A cork.

[wtmusic]

I'm unfamiliar with the details of what a seafloor wellhead looks like, and there is probably a good reason why an approach like this wouldn't work.

The first step would be to remove any debris or crushed metal from the wellhead, and cut off any mangled pipe as cleanly as possible using a robotic submarine.

240,000 gallons/day is 3 gal/sec. With an 8" pipe that translates to an exit velocity of 14"/sec, and though that's a lot of oil, it's not a gusher.

A specially-designed "cork" would be lowered from a ship and guided into place by a submarine. Two features of the cork would help counter resistance from the oil flowing out of the well:
1) A long taper
2) A heavy, high-density core made of depleted uranium or lead

Even if it didn't provide a complete seal, it could conceivably minimize spillage until a more permanent arrangement is devised.

[ironrooster]

1. well, it depends on how much oil (if any) is being restricted

by the wellhead. I don't think the wellhead is fully open.

I would try weld a cone directly onto the wellhead to direct most of the oil to a tanker.

They could "mock" one up beforehand by using the dimemsions of the Cameron model

being used - lower it into place - and tack weld diectly onto the unit.

If we knew that the wellhead was totally unobstructed and "wide open" then

yes, it could be cut away and a giant needle valve used like you propose.

Somebody from BP commented that this was like the "Apollo 13" crisis -

while that may be true, the quality of personnel addressing the current

crisis are not that of NASA ca 1970.

[wtmusic]

4. You're right, the current consensus is that the blowout preventer

has closed at least partway, so my idea wouldn't work. And if it was wide open the pressure would be too great. I should probably not post at 3 AM :D

Apparently the riser is still intact on the wellhead, and there are at least three leaks on the riser. Which raises the question of whether sawing or blowing the riser off could possibly make matters much worse. They may be left with trying to patch the leaks on the riser individually for the time being.

The "relief well" approach sounds like BP taking the least costly way out - a 90-day window with a best-case scenario of only slowing it down? They should be focusing all of their efforts on identifying and stopping the leaks.

[Dead_Parrot]

9. You're using your head, though

+10 points. :)

[flamingdem]

10. Is there much U.S. oversight of their process? nt

[Dogmudgeon]

2. I'm guessing they'll blast

It would be a sloppy solution, but if they can shift enough rock, they can stop the flow, or at least slow it dramatically.

And after that -- the trials.

--d!

[joshcryer]

8. Yeah, once we get into a month or two, if the relief wells don't stop it, that's a possiblity.

I would hope it doesn't do the opposite of what it would be intended to do, though.

[phantom power]

3. A kick.

[XemaSab]

5. Or they could move LOST island on top of the thing

:hide:

[kestrel91316]

6. Somebody needs to calculate the PSI of the outflow and then rig up some sort

of weighted plug that will fit into the pipe end and not be pushed up by the oil pressure.

Maybe a lead plug would be heavy enough. Then when the flow is stopped, weld a permanent cap over that.

[joshcryer]

7. I suspect that pipe is split and cracked deep into the sea floor.

A cork would slow it, but only temporarily.

[BeFree]

11. V-Shaped hole around the pipe in the sea floor

That v-shaped hole was supposed to be cemented in by Halliburton.

If not done properly it would allow oil to flow around the pipe. As it flows it erodes the land around it crating an even bigger V, allowing more oil to flow.

The water pressure at 5,000 feet would force water down into where the oil was forcing more oil out.

Ever hear of emulsification? We may end calling the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of emulsification.

[Nihil]

12. I bet that bit gets "lost" by the US media too ...

> That v-shaped hole was supposed to be cemented in by Halliburton.

In the same way that the Transocean ownership & management is being
downplayed, I bet that few Americans will hear any blame associated
with their home-grown war profiteering con-men but will only see
reports of "BP this" and "BP that" ...

:shrug: