes by the wellhead).  The ROV likely cannot apply a torque of 1600 psi unless it was secured to something and had pressurized air/fluid stored to run a torque wrench for those torques.  Remember the ROVs have neutral bouyancy. Could you torque a head bolt underwater with nothing to plant your feet on and use your weight to your advantage? The riser is bent over, and some of the bolts you cannot even get to (like that pesky header bolt). THEN, while your trying this you cannot recover any of the oil (the cap would have to be off); so if it fails (likely it would while the well is free flowing), the public will armchair quarterback it as 2-5 days of no progress and just another BP failure.  Even if you got the flange off then you would have to lower a new riser to it and bolt it up while it was flowing.  I have seen ROV do some extraordinary things, but placing and torquing bolts/nuts at depth with 1000 psi plus flowing around it, I doubt they could do it.

The relief wells are going to be the key to shutting the well in.  The DD II and the DD III are doing their best to get to the depths they need to go to.
Once they (or one of them) intersect the well at depth, they will pump mud into it from the depths that will get pushed up to the BOP. The hydrostatic of the mud will kill the well; then they can cement it in, and then focus on cleaning up what was released (that likely will take years).

Weather wise it is slowing our rig down, it is known as WOW (waiting on weather), we cannot hang what we need to in the moonpool with large seas and run from a hurricane if it hooks back round to the NE, so our stuff is being delayed a couple days till the storm makes land fall.  The DD's are steady drilling.

[bull]

So how was it done it the first place? Somehow someone had to be somewhere underwater doing some of this stuff. How are wells capped of when they hit paydirt during an underwater drill? Do these bolts have to be torqued to 1600 ft lbs when installed or can they just be snugged to 800-1000 temporarily? I've torqued nuts to 1000 ft. lbs before and it's a lot but I know a 1-inch gun can come close to that if it's got a good run at it. Or what about sliding a slightly smaller pipe into the leaker? Something with about the same OD as the ID of the leaking pipe.

I don't know, just throwing out ideas. We're pushing 70 days here and nothing much to show for it.

[Beer]

Everything is made up on the drill floor and the moonpool and lowered to the seabed.  The wellhead is drilled into the seabed and then cemented in place, the drill pipe that lowered it is released from the wellhead, then retrieved back to the vessel.  The BOP is then lowered and mechanically locked to the wellhead (thats easy, has a funnel, need to have position it within 2 foot or so and lower when it lined up).  They cannot connect to the BOP to unlock it because of the damaged riser and the flange issues we discussed.

Here is a general scenerio, well control issues, and how it should go: shut the well in using various ram configurations, if that fails you do a Emergency Disconnect.  The disconnect sequence involves shear rams closing and cutting the pipe that may be in the BOP, and what is called a LMRP (lower marine riser package) disconnects with the riser, leaving the BOP on the wellhead and the well shut in.  Tensioners pull the riser and LMRP about 40' up to clear the BOP.  The vessel, the riser and the LMRP drift or move to a safe location and the well is shut in.  The Horizon for one reason or another the rams did not close the well in.  This may have been Operator error, it may have been mechanical fault, it may have been because the rams were lined up with where the drill pipe threads together, or many other reasons.  We test the Disconnect sequences (especially if we have to run from a hurricane, we put a storm packer in the hole, displace the riser with seawater, and exercise the emergency disconnect sequence, they work).  On our rig from the time you hit the button, its about 92 seconds for the sequence to work and the LMRP to lift off the BOP.  There were a couple of explosions on the Horizon, it is possible that a explosion knocked out critical systems that did not allow the sequence to happen.  Hard to say...

The relief wells are progressing. You cannot see that, but it is happening. As well as a massive the clean up effort.

[Beer]

Here is a blurp from the news about what we are doing...

BP is capturing nearly 1 million gallons of oil a day in two containment systems. The company has begun installing a third system that could double the amount of oil captured by the first two systems. The new system could be disconnected quickly if a hurricane approaches, the company said. The current system requires five days to disconnect, said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's incident commander.

Bull, seems some planning is being made for your thoughts.  I dont think that will happen though til the well is shut in.  I bet they recover the BOP eventually too after its said and done.

Got 9 days to go then Head to the house 

[John_Kunkel]

There were a couple of explosions on the Horizon, it is possible that a explosion knocked out critical systems that did not allow the sequence to happen.  Hard to say...

One source has said that the operators knew long before the blowout that the shear rams were inop. The same source says the blowout preventer was damaged by human error and the operators knew it because rubber particles were showing up in the drill mud.

[PocketThunder]

There were a couple of explosions on the Horizon, it is possible that a explosion knocked out critical systems that did not allow the sequence to happen.  Hard to say...

One source has said that the operators knew long before the blowout that the shear rams were inop. The same source says the blowout preventer was damaged by human error and the operators knew it because rubber particles were showing up in the drill mud.

Kind of like if its not broke, (still pumping oil), then dont fix it?   

[Beer]

Week old, but some insight on the relief well, as well as some good footage of guys working the drill floor and some of the heliops...
Looked for our rig in the vid but it was not in any of the frames.  

http://bp.concerts.com/gom/kwellsreliefwells062710.htm

What will be interesting is what they find after they kill the well and retrieve the BOP for teardown.

I get paroled next thursday...should have some interior parts coming for the 73!

[Beer]

The latest...

http://bp.concerts.com/gom/sealingcapinstallationoverviewwithkentwells070910.htm