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Should We Nuke the Oil Well?
Blog
CBS
News, the
Christian Science Monitor, CNN,
Reuters and Fox
(and see this)
have all asked whether BP should nuke its leaking oil well.
Indeed,
some high-level Russian nuclear scientists and oil industry experts
have suggested such an approach to stop the Gulf oil gusher. Here
is archival footage of the Russians killing a gas leak with a nuclear
device.
And Obama's energy secretary and Nobel prize winning physicist Steven
Chu included
the man who helped develop the first hydrogen bomb in the 1950s as
part of the 5-man brain trust tasked with stopping the oil.
And oil
industry expert Matt Simmons proposes
the use of a tactical nuclear
device every time he is interviewed on national television.
However,
even the history of Russia's successful use of nuclear devices to stop
gushers has some important caveats.
As Reuters notes (unless new links are provided, links for all cited
articles are provided at the beginning of this essay):
Vladimir Chuprov from [Former long-time
Greenpeace's Moscow office is even more insistent that BP not heed the
advice of the veteran Soviet physicists. Chuprov disputes the veterans'
accounts of the peaceful explosions and says several of the gas leaks
reappeared later. "What was praised as a success and a breakthrough by
the Soviet Union is in essence a lie," he says.
Russian Minister of nuclear energy and veteran Soviet physicist
Viktor] Mikhailov agrees that the USSR had to give up its program
because of problems it presented. "I ended the program because I knew
how worthless this all was," he says with a sigh. "Radioactive material was still seeping
through cracks in the ground and spreading into the air. It
wasn't worth it."
As the Christian Science Monitor points out:
The Russians previously used
nukes at least five times to seal off gas well fires. … Komsomoloskaya
Pravda suggested that the United States might as well take a chance
with a nuke, based on the historical 20% failure rate. Still, the
Soviet experience with nuking underground gas wells could prove easier
in retrospect than trying to seal the Gulf of Mexico’s oil well
disaster that’s taking place 5,000 feet below the surface. The
Russians were using nukes to extinguish gas well fires in natural gas
fields, not sealing oil wells gushing liquid, so there are big
differences, and this method has never been tested in such conditions.
As CBS News reports, not all of the Russians nukes worked:
But not each use of nuclear energy did the
trick. A 4 kiloton charge set off in Russia's Kharkov region failed to
stop a gas blowout. "The explosion was mysteriously left on the
surface, forming a mushroom cloud," the paper reported.
Indeed,
several experts have said that nuking the well might make the
situation worse.
For example, Reuters notes:
There is a chance any blast could fracture
the seabed and cause an underground blowout, according to Andy
Radford, petroleum engineer and American Petroleum Institute senior
policy adviser on offshore issues.
CNN
points out that nuking the leaking well could conceivably destabilize
other oil wells miles away.
The New York Times writes:
Government and private nuclear experts agreed
that using a nuclear bomb would be ... risky technically, with
unknown and possibly disastrous consequences from radiation ....
A
senior Los Alamos scientist, speaking on the condition of anonymity
because his comments were unauthorized, ridiculed the idea of using a
nuclear blast to solve the crisis in the gulf.
“It’s not going
to happen,” he said. “Technically, it would be exploring new ground in
the midst of a disaster — and you might make it worse.”
And one of the world's top physicists - string theorist Michio Kaku -
writes:
I
think this is a bad idea, from a physics point of view. Let me say
that my mentor while I was in high school and at Harvard, Edward Teller,
father of the H-bomb, was a firm advocate of using nuclear weapons to
dig out canals and other grand engineering projects.***
Underground,
we then have a hollow sphere of vaporized gas, with walls that have
been glassified from the sand. This hollow sphere is stable from a few
hours to a few days, but eventually the weight of the rock collapses
the sphere. The result is a sudden collapse of the sphere, often
releasing radioactive gas into the environment.***
If
this takes place under the sea floor (which has never been done
before), there are bound to be complications. First, there would be the
release of dangerous, water-soluble chemicals such as radioactive
iodine, strontium, and cesium, which would contaminate the food chain in
the Gulf. Second, the "seal" created by the glassified sand is
probably unstable. And third, it might actually make the problem worse,
creating many mini leaks on the ocean floor. Determining the precise
effect of such an underwater blast would depend on crucial computer
simulations of the various layers of rock under the seafloor, which has
never been done before.
