Offshore Oil Drilling and the Oil Rig Disaster in the Gulf

[samiam]

600 barrals of mud to fill 1000 feet of pipe and the well is 10,000 feet deep

[Jason]

Those are some amazing photos.

[finehoe]

If it doesn't work, well ... then what? Junk shot? Top hat? Loony stuff like nukes? Relief wells will take months to drill and no one's sure if they'll work to relieve pressure. It's entirely possible, even likely, that we're going to be stuck helplessly watching as this well spews oil into the Gulf for years. Even if the flow were stopped tomorrow, the damage to marshes, coral, and marine life is done. The Gulf of Mexico will become an ecological and economic dead zone. There's no real way to undo it, no matter who's in charge.

I'm curious to see how the public's mood shifts once it becomes clear that we are powerless in the face of this thing. What if there's just nothing we can do? That's not a feeling to which Americans are accustomed.

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-25-what-if-the-oil-spill-just-cant-be-fixed/

[RiversideLoki]

Experts Propose Plugging Oil Leak with BP Executives

[samiam]

Here is a suggestion that is outside the box that could be used if the top kill does not work.
modify a decommissioned aircraft carrier into a large containment box. sink it over the well and pump the oil from the aircraft carrier. If It would take to much time to strip it there is one that they sank off the coast of Pensacola a few years ago. They could raise it tow it into a shipyard make the modification to it and resink it over the well.

[JaxByDefault]

Livestream of BP's latest stop attempt.

[RiversideLoki]

They just did a pan-up shot from the ROV. It looks like it's spewing mud now instead of oil.. but that could have been the lighting.

[north miami]

If it doesn't work, well ... then what? Junk shot? Top hat? Loony stuff like nukes? Relief wells will take months to drill and no one's sure if they'll work to relieve pressure. It's entirely possible, even likely, that we're going to be stuck helplessly watching as this well spews oil into the Gulf for years. Even if the flow were stopped tomorrow, the damage to marshes, coral, and marine life is done. The Gulf of Mexico will become an ecological and economic dead zone. There's no real way to undo it, no matter who's in charge.

I'm curious to see how the public's mood shifts once it becomes clear that we are powerless in the face of this thing. What if there's just nothing we can do? That's not a feeling to which Americans are accustomed.

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-25-what-if-the-oil-spill-just-cant-be-fixed/

**Headlines 2065***

Human Expansion Thwarted from Druidia
Humans considered toxic invasive

UPI-China
The ambitious space exploration and settlement program has been twarted due to certain opposition from existing native beings.
Earthlings have long sought planet Druidia as an ideal saviour planet for a lucky few humans who could escape the earth disaster and start over. Initial relocation attemps have been effectively thwarted by Druidians who consider humans as out of place invasive toxics that would certainly threaten Druidia's hard won perfection.Druidian leaders did extend an open invite and challenge,calling on humans to prove themselves capable with planet earth before assuming acceptance elsewhere.
In a related effort,the USA announced an ambitious new space project that would establish a low orbit space station trained on earth in an attempt to discover intelligent life.

-with tongue in spill,
N.Miami

[JaxByDefault]

More livefeeds:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/26/bp-oil-spill-live-feed-vi_n_590635.html
(Apologies for the HuffPo link, but the mirror is more stable than the original NPR site.)

also

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

[stjr]

It may have some bias, but I have to give BP credit for turning their corporate home page into a comprehensive site for info on this spill including a live video feed of the leaking oil, daily press releases, and now, a web site for each affected state, including Florida (where they have already set up 8 separate county claims offices).  They also have video interviews with their CEO, their own reporters from the field, dozens of phone numbers for every conceivable aspect (including ideas to fix the problem!), motion graphics of how the top kill is supposed to work, technical info and discussion, FAQ's, etc.  This has to be a new gold standard in a corporation communicating about both a real and PR disaster, no doubt appropriate for magnitude of the problem, but impressive nonetheless.  Good thing they have very deep pockets.

See http://www.bp.com/bodycopyarticle.do?categoryId=1&contentId=7052055

Release date: 26 May 2010
BP today provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

Subsea efforts continue to focus on progressing options to stop the flow of oil from the well through interventions via the blow out preventer (BOP), and to collect the flow of oil from the leak points. These efforts are being carried out in conjunction with industry experts and governmental authorities.

A series of diagnostic tests are currently underway on the Deepwater Horizon’s failed BOP to improve understanding of the status and configuration of the BOP and determine whether a ‘top kill’ procedure can be successfully executed. These tests involve pumping drilling fluids into the BOP to measure pressures and validate flow paths. When complete, a decision will be made on the execution of the top kill procedure itself.

This top kill procedure has not been carried out offshore at 5,000 feet water depth before, and its success cannot be assured. It is expected that the entire procedure could take up to two days, and it cannot be predicted how long it will take for the operation to prove successful or otherwise. Should it be necessary, plans and equipment are in place to combine the top kill process with the injection under pressure of bridging material into the BOP to prevent or limit upward flow through the BOP.

BP will continue to provide a live video feed from the seabed through the diagnostic testing and top kill, if undertaken. Throughout the diagnostic process and top kill procedure very significant changes in the appearance of the flows at the seabed will be expected. These will not provide a reliable indicator of the overall progress, or success or failure, of the top kill operation as a whole.

Should the top kill not succeed in fully stopping the flow of oil and gas from the well, BP would then intend to move forward to deployment of the LMRP cap containment system.

Deployment of this system will involve first removing the damaged riser from the top of the BOP to leave a cleanly-cut pipe at the top of the BOP’s lower marine riser package (LMRP). The LMRP cap, an engineered containment device with a sealing grommet, would then be connected to a riser from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship and then placed over the existing LMRP with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well.

The LMRP cap is already on site and it is anticipated that this option will be available for deployment by the end of May.

Additional options also continue to be progressed, including the option of lowering a second blow-out preventer, or a valve, on top of the failed Deepwater Horizon BOP.

Work on the drilling of two relief wells, begun on May 2 and May 16, continues. Each of the wells is estimated to take some three months to complete from the commencement of drilling.

[stjr]

A few more tidbits via BP:

Response in numbers:
     â€¢    22,000 personnel deployed    
     â€¢    1,100 vessels on site    
     â€¢    2.5 million feet of boom deployed    
     â€¢    243,000 barrels of oil-water mix recovered    
     â€¢    17 staging areas set-up to protect shoreline    
     â€¢    23,000 claims filed, 9,000 already paid

And this daily progress map of the spill area, etc. with reports on more types of spilled oil and sheens than I could ever dream of:



To enlarge map go to:

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/incident_response/STAGING/local_assets/downloads_pdfs/20100526_0600_Situation_Status_Map.pdf

[Bostech]

Lack of presidents response shows who really rules USA.Not the people but corporations and wealthy families.Government and WH is not too hard on BP because they are one who are truly a boss.Obama is just a puppet like every other president.

[Timkin]

I will refrain any further judgement of BP for now.... spewing mud in my humble opinion is better than 5 weeks of spewing oil.... I hope this will be coming to a conclusion very soon .  IF this does not work.. I am going to again contact them to toss my idea into the ring...although I am certain someone has probably contemplated this already.

[stjr]

Wonder if they have considered a giant wad of used bubble gum!   

[JC]

I still cant believe the people buying BP gas still.  If you are doing it, you are seriously misguided.