BP pioneering underwater engineering feats to halt spewing oil in Gulf

[Sgent]

Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune

On the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, the pressure is about 2,500 pounds per square inch, so any equipment used in the containment operation must be strong. Robotic remotely operated vehicles controlled by pilots on boats at the surface are carrying out the work rather than divers. And while the methods to contain the flow of oil have been used successfully elsewhere, they've never been tried in 5,000 feet of water.

"This has been done in shallow water. It has never been done in deep water before," Doug Settles, chief operating officer of BP, said Monday.

On Sunday afternoon, BP began drilling a relief well or second 18,000-foot tunnel to intersect with the original well so it can inject a heavy liquid that is more dense than oil and stop the flow. But Settles said that interrupting the flow with a relief well could take two to three months, so his company is also trying to stem the flow of oil from three holes in the crumpled rig beneath the ocean through faster, but technologically difficult means.

On Monday, BP tried to install a valve on one of the leaks to try to shut it off using robotic vehicles underwater. The remotely operated vehicles, as the robots are known, are tethered to construction vessels floating on the surface of the Gulf and are operated by pilots. "We hope to have that activity complete today," Settles said.

....
plus more

Read more: http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/bp_pioneering_underwater_engin.html

[Duer 157099]

1. And just think, if it works they'll be hailed as heroes

and probably get all sorts of economic incentives to continue and expand business in the Gulf.

Forgetting that it was their utter unpreparedness that led here in the first place, of course.

We have such short term memories. And by we, I mean, they.

[Javaman]

11. Ahh but when it fails

and it will, they will declare bankruptcy and the American public gets left holding the bill.

it's a win win for BP.

remember: the house always wins.

[flamingdem]

2. rah f**king rah nt

[NYC_SKP]

3. Here's a graphic of that action:

The original well is on the right, the relief well is on the left.

I have no idea of the timeline for successfully implementing any single part of these efforts.

Source here: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

and here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uscgd8/4558745875/



:patriot:

[gristy]

4. Put a "valve" on one of the leaks? Whatever for?

If I've got something "leaking" I suppose I might put a "valve" on it to stop it leaking if I want to be able to start it leaking at some point in the future. By opening the value. But why the hell one would want to do this is anybody's guess.

Maybe "put a valve on it" sounds better than "patch the hole in the pipe"?

[bc3000]

5. to stop the leak.

I'm not an engineer, but wouldn't it be easier to put a valve on the leak that could be closed once affixed rather than try to to cap it while dealing with the pressure of the flow?

[gristy]

6. There ya go. Yes, I believe you are correct.

Very good.

[GeorgeGist]

7. Unprepared

Simple AND
Arrogant

U-S-A ... U-S-A ... U-S-A.

[GeorgeGist]

8. In related news:

BP pioneers engineered a disaster from abovewater.

[Thor_MN]

9. It's not pioneering if you have to do it. It's a desperation Hail Mary pass.

regarding the relief well, a heavy liquid more dense than oil? I'm hoping they are not talking about mercury...

[Dappleganger]

10. IOW, they're finally working on their Shit Hits the Fan Plan.

Which should have been up and running before the platform was even built.

BFD

[moroni]

13. This should have been set up...

decades ago. They should not have to engineer anything (new). All of this should have been in place long before
a platform fell into the ocean. They should be made to walk the plank!

[Nihil]

16. You're right!

> This should have been set up...
> decades ago. They should not have to engineer anything (new).
> All of this should have been in place long before
> a platform fell into the ocean. They should be made to walk the plank!

It's a disgrace that they didn't have anything waiting around, ready
to work on whatever might have happened whenever it happened!

In fact, they *should* have had two of them just in case two went bad
at the same time - no point in capturing one leak if the other's going
to undo all that good work ...

No, what about the risk of three failures? They should have had three
of them standing around somewhere *just* *in* *case* they were needed!

Even if TransOcean were such pikers that they "didn't want to spend the money"
then why is it taking so long to borrow whatever's necessary from the Exxon
rigs nearby?

... oh, wait ...

[ixion]

12. Perhaps they should have been 'pioneering' BEFORE

they destroyed the Gulf of Mexico.

[Canuckistanian]

14. I'm sure shipbuilding technologies advanced after the Titanic

We always learn AFTER disasters what we should have done in the first place.

[ixion]

15. This is our Fatal Flaw

in my opinion.