In other words, this would bea huge
science experiment, with unintended consequences. Furthermore, with
hurricane season upon us, and predictions of eight or more hurricanes
for this season, it means that seawater several hundred feet below the
surface of the water could be churned up and then deposited over the
South. This seawater, containing oils and radioactive fission products,
would magnify the environmental problem.
In summary, it is not a
good idea to use nukes to seal up oil leaks.
Moreover, former President Bill Clinton told
CNN on Sunday (starting 3:13 into video) that he has looked into the
issue, and that a nuke is not needed. He said the Navy can use conventional explosives to seal
the well. As the former commander-in-chief, Clinton is probably
getting such information from someone high up in the Navy.
For more on the nuclear option, see this.
»
- advertisements -
Nearly everyone who worked the valdez disaster is dead.
Corexit is eating holes in boats.
http://www.businessinsider.com/warning-to-gulf-cleanup-workers-almost-ev...
From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth; from the laziness that is content with half-truths; from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth – oh God of Truth deliver us!—Unknown
The nuclear option to this well is ill advised and perhaps indicates the sense of helplessnes that is found when we dabble in things that beyound our technological limits, many such as myself would call that huburis which BP has had a recent history of. The links below are provided to show the other side of this shrouded catastrophy, so you may have another perspective and decide for yourself. Enjoy your 4th!
BP Ordered To Release Information on Well Bore Damage and Sea Floor Leaks From BP Gulf Oil Spillhttp://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/07/02/bp-ordered-release-informatoin-bore-damage-sea-floor-leaks-bp-gulf-oil-spill/
Gulf Oil Spill Sea Floor Collapse and Seabed Leaks May Prevent BP From Capping Well.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/09/gulf-oil-spill-sea-floor-collapse-seabed-leaks-prevent-bp-capping-2/
NOAA Finds Several Leaks In Cracks On Gulf Seafloor; Leaks Where Also Caused By IXTOC Blowout
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/28/ixtoc-oil-spill-undeground-blowout-caused-oil-leak-cracks-seafloor/
Alexander Higgins would probably earn more money helping Algore release his chakra than he does by writing scare stories and publishing them on the interweb.
"Is Gulf is 7 degrees higher than usual"? This could have a serious impact on Hurricanes this year and beyond. There is more information revealed in this video in regard to other spill hazards and planned evacuations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vpJVELKPPM
Updated DOW chart:
http://stockmarket618.wordpress.com
http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/latest-market-outlook-1
Here's a little something to shuffle off into the holiday weekend with. Hope it hits the right spot with somebody. The two links to Rita at the bottom are my Robo Trader entries. Aural rather than visual. For those who don't know, J.J. Cale wrote Call Me the Breeze, After Midnight, Cocaine, Going Down, and a bunch of other songs that other folks turned into hits. The lady with the guitar is JJs wife. She plays with him.
Ride the River - Road to Escondido
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpU2KOFCRz8&feature=related
Its Easy - Road to Escondido
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kxk11D-mpY&NR=1
Any Way the Wind Blows - Road to Escondido
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piJojvguaKM&feature=related
Crazy Mama - Naturally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcY5SQECqks&feature=related
-----------
Call Me the Breeze
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8uk7vlk0sE&feature=related
Going Down - Live In Session
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm-euFpRLMg&feature=related
I Got the Same Old Blues - Live In Session
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGnPxJl-DlM&feature=related
After Midnight - CrossRoads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Tiqv4Irjs&feature=related
and by special request
The Lady's Not for Sale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQv4wMuR94g&feature=related
Help Me Make It Through The Night - The Old Grey Whistle Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45-6duFvfuI&feature=related
Stranger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF0fWYXDNxs&feature=related
Danger - Road to Escondido
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6HoUYFbQTU&feature=related
Interesting collection.
thanks
Wow what a great solution.. we can throw in some radioactive pollution to supplement the
dispersant chemical poisons and the naturallly toxic crude. If we try really hard we can open new fissures on
on the sea floor. Drill baby drill!
Please, no more Fissures in the Sea Floor nonsense.
A drill is used to locate and collect the resources available to us. Some of those are energy resources, used to power your computer and vibrator.
Take an oath to use neither of them and be happy.
"Please, no more Fissures in the Sea Floor nonsense."
Oh really, why does open discourse about open and honest conversation designed to get at the truth offend your sensibilities? After all exposing and getting at the truth is what matters here right?
Here is something to stimulate some continued thought into the fissures which exist due to the direct failure of the well casing.
BP Ordered To Release Information on Well Bore Damage and Sea Floor Leaks From BP Gulf Oil Spillhttp://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/07/02/bp-ordered-release-informatoin-bore-damage-sea-floor-leaks-bp-gulf-oil-spill/
Senator confirms reports that wellbore is pierced; oil seeping from seabed in multiple placeshttp://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/senator-confirms-reports-that-wellbore-is-pierced-oil-seeping-from-seabed-in-multiple-places
Nelson is not the first to mention reports of a rupture in the wellbore.
BPs findings show fracture in the wellbore
Wall Street Journal, June 2:
BP PLC has concluded that its attempt last week to seal its broken well in the Gulf of Mexico may have failed due to a malfunctioning disk inside the well about 1,000 feet below the ocean floor.
The disk, part of the subsea safety infrastructure, may have ruptured during the surge of oil and gas up the well on April 20 that led to the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, BP officials said. The rig sank two days later, triggering a leak that has since become the worst in U.S. history.
The broken disk may have prevented the heavy drilling mud injected into the well last week from getting far enough down the well to overcome the pressure from the escaping oil and gas, people familiar with BP findings said. They said much of the drilling mud may also have escaped from the well into the rock formation outside the wellbore.
The administration told BP on Saturday to halt the top-kill procedure, after becoming concerned that the operation was putting too much pressure on the out-of-control well.
NOAA Finds Several Leaks In Cracks On Gulf Seafloor; Leaks Where Also Caused By IXTOC Blowouthttp://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/28/ixtoc-oil-spill-undeground-blowout-caused-oil-leak-cracks-seafloor/
If some of you would like to have a real understanding of how the kill well is designed to work, I would suggest that you look at the comments and videos at this site. the guy has done a pretty good job in explaining it. One of the linked videos is the BP annimation of how the target is acquired and the intercept planned. If you want to see what they ran for the casing program on the original well and on the kill well, it is there but you will have to stop the video to see the many different sizes of pipe they ran as they went down the hole and had difficult zones that needed to be isolated.
http://www.drillingahead.com/forum/topics/bp-relief-wellswhat-is-a
Another post on the same blog offers a possible scenario that explains what might have gone wrong with the well. I'm not sure that I agree with the premise that the nitrogen cement is inherently dangerous. With enough pressure the gas becomes a fluid and behaves as any other fluid. It is the reduced pressure at some point that allowed possibly the nitrogen, but certainly the NG withing the oil in the well to become a gas and expand. But the description of what the people on the rig faced once the cement failed is pretty spot on. Once it they let it get loose, it goes pretty fast.
http://www.drillingahead.com/forum/topics/what-i-believe-may-have
And finally, for those who would really like to understand how nonsense about wells and drilling them can get spread by those who have absolutely no concept of what actually occurs, read this post describing the history of the legend of the well that was Drilled to Hell. It will bring tears of laughter to your eyes, especially when compared to the BS that has been written about the Macondo well.
http://www.drillingahead.com/profiles/blogs/drilling-to-hellfacts-amp
The thread at the link below reviews some of the more important points - physics, chemistry, and math-wise - that theoildrum.com has made over the past weeks re. the gulf blowout. Those who wonder why Augustus is so beligerent in defending the reality of physics, chemistry, and math issues can find out why in this thread.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6687
CD wrote way above, about Augustus: ... it would be really great if you showed half the respect for others' opinions and ideas that you demand for YOUR version of the truth.
We are dealing with the physical sciences here - physics, chemistry, and math. How many versions of the truth do the textbooks on the physical sciences allow? How many different answers are there to what is the quadratic equation? How many different answers are there to how do you calculate the psi of a column of water a mile high? How many different versions of the truth are there to how gas behaves in a solution under pressure, and how that behavior changes as the pressure lessens?
Hopefully you get my point. Some of us are speaking out against the misunderstanding / misapplication of basic science. To have that called our version of truth and to be told that we should make allowance for other, incorrect, versions of the truth regarding basic science is mindboggling - on this blog in particular.
People can have different opinions about when it is appropriate to wear plaid. Of if they are cool when they pair tennis shoes with their tuxedo. Or even about whether Bill Gates should have a house larger than a double wide.
Some of the wild claims made on behalf of promoting a world ending disaster as the result of this blow out well in the GoM are simply impossible. There are very large problems as a result of the blowout, without question and without argument from me.
People should also consider that there is not a bite of food on that plate or a flipping of a transistor in a computer that is not the result of someone disturbing the environment somewhere on your behalf. Personally I'm very appreciative of that and hope to continue to enjoy it and what the same for all of you. That is my only reason for calling attention to the fantasy claims and disputing them.
One of the ROVs from the Skandi Neptune is stationed way off from the BOP doing an overall view of the huge thing. The caption at the bottom says "BOP Monitoring".
Hmmm, wonder what they are afraid of here??
Why do you automatically assume that, because they have one robot looking at the big picture, they are afraid of something?
Because I have been watching these ROVs for some time now. And up until today, I have not yet seen one doing "BOP Monitoring". Just figured there must be some good reason why, all of the sudden, they are watching it more closely.
BTW, I am not one of those who really thinks this thing will fall over. Matter of fact, I will be surprised it it does, as it is supported by some pretty darn stout pipe. But as of late, the thing has been swaying noticably more than previously.
The BOP sits on the well head. Both are well supported and are not moving, despite what Matt Simmons claims. The LMRP is attached on top of the BOP and that attachment is with a flexible connection. The purpose for that being flexible is so that it will allow for the movement of the riser and the drill ship as they cannot perfectly hold position continuously. Now there is a cap covering the LMRP and it is attached with a 5,000 ft steel pipe to the collection ship at the surface. As the collections vessel moves in the waves and the high winds that cap moves. It also will move the LMRP as it is designed to move. The point of the explanation is that it is not the BOP or wellhead that are moving. The moving parts are designed to move and are expected to move.
News out, is BP has a cap ready to basicallly STOP the wellhead leak completely, and recapture up to 80k gallons per day.
If the nuke will work then use it - it worked pretty good on those russian wells....
Martel, thanks for a straight forward, lucid post. G.W. Thank you and Augustus for bring forth a great thrust and parry debate--heated at times but very illuminating for a rank amatuer who learned a lot. The very purpose of these type articles. Milestones
Thanks for the constructive debate.
Does anybody know anything about weapons grade lasers and if they have any potential to help?
No. Too much fluid.
All high-tech "solutions" proposed are worse than the problem. There are natural bacteria that split oil into harmless forms. So, given some time, the oil will disappear by itself. There's nothing to neutralize chemicals that humans use to fight oil - natural bacteria can't handle that. So the choice is whether to sit back and let the nature do its job, or run around frantically and make the problem worse. Just make it sure it does not happen again, OK?
Wait... maybe we could use nukes to put out forest fires as well?! And floods! :)
Louisiana State University (LSU) research biologists are the world's leading authorities on the earth's, river's and ocean's natural bacteria that thrive on oil gas and sludge.
The Governor and LSU finally got the ear of the President after 60 days. BP and the Coast Guard, and the EPA still have yet to get it! CHAOS just like KATRINA and 911 all over again at the Federal Level - Lawyers Rule, the little people drool.
I guess it's stupid to ask why there aren't any fucking SENSORS down the fucking pipehole so BritishPuke can SEE what the fuck went wrong up their $500B hole.
The engine on my 1960 CJ5 is 20 years old & it's got a load of sensors all working. Bought for <$1000, plug the computer in & there's the data.
The abiltiy to sense data is/was there. The problem was not in getting good data. The problem was that someone continued driving when the "stop engine" light came on. The courts will figure it out. Maybe someday they will provide you with a British puke to vilify. Then again, maybe not.
Thanks George Washington for keeping this ultra serious issue out in front so we can all gain understanding with just how dire this is to our safety, health and way of life.
This gusher at the fissure sites, that's right not just at the well is leaking at ~120 K BPD.
Tree - you seriously need to link to a source for that info. If you don't, your credibility will be shot. You are posting here, I presume, so that people will pay attention to what you say. If you only make wild claims, if you don't provide support for your claims, nobody is going to pay any attention to what you post.
Tampa Bay water system is supplied by a Gulf Water supplied Reverse Osmosis system ...
The Tampa Bay project is but one of ACCIONA Agua’s 70 reference plants in the sector with a total installed capacity of over 1.6 million cubic meters per day.
The reverse osmosis plant you reference produces 108,000 cubic meters of water per day - in a system that generates 1.6 million cubic meters of water per day. If the reverse osmosis plant needs to be taken off-line for a while, Tampa Bay can handle the reduced water flow easily. From here:
http://www.acciona-na.com/About-Us/Our-Projects/U-S-/Tampa-Seawater-Desa...
