This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Department of Energy: Oil Well Drill Pipe Was Violently Ejected Upwards Into the Blowout Preventer
Blog
The Department of Energy says that drill pipe from the BP pil well was
violently ejected upwards into the blowout preventer.
As the Los
Angeles Times notes
today:
A team of scientists from the Energy
Department discovered a new twist: Their sophisticated imaging equipment
detected not one but two drill pipes,
side by side, inside the wreckage of the well's blowout preventer
on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.BP officials said it was
impossible. The Deepwater Horizon rig, which drilled the well, used a
single pipe, connected in segments, to bore 13,000 feet below the ocean
floor. But when workers cut into the
wreckage to install a containment cap this month, sure enough, they
found two pipes.The
discovery suggested that the force of the erupting petroleum from BP's
well on April 20 was so violent that it sent pipe segments hurtling into
the blowout preventer, like derailing freight cars.It
also offered a tantalizing theory for the failure of the well's last
line of defense, the powerful pinchers called shear rams inside the
blowout preventer that should have cut the pipe and stopped the rising
oil and gas from reaching the Deepwater Horizon 5,000 feet above.
Drilling experts say those rams, believed to be partially deployed,
could have been thwarted by the presence of a second pipe.The
doubled-up drill pipe joins a list of clues that is helping scientists
understand the complexities of the Deepwater Horizon accident, and from
that, craft changes in how deep-water drilling is conducted."We
still don't really know what's in" the well wreckage, said Energy
Secretary Steven Chu, whose team discovered the second pipe using
gamma-ray imaging. He added: "If there were two drill pipes down there
when the shear rams closed, or two drill pipes below, is it possible that in the initial accident …
there was an explosive release of force?…Did it buckle and
snap?…The more we know about this, the better we can know what to do
next."
- advertisements -
AssFire: How do you know what's going on down there. Even BP's own anonymous source says there's not a human being on earth who knows what's going on at the point that really matters. People are placing financial bets that it'll work or not work. They're just bets, some more educated then others. Like counting cards at the casino. Some think they have an edge, but the reality is that no one now knows, including you. You can disprove theories, but you haven't offered an explanation of what's the unusual finds either.
And hey, with due respect, don't pick on ZH. It's the best general forum on this issue. It's not fair to shoot the messenger. If you think a comment needs qualification, do it, and you did, so what's your beef with ZH.
And don't get too excited about the spike today. The rumor mill is there to make sure that the quarter end numbers are as high as possible. Quarter end numbers are key. Notice the report gets released the day the quarter ends. Hmmmmm... Too coincidental. I would venture another bet (i'm short BP) that BP falls below today's quarterly close and retests the 27 number again. If it breaks 27, then it wouldn't be surprising to see 17. Patience is the key, and a strong stomach, and a willingness to accept pain, significant one at that.
There is nothing wrong with the well but a bad bottom plug that was NOT Halliburton's fault.
BP Did not put in the proper qty of centering rings and the gov allowed it.
Geo Wash:
As I have repeatedly pointed out, substantial destruction of the well casing could cause the relief wells to fail.
The original well was under control without the last casing string. It is possible that the last casing string was moved up the hole a few feet, not thusands of feet or miles. The mud pumped into the bottom of the well will get it under control again. The movement of that casing string will not prevent that. The previously run casing and liner are still there just as planned and used to control the well before the blowout. What you have repeatedly demonstrated is that you know nothing about oil wells or oil production.
I agree with this...if some of the casing was blown out into the BOP, it would have been near-surface casing. A bottom-kill operation should still succeed.
One other "feature" that the Geo Wash nonsense fails to mention in the EOTWAWKI stories is this. He has continued to write that this well is leaking massive volumes of oil through subsurface communication and into shallower formations. Those huge, monsterous, and massive flows of oil and gas are moving under the GOM until breaking out miles away at seabed surface, a la Simmons. Almost every post begins with "We know . . . . ." but we don't know such a thing at all.
The real point is that there are now two relief wells drilled through those shallow formations, both located within about 3,000 ft from the Wild Well. The formations would have been very fully charged after 60 days of being filled from the worlds most monsterous well ever drilled. Those wells would have encountered the monsterous flows that Geo Wash claims are occurring and would have had flowing formation problems. Did anyone read or hear of those flows? I did not. But I'm not regularly following the WMR or Before the News sources that Geo Wash uses.
Agreed - They have been "ranging" on the well casing (from the blown out well) for several days now. That would not be possible if there was no metal pipe there to range on as I understand it.
no one will admit that we are in the terminal stages of corporate fascistic crony capitalism and it is destroying what is left to destroy, both human, plant and animal. when it's all over and the vested interests are themselves destroyed, then the truth will be told. until then, the band will play on until the sheet music floats away on a sea of oil and blood. you can count on it.
Capitalism is just fine, it is the Government regulators that have failed us here (MMS approved EVERY method applied by BP). The SEC failed and continues to fail (recent cases lost and almost always settles). Collectivism is not the answer, clueless government agencies are the problem, capitalism is the answer.
The BOP did what it could immediately- there was not an opportunity for the tubing to be pushed upward because the pipe rams would have prevented it from reaching the middle blind shear ram.
Think about the hydraulic pressure applied to the BOP: it follows the path of least resistance being that all the rams were activated, the pipe rams would have closed immediately (being there is no resistance there- you see the pipe rams have half moons cut into each side so that they fit over the tubing- they do not cut), then (and only then) would the hydraulic fluid stored in the BOP accumulators would begin the shear action of the tubing.
ZH should do more to discount some of these claims before just throwing this ^%$# on the wall.
People have suggested that and the upset section or wireline tool was in the blind shear ram section because there was not enough force to shear the pipe. The BOP is only about 1-1/2" from completion of close. It WAS NOT caused by the production string being sent into the BOP, that assertion is ridiculous, this guy Simmons has made some of the dumbest claims I've ever heard. There is pressure inside and outside the production tube and there is no differential pressure to cause it to move upwards.
Read this post from a very knowledgeable oil man with a great deal of experience. He blames the blowout on the nitrogen cement leading to failure. Whether it was the nitrogen cement or some other reason, the cement job on the production string failed and there was a blowout. the sequence of events in the final hours or few minutes that he proposes are pretty interesting. It is certainly possible for the production string to have been lifted. It just did not go through the BOP, as you note. The crimped pipe shown in the pictures of the sheared riser is the drill pipe, not the casing.
http://www.drillingahead.com/forum/topics/what-i-believe-may-have
The relief wells will be DOA if this is the case . The most worrisome thing now being from your article they don't really know if the well casing is broken and it is now a possibility . If it is broken the relief wells will cause greater damage . I assume this is like having one hole in a can and you pour out water , the water trickles . Once you punture the other side of the can the water rapidly flows .
I assume this is like having one hole in a can and you pour out water , the water trickles. Once you punture the other side of the can the water rapidly flows .
People who know nothing about oil wells can make the screwist assumptions. It is pretty amazing to read how wrong that they can be.
The plugging will occur much deeper than any potential ballooned section of casing, the plugging efforts are not set back by any news so far.
Gee, do you think maybe some casing and tubing might have been on the rig that collapsed?? Is it possible it simply obeyed the law of gravity and fell to the sea floor?
Casing diameter is larger that the bore of the BOP opening, only the production tube could have been sent upward. (But that did not happen either). It will be plugged about the end of August. I appreciate the doom and gloom where it is warranted- in the financial sector.
Simmons is an idiot it this area, don't listen to him- he is no more qualified than a Government appointed official to run GM without any auto experience.
there is no exception to the rule
everybody is somebodys fool
the tears i cried for you could fill an ocean..
This article seems to be mixing up drill pipe and casing. There was drill pipe in the hole when the blow out occurred. The blind shear rams had to cut the drill pipe and the production casing. The drill pipe should have been dropped into the hole and could be corkscrewed. I seriously doubt the casing was damaged. Rubber elements in the BOP have been eroded and are estimated to be increasing the flow by 10,000 BOPD. But I doubt the casing is eroded or damaged, except for where the BOP cut it. Keep in mind, Simmons is not an engineer, he's a banker. Neither he or anyone at the Dept. of Energy knows a bit from a water barrel.
Let me suggest an alternative. BP and the Government are to joined on this issue to be believed.
Has anyone calculated the value of the oil field value if 100,000 barrels of oil free flow per day at $75 per? Assume a 100 wells at 3 million x $75 per month.
Everyone speaks of BP going 11. When the BP situation is brought under control people will begin to analyse the dollar value and mineral supply value to the US on a daily basis.
Think about not what you read but think about what is not being said
As we say in the sewer, when the tides of life turn against you, and the current upsets your boat, don’t waste those tears on what might have been, just lay on your back and float. Ed Norton, The Honeymooners
High pressure from below or above? If the well head was still attached to the Deepwater Horizon as I believe it was, then when this 45,000 ton drilling rig sank it would have exerted enormous compressive forces down the riser into the well bore.
Actually the drilling rig was without power for 24 hours before it sank. It was still attached to the well head/BOP by the mile long riser. So for those 24 hours, there would have been an upward/sideways force applied to the wellhead/BOP. The riser and wellhead/BOP was actually anchoring the rig at that point.
When the rig sunk, the force applied would have then been sideways and somewhat downward, but not much. I read on the oil drum early after the sinking that as soon as the rig started to sink for good, the riser would have disconnected/broken away from the rig and fallen sideways and downward. It quickly bent at the top of the BOP.
Remember that the mile long riser had floatation devices attached to each section, making it nearly at neutral buoyancy. The rig wasn't holding up a mile of riser, the buoyancy devices were.
I'm on Grand Bahama Island - we were supposed to have oil on the beaches by now. There isn't any. SO, is containment working or is the dispersant sinking it?
There was oil in the water there before the voilcano - it was just in such small quantities. The PPM is rising; that is guaranteed. When you see mold on bread the whole bag is festered beyond salvation - same thing with tar balls.
"One, two, three, four, we don't want your fucking war!"
Just wait, it is coming. In the meantime, take a last swim on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
OSE II, BITCHES!
http://www.osei.us/videos.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT0qY3_n1kI
THIS IS CRIME SCENE GEORGE, THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!
EDIT: BTW, Since BP is taking the cheap way out, not preserving or catching oil for process since they may have to donate proceeds for environmental and ecological rescue organizations, and they're creating a CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF 2ND, 3RD, 4TH, ETC. CLEAN UP NEEDED, and dispersants are just as toxic, helping destroy lives that probably could sue, not if they're dead, WHO THE HELL OWNS THE DISPERSANT COMPANIES...HALLIBURTON OR SOME SHIT?! Do they not want this permanently closed?? NO, that would close up their money pit!
I've read that BP owns the company they are buying dispersant from. You might want to corroborate this with other sources before accepting that it is true.
".. And a Third of the Seas were turned to blood ". No plug yet , or ever .
Ahhh, so you do have yourselves a new undersea hydrocarbon volcano. Not just a seafloor seep but one connected directly to the bowels of the earth.
Not so much bowels as colon, stretching from cuba to Chicago, sometimes referred to as the New Madrid fault. The realignment of stresses should make for an interesting late summer/fall. Tip: Don't buy any RE in Memphis and watch the EQ activity in the Carib. Google Jack Reed's Theory, and what about that Haiti EQ and subsequent 5.2 shaker on Feb.22 and Deep Event Horizon.
Cool! So we've managed to stumble upon what will likely by the next North American Rift. There goes the atomic bomb solution - blowing up a nuke, even a comparatively small one, on the New Madrid fault might not exactly be the most prudent of activities.
Very interesting how this is all unfolding, as if to a script.
Simmons was a meme planter.
The truth will begin to mirror the worst-case with alarming speed from here on out.
And in this fractal life, we might see consequences in every aspect.
New, Deep Horizons for all of us.
Awesome!
ORI
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com
This oil disaster is mother Nature's slap in the face to the USSA - everytime the corporatist-fascist "drill baby drill" supporters and cheerleaders have derided something as too extreme or "fear mongering" during this disaster, reality has turned out to be MUCH WORSE. It's like Mother Nature is telling imbecile Americans, "You wanted oil? Oil for which you are willing to kill innocent millions? I'll give you oil, you morons..."
In my early years in a product development R&D lab, an experimental failure would inevitably beget at least one worker comment that "Mother Nature is a bitch."
To that, my response was "Mother is not a "bitch" but is a jealous mistress. If you would seek her favors, you must pay absolute attention to her."
And with the wisdom acquired through the years since, I would add.
"She will whip you,"
and whip you,
and whip you,
and whip you,
until you sober up and do it her way."
The laws of natural science will not be violated.
During the Congressional inquiry, the oil company heads were unable to answer Congressional questions about the the project. IMO, that is not because they are really as dumb as they looked but is by corporate design to protect against lawsuits. In at least one of my corporate stops, in an attempt to pass bad reliability news up the ladder, the engineering head said (approximately); "I can't look at that data." "There are certain things that I cannot know."
I understood, of course, that the the reason was lawsuit vulnerability.
More like we have been pummeling Mother nature and now, her bleeding, at the hands of our beatings, has soaked us. Like an abuser, we turn and say, "stop bleeding", and walk away mad - at her - for messing us all up. This globe we ride on is not specifically trying to teach us a lesson, she is simply exhibiting the unavoidable negative consequences of our actions.
