Drill, baby, drill,,oops!

Skandi ROV1 and ROV2 are starting to show some of the out case of the cap! The alignment, triangle metal fins are no longer being obscured. The leak flow around the the base of the cap is substantially reduced.

Bob Wilson

 

The live video feeds are amazing!
If you go to the BP web site, www.BP.com, there is a link that takes you to a page where you can link to the ROV’s. There are 6 ships on site, each with 2 ROV’s. They do a bunch of things, like provide lights; some are the “tool boxes†you see the working ROV’s go over to and get tools from; some are working in the nearby staging area. This is a complex task these folks are doing, more along the lines of sending a man to the moon then running an R/C car or plane. Just think about all the anchor lines they have to dodge and all the problems with staying on station. (I’ve heard there are at any time 16 to 36 ships at the site for support.) The heavy lifting rig on site lowered those shears that cut the pipe, a mile down, then held it steady enough to cut a 21†pipe! By the way, the shears themselves weigh several tons. There was tons of debris to be cleared away just to get to the BOP.
There’s nobody that wants to see this over more than BP, trust me. But nobody wants it to get worse. Caution is the go word.
It’s like that one guy who survived said, “Everything they said couldn’t go wrong – DID!â€

 

Best site to quickly scan all available video feeds is here:

GlobalWarming.House.Gov | Oil Spill in the Gulf LiveCam

 

There aren't thousands of wells being drilled, but there are many thousands of wells in production now in the Gulf of Mexico, which is why you aren't already paying $6-$7 a gallon for gas. BOP's are only used while drilling. After the well is completed it is fitted with a "tree", that is, a series of control valves.

Also, down in the production tubing, are valves that if there is a loss of press, will close in automatically. That's why after the hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, then a few years later, Gustav and Ike, there was very little pollution even though there were wells, in fact, whole platforms sheared off. The total pollution was what was in the lines on the platform.

The BOPs used in deep water (aka subsea BOPs) are already doubled systems... there are two annular preventers, two VBR's (Variable Bore Rams), etc. There are two sources of hydraulic pressure to operate them.

This accident has a series of contributing factors, not just the BOP.

Factoid:

The Gulf of Mexico accounted for about 29 percent of U.S. crude oil production and 11 percent of natural gas output last year, according to the U.S. Energy Department. About 24 percent of America's total oil production came from wells in Gulf waters more than 1,000 feet deep. About 5 percent of U.S. gas output came from wells at such depths. New exploratory drilling in water depths of more than 500 feet will be banned under the six-month moratorium.


I've been watching the ROV's from this link.
BP Gulf Oil Spill Multicam 4x3

 

So 29% of 4,950,000 barrels (produced in the US per day) out of the 19,498,000 barrels (used in the US per day) is 7.36%. A lot more than I thought, but still rather small.

Anyone know the cost of oil purchased as imports vs. the cost of oil purchased from in-country rigs?

 

Watching Enterprise ROV2, it looks like the angular alignment fin on the right side may be moving relative to the BOP. I hope it is just an optical illusion due to the station keeping but it looks real.

The problem is any mechanical motion runs the risk of repetitive stress fractures and something bad happening.

C-SPAN interview with Rep. Gene Taylor, D-MS, reports they have to keep some of the vent valves on the cap open to keep the pressure from blowing the cap off. He is one of the better sources about what is going on. He also pointed out the unique currents that are keeping Mississippi coasts relatively clear . . . for now.

HOLY CARP! It is moving relative to the BOP.

Bob Wilson

 

Correct. The Tree is also used to separate the oil/gas/water/mud mixture that comes out

They usually work, though are one of the more unreliable components. What usually happens, they fail CLOSED and must be "fished" out

That didn't happen in this case

Correct. Those were operating wells, not exploratory/drilling operations

Correct. The incredible pressure at those depths requires that sort of system. Again, what usually happens is that the BOP will fail CLOSED, not jam in a partially closed position

It has been my experience performing Failure Mode Analysis that an accident almost always has a chain of contributing factors. Just one link in the chain, eg just one factor itself, isn't enough to cause the accident

Keep in mind that the BOP is mechanically jammed in a partially closed position. The hydraulic operating rams are mechanically sheared and are incapable of operating

 

any reduction in what we produce will immediately raise our expenses. we have no extra capacity so be it 25% or 7 %, it will still hurt us and hurt us a lot. i can only hope that foreign oil suppliers will realize this and try to take us to the cleaners

 

Oil is a commodity. In general, the cost is the same.

 

I have a technical question for those with experience in this area: How do they track the location of the drill when doing directional drilling? I am familiar with some of the systems used for directional boring, but I haven't a clue how it works 13,000 feet down.

Thanks,
Tom

 

radar, radio transmitter CEP?? (Core Earth Positioning....oh never mind!!)

 

Sperry developed the original drill bit tracking systems, now they are commonplace. Tracking both inclination and azimuth involved gyro compasses originally developed for missiles.

To actually "steer" the drill bit is much more complex. They would usually have to pull the entire string, put in a special "bent" section, then rebore to get the rough steer they wanted

It didn't take long for the development of drill bit motors that ran off the mud pressure itself. This proved costly and troublesome, so the next step was development of Rotary Steerable Tools. This gadget for example

APS Technology | Rotary Steerable Motor (RSM)

makes horizontal and directional drilling almost straightforward

 

As far as sending the signal back Top, it is usually transmitted in the mud or in the string itself

 

That's what I thought but I wasnt sure.

I said it before gas went up $5/gal and people were complaining, during, and saying it now. Gas needs to go up to $8/gal $10/gal. Tax the crap out of it. Make sure a percentage of that tax goes to renewable energy research, some to road/bridge developement maintaining and so on. It is way too cheap now.

 

"You guys are f*****"

HAHAHA!

 

As a consultant, how much do you charge for an opinion like that?



Tom

 

"Hahaha you guys are f*****

That will be $48,867.21 please"

 

http://www.ogs.ou.edu/highlightsfiles/HDRILLChap4DirDrill.ppt

Great details. Note the slide on how a relief well is used to stop the blowout.