Thanks Richard,
My credibility is not at issue (none of you know me so I get that) but I understand your point. I will source my information and more, but much of it has been documented already. Let me say I am not fear mongering, I am warning that this is much worse than the layperson (not an insult just that most who are not located in the La. Gulf area and are employed by oil companies just don't know).
Tampa depends on the RO system to meet the damand averages of the area; any lapse from a prolonged event will cause serious problems. The Tampa RO system for water is just one item of concern. I am from South Louisiana and am employed by an oil major with 20 plus years practical experience in the field. Anyone who thinks they can function without all water producing systems in working order is just misguided. I am an average person that care deeply for my fellow man. I will list sources ad libitum this evening as it is not a problem and I understand many people would prefer accepting the watered down truth that the media is sharing.
I will close with this point. The data is there on all my points previously stated, so why all the contempt and doubt about my statements? I think it is because man would prefer
to accept a more palatable or an easier softer way and will due in part to programming, attack a plausible and even source-able (sp is that a word?) point of view in regard to this life as we know it changing event.
Marla has said elsewhere that (paraphrasing) it is not about any one individual post - it is about the conversation. As long as the conversation continues, valid points will get made and weak arguments will eventually be replaced by stronger ones. Thanks for your reasoned addition to the conversation.
Most, if not all, of us providing rebuttal to GW and others are paying no attention to the watered-down truth that the media is sharing. We are paying attention to those experts on theoildrum.com and elsewhere who have the physics and chemistry and math backgrounds to be able to properly interpret what facts are available. Many of us also have the requisite physics and chemistry and math backgrounds to be able to recognize which speakers are more accurate in their presentations of current reality. And there are many more facts available in the form of company documents and Congressional testimony than posters here seem to be aware of.
I like your phrase sourceable points of view. I will point out the obvious that not all sources bear repeating - which is the main point being made in this topic. It all comes down to - how can anyone know whether a source should be relied on? Ultimately, the gulf problem is a physics/geology, chemistry, and math problem - both as to the cause of the problem and its solution. Those who are weak in the knowledge of physics, chemistry, and math will have difficulty distinguishing between reliable sources and unreliable sources. There is just no getting around that fact. Not knowing enough about the subject at hand to be able to evaluate the credibility of a source is one of the fundamental problems of the human condition. See Galileo and the Catholic Church for an example.
Re. your comment about the desalination plant in Tampa Bay. 108,000 divided by 1,600,000 = .0675. That is the percent that this plant is contributing to Tampa Bay's water supply. Do you think that number is sufficiently large that it is a concern to the water managers of Tampa Bay. Do you think that number supports the claim repeated in countless postings that Tampa Bay is headed for trouble over the desalination plant?
Finally, anyone's credibility here is an issue, even though we don't know each other personally - if we wish people to pay attention to what we post. I assume that is the reason why you post, which is why I raised the issue of credibility.
Lets place this in its true perspective:
So what do we do then;
Did I say Pray?
God Bless you and your families.....
-1 fear mongers united for the apocalypse - this is not the Arctic, there is still time to protect the walruses and polar bears from a worse fate.
The Arabian Gulf recovered and the Desalination Plants were safe. Tampa Bay has water if they only Conserve a little while....
The GOM and Texas Gulf Coast largely recovered from the Ixtoc spill in 3-years.
This oil spill exceeded Ixtoc this week, if the worst case is assumed.
BP and RIG workers are not stupid MSM puppets - they are in a race against the clock and the next tropical storm to enter the Gulf.
Long - DVN
what is your source for the 7 degree higher water temps. Provide link please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vpJVELKPPM
Go to the 38 sec area of the clip for the info on the 7 degree increase.
That deal is put together for the purpose of collecting eyeballs of the ignorant and scaring them enough to get a donation.
When you walk across a blacktopped street, you recognize that you are walking on "tar balls"? The 7 degrees higher temps claim is just bogus.
Can you source these claims please?
