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So, is the oil leak contained?

lets use the Chinese method Execute some BP dudes every day until they fix it.
 
davefoc said:
I thought that was the Darth Vador method.
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well, I'm trying to do my bit. I gave the young guy in the cash booth of my local BP petrol station the finger yesterday. Must say, I felt a lot better after that.
 
The reason the stoppage is temporary is because the pressure builds the longer it is contained. While the cap might work at initial pressures, it is not designed to handle a long-term buildup. This is, however a significant landmark in controlling the well.
 
WildCat said:
Let's hope the pressure doesn't cause another leak further down the pipe, which may or may not have been damaged in the initial explosion.

I've repaired enough 100-year old water pipes to understand the problem... fix one leak and another busts open somewhere else.
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At last, I understand what inspires your cast-iron arguments. ;)
 
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The initial relief well is only 5 feet from the casing of the damaged well. They are ahead of schedule on this.
 
Tricky said:
The reason the stoppage is temporary is because the pressure builds the longer it is contained. While the cap might work at initial pressures, it is not designed to handle a long-term buildup. This is, however a significant landmark in controlling the well.
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Hmmm... This is hydraulics, the pressure would build quickly and then stay at or very near maximum, wouldn't it? I fail to see the mechanism whereby it might increase?
 
Ok, I have to ask:

My mother said she read this report where it was revealed that human hair was an excellent oil absorber and that people were now donating their hair, so that it could be used to help extract the oil from the ocean. They would take the hair and put it inside these long pantihoses and introduced in the ocean.

Is this true?

And how much hair would be needed to do something that's considered significant?
 
BenBurch said:
Hmmm... This is hydraulics, the pressure would build quickly and then stay at or very near maximum, wouldn't it? I fail to see the mechanism whereby it might increase?
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True, but BP doesn't know if the maximum static pressure is higher than the failure strength of some part of the well. The cap is equipped with pressure transducers, and they are apparently also utilizing sonar to look for leaks. If there is any sort of pressure drop, they will re-open the cap.
 
Someone is gonna screw with it and try to "improve" the condition of the cap.
Blurp!
And then there's the interception reliefs going into the main pipe below the sea bed. When these penetrate the pipe...Blurps!
Why not just let it be for awhile?
 
Ron_Tomkins said:
Ok, I have to ask:

My mother said she read this report where it was revealed that human hair was an excellent oil absorber and that people were now donating their hair, so that it could be used to help extract the oil from the ocean. They would take the hair and put it inside these long pantihoses and introduced in the ocean.

Is this true?

And how much hair would be needed to do something that's considered significant?
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It's true, though there are more durable (more expensive?) options to panty hose.. Give them every last hair you and your mum have got. Do it now!

























































ETA: OH no! All that pain was in vain. Stop that razor!

I hope I'm not too late:

'Hair booms not being used in oil spill
Engineers: Commercial products work better'

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of hair, fur and fleece are piling up in warehouses along the Gulf coast.

The hair was collected to make oil booms to sop up the oil, but engineers say they won't be using hair booms because they became water-logged and sank quickly.

They say commercial booms absorbed more oil and less water than hair booms.
 
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BenBurch said:
Hmmm... This is hydraulics, the pressure would build quickly and then stay at or very near maximum, wouldn't it? I fail to see the mechanism whereby it might increase?
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The pressure is coming from the reservoir, which is not a pool of fluid, but a hunk of saturated rock. Regardless of the pressure in the reservoir, it takes time for the fluid to flow through the tiny pore-space and into the wellbore. If the pressure builds up fairly quickly (as it has) that means that the wellbore has integrity. If the pressure builds up slowly or not at all, that means it's escaping somewhere else.

But if the wellbore has integrity, then the presure will eventually build up to be the same as the reservoir pressure below, which is too much for this cap to hold back. This is not nearly as strong as a "tree" or blowout preventer.

Imagine if you had a firehose and some joker had filled the last 100 feet with sand. If you turn the water on, the presure behind it will be the same as if the hose were without sand, but he water would move through the sand at a relative trickle. If you put a cap on the end of the hose, then eventually the pressure would build up to what it was on the other side of the sand, but not right away.
 
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Tricky said:
But if the wellbore has integrity, then the presure will eventually build up to be the same as the reservoir pressure below, which is too much for this cap to hold back. This is not nearly as strong as a "tree" or blowout preventer.
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What data are you using to contend the wellhead assembly fails before 11,900 psi, a value which has been cited numerous places as measured formation pressure?

Casing integrity, and possible downhole crossflow, do add complexity to the situation.
 
Tricky said:
The pressure is coming from the reservoir, which is not a pool of fluid, but a hunk of saturated rock. Regardless of the pressure in the reservoir, it takes time for the fluid to flow through the tiny pore-space and into the wellbore. If the pressure builds up fairly quickly (as it has) that means that the wellbore has integrity. If the pressure builds up slowly or not at all, that means it's escaping somewhere else.

But if the wellbore has integrity, then the presure will eventually build up to be the same as the reservoir pressure below, which is too much for this cap to hold back. This is not nearly as strong as a "tree" or blowout preventer.

Imagine if you had a firehose and some joker had filled the last 100 feet with sand. If you turn the water on, the presure behind it will be the same as if the hose were without sand, but he water would move through the sand at a relative trickle. If you put a cap on the end of the hose, then eventually the pressure would build up to what it was on the other side of the sand, but not right away.
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Ah, that makes sense
 
JihadJane said:
It's true, though there are more durable (more expensive?) options to panty hose.. Give them every last hair you and your mum have got. Do it now!

























































ETA: OH no! All that pain was in vain. Stop that razor!

I hope I'm not too late:

'Hair booms not being used in oil spill
Engineers: Commercial products work better'

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of hair, fur and fleece are piling up in warehouses along the Gulf coast.

The hair was collected to make oil booms to sop up the oil, but engineers say they won't be using hair booms because they became water-logged and sank quickly.

They say commercial booms absorbed more oil and less water than hair booms.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna kill you!!! Now I'm bald as an eagle and all for nuthin'??? :mad:
 
AlBell said:
What data are you using to contend the wellhead assembly fails before 11,900 psi, a value which has been cited numerous places as measured formation pressure?

Casing integrity, and possible downhole crossflow, do add complexity to the situation.
Click to expand...
I'm not using data. I'm speaking in general terms from the conversations I've had with engineers. I am not, myself, an engineer.
 
Tricky said:
The pressure is coming from the reservoir, which is not a pool of fluid, but a hunk of saturated rock. Regardless of the pressure in the reservoir, it takes time for the fluid to flow through the tiny pore-space and into the wellbore. If the pressure builds up fairly quickly (as it has) that means that the wellbore has integrity. If the pressure builds up slowly or not at all, that means it's escaping somewhere else.

But if the wellbore has integrity, then the presure will eventually build up to be the same as the reservoir pressure below, which is too much for this cap to hold back. This is not nearly as strong as a "tree" or blowout preventer.

Imagine if you had a firehose and some joker had filled the last 100 feet with sand. If you turn the water on, the presure behind it will be the same as if the hose were without sand, but he water would move through the sand at a relative trickle. If you put a cap on the end of the hose, then eventually the pressure would build up to what it was on the other side of the sand, but not right away.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tricky; that's clear as mud! :)
 
OK, so with this cap in place could they begin the process of pumping mud and/or concrete down the hole to permanently seal it?

And why seal it at all? I never got why they would dig an exploratory hole and then cap it to dig a production hole. What's wrong with an exploratory hole that it can't be used for production?
 
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