What happens next: The rig had been drilling for crude oil in a reservoir in the Rigel gas field about 1,500 metres beneath the seabed. When the rig sank, its pipeline to the reservoir crumpled, and the major leak is coming from the first fold in the pipe, with a secondary leak located about two metres from the wellhead, at the seabed.
The U.S. Coast Guard has sent robot submarines to try to stop the leaks by activating the blowout preventer, a series of pipes and valves at the wellhead designed to automatically clamp shut over the base of the leaking well pipe. It failed during the explosion, which is believed to have been triggered by the uncontrolled escape of gas from the well.
The submarines are equipped with cameras and remote-controlled arms to activate the blowout valves manually. The work will be done 1.5 kilometres below the ocean surface and was expected to take 24 to 36 hours – if it works. BP’s chief operating officer, Doug Suttles, described the plan as a “highly complex task.”
If that doesn’t work: If they can’t turn off the leak, the clean up group plans to cut the oil off at its source. On Monday, a second oil rig, called the Development Driller III, arrived to start drilling a relief well into the oil reservoir beneath the ocean. The relief well would relieve pressure at the leak site, and be used to inject cement to block the flow of oil. The original well will then be permanently sealed. “We are attacking this spill on two fronts – at the wellhead and on the surface offshore,” said Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive. The thing is, this option could take several months to complete.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/robot-subs-trying-to-stop-oil-leak-deep-below-gulf-of-mexico/article1547673/
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