Disclosure: I do not work for big oil. I have held a few shares of CVX and COP for 4 years or so.
delete
I'm not qualified to comment on the technical issues being debated here about what's going to work to stop the gusher. But I can point out that there is very likely to be a major hurricane in the area within 60 to 90 days. All the meteorologists are in agreement that this is going to be a bad season, and my observations from New Orleans corroborate the likelihood. We had a Cat 2 in the Gulf in June, very rare if not unheard of. In 2005 a rare Cat 1 hit New Orleans around July 4. Later in July of that year a Cat 4 missed New Orleans, came in at Biloxi. Then Katrina in August, followed by Rita in September, both Cat 5 storms. The water temperature in the Gulf is higher than in 2005. The weather down here has been very much like it was this time of the year in 2005, maybe even a little more unstable. So it seems like we're looking at a major disruption to the containment and mitigation attempts very soon. I hope I'm wrong about this, but everything points heavily in that direction.
What an interesting comment thread on this one.
Given that the main stream machine is always going to be on the side of those in power, it makes sense to ask equally preposterous questions on the other (this) side, yes?
See the simmons meme playing out right before your very eyes, Augustus et. al.
His "wild" claims have been more or less substantiated.
Besides, for those of you who have done your research, it is clear that something is amiss. If there was not, they would not be blocking media access, controlling clean-up crews media access, controlling information.
Actually they have spent as much energy controlling information, as they have controlling (or not in this case) the leak.
All of this is worthy of attention to inquiring minds.
Anyone flaming at the unwashed, un-knowledgeable but actually intelligent positions of the "other" side are disingenuous at best or blinded/paid for shills/sheeple at worst.
ORI
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com
You are spot on ORI, there is much more amis than what is reported or even exist in the ether.
And if it is not being reported, and if you are not hearing it in the ether, where is your information coming from, and how do you confirm that the information is correct?
See the simmons meme playing out right before your very eyes, Augustus et. al.
His "wild" claims have been more or less substantiated.
Besides, for those of you who have done your research, it is clear that something is amiss. If there was not, they would not be blocking media access, controlling clean-up crews media access, controlling information.
The Simmons meme is not playing out. The wellhead and BOP are exactly in the original position where BP installed them. The well is not leaking 100,000 bpd into the GOM. There has never been 100,000 psi pressure in this well. Which part of the Simmons meme are you most carefully able to defend?
His claims have been debunked.
Nothing is particularly amiss. On day two or three BP told you that the only solution was a kill well and it would take until August to drill it.
Do you consider head lice a protected species?
That is just beyond fucking ridiculous.
"On day two or three BP told you that the only solution was a kill well and it would take until August to drill it."
Oh really, All I can say to that is they on day one, two, three until know has been lies as the truth nor the operational safety record with them. Do not believe them as they are stalling and do not have a plan.
Explain to me how you drill a relief well into an unknown location of a ruptured casing, which is the real problem causing leaks in the forms of fissures as far as 20 miles away.
And while we are on the subject of well pressure, it is averaging 20K to over 70K psi and peaking at times to 100K psi.
quit splitting hairs here; no known fix exist (beyond it bleeding out to nominal sea floor pressure) as we were beyond our technical capability in drilling this "Ultra Deep Well".....
May God have mercy on our sorry asses
Only God could save your ignorant sorry ass. Your refusal to obtain knowledge commits you to that course. Use the brain that God gave you to save your own ass.
Whatever the pressure is, it is.
It does not change from day one.
The location of the target of the relief well is not unknown. Why would you not know that?
Please tell me how you measured that 100,000 psi and where you measured it. If I can confirm it, I will drill there and give you an override. Hoping to hear from you to make a fortune. thanks.
It is not ad hominem attack to describe TOL as an idiot. It is a statement of fact.
Certain facts are not in dispute. The original reservoir pressure cannot possibly have been more than 13,750 psi and was likely about 12,750 psi (my only sources of information are from the Congressional committee data dump - all this is calculable from that info).
Wellhead flowing pressure MUST be lower than the original reservoir pressure by at LEAST the equivalent pressure exerted a column of oil/gas 12,000' in height. Wellhead flowing pressure MUST exceed at least 2800 psi or hydrostatic pressure would kill the well. These are the very simplistic but absolute bounds on the possible pressures. Hydrocarbons flowing out cause a DECLINE in pressure from the original levels encountered, you cannot ever have pressures above those levels(described in the industry as "virgin" pressures)
Those things are indisputable physical facts. My opinion is that anyone who quotes pressures outside those levels doesn't know what they're talking about.
+1
12,750 minus 6,000 p.s.i.(after 60 days) = 6,750 p.s.i.
+1. Well said and long overdue.
Do you consider head lice a protected species?
If you would back off the gratuitous, ad hominem ridicule, it would make it a lot easier for folks here to seriously consider the substance of your comments.