We have sullied our own garden, kitchen and bed by not bothering to clean up after ourselves and tend things, and now are surprised our house is becoming inhabitable and our garden does not sustain us.
But I do think most of US folks are reasonable and sensible about this stuff, but we have been hijacked but a few short-sighted, powerful people. Engineers and academics would have gladly risen to the challenge of further researching the geology of these reserves, greatly improving well-blow-out technology, and clean up technology and procedures for just tens of millions over several years to better determine the risks and improve the safety of these operations. Such research and development would have been affordable and quite doable. A properly functioning government representing the people would provide a check to the purpose of the oil business, extracting oil at least cost.
Instead our tax dollars subsidized deep-water drilling even when oil was $70-$140/barrel. Really? That's something the majority Americans thought was a wise course of action, while little was being spent on alternative energy, we subsidized some of the most profitable corporations on the planet? Such a policy can only be the result of wealthy connected people buying off our representatives.
We are so sensible that while we shut down new drilling, for the sake of safety and proper review, we send several billion of our tax dollars to Brazil, so they can drill even deeper and as fast as they can stack the pipe. Go figure.
U.S. Government to Loan Brazil's Petrobras $10 Billion
The U.S. government is preparing to provide up to $10 billion in loans to finance the development of massive hydrocarbon reserves off Brazil’s coast thought to contain 80 billion barrels of high-quality crude, an amount that could lead to a six-fold increase in Brazil’s current proven reserves and transform that nation into one of the world’s 10 largest oil producers.
...
According to the government’s projections, the pre-salt reserves – located at a depth of up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) below the ocean surface in an 800-kilometer by 200-kilometer area – could eventually lead to a nearly six-fold increase in Brazil’s current proven reserves of 14 billion barrels and transform that nation into one of the world’s 10 largest oil producers and a major crude exporter.
see: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=340859&CategoryId=10718
Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears this field will require wells that are far deeper than the currently belching BP well that many people here seem to think was so wrong to drill because of its depth.
just more proof we the people are no longer remotely in charge
It only proves that most of today's common Americans are happily ignorant or
Do you suppose that Dewey Revette was part alien, or something else?
Look for the yellow smiley w/ the middle finger; I have talked about the Carioca field many times.
Yes, PBR is going to be going significantly deeper than Horizon. The water depth there is another 50% higher, and the rock depth is another 50% higher. PBR has a test well to the reserve already.
The people talking about BP's well as if it is something spectacular are ignorant. I mentioned this the other day on a similar oil thread. Andarko is producing at greater depths in the GOM already. They have a NG field in production at 8900' of water.
There is/was NOTHING out of the ordinary about BP's well or strategy. It's just that the common man is utterly ignorant about oil production. They hear 1 mi of water and 2.5 miles of earth and they think OMGWTF why is anyone going so deep, it's unprecedented, it's so dangerous.
Reality check: it's not. It's common.
bad karma strikes back eventually
+ 100 Mr Gecko. "USSA" why havent i thought of that?
& nature's like that, it has an ironic and vicious sense of humour. mankind is just one more parasite to be dealt with at some point.
The only socialism in America is that of society giving it all to their corporate massas. A complete travesty of the term I may add.
USSA!? The Butthole Surfers thought of that 20 years ago!
They're from Texas, I wonder what they think of the oil leak?
May be they will blame it on the chinese men tied to walls showing worm movies out of their penis's??? Just a thought ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEuKiqnnOPM
So have they plugged the leak yet?
The leak in Obama's ass is too big to be ever plugged.
The man wont quit.
Oh, $h!t
Thank you for posting this.
George, it sounds like the DOE is saying that they found drill stem in the BOP, not well casing. Drill stem is the piping that the drill bit is connected to, and is inside of the casing, which is the pipe that separates the hole from the surrounding ground. Drill stem in the BOP does not imply that the casing failed. While there are lots of reasons to think the casing might have failed, finding an extra drill stem in the BOP is a different issue.
Agreed GW, thanks for keeping this in front of us.
A 10 minute BP video explaining the relief well process. Obviously we should understand it's BP's video, but www.theoildrum.com seems to think it's pretty accurate. Of course, BP will want to make it seem like it's a piece of cake. But it's still good technical backgroud for those who ectually want to know more about the actual process.
You know, research and facts.
http://bp.concerts.com/gom/kwellsreliefwells062710.htm