Tube Inserted Into Pipe And Capturing Some Of The Leaking Oil - NOLA.com

[WillyT]

Tube inserted into pipe and capturing some of the leaking oil
By The Times-Picayune
May 16, 2010, 11:50AM

<snip>

British Petroleum has successfully inserted a tube into the broken pipe at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and is collecting some, but not all of the leaking oil, officials said.

The Joint Information Center reported that the riser insertion tube tool was successfully tested and inserted into the leaking riser, capturing some amounts of oil and gas, but the test was halted temporarily when the tube was dislodged.

The JIC -- which includes federal agencies as well as BP officials -- said that "While this is disappointing, it is not unexpected given the challenging operating environment."

The oil was stored on board the Discoverer Enterprise drill ship 5,000 feet above on the water's surface,teh JIC said.

Technicians have fully inspected the system and have re-inserted the tool.

The tool is fashioned from a 4-inch pipe and is inserted into the leaking riser, from which the majority of the flow is coming. The procedure involves inserting a 5-foot length of the tool into the end of the damaged riser from where the oil and gas is leaking.

"While not collecting all of the leaking oil, this tool is an important step in reducing the amount of oil being released," the JIC said.

<snip>

Link: http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/wall_street_journal_reports_su.html

Gee... sure would be nice if we had some non-BP SCIENTISTS down there to verify and measure...

:banghead:

[drm604]

1. Define "some".

Excuse my cynicism but "some" could be 90%, or it could be one or two teaspoons. As you say, we need some objective knowledgeable observers on site.

[lonestarnot]

3. Good luck with that!

[Statistical]

4. Some is between 1% and 99%. Indpendent verification not allowed. n/t

[eShirl]

2. I'm imagining a Krazy Straw getting water out the end of a fire hose.

[Botany]

5. A 4" pipe in 22 or 30" inch pipe is spit in the ocean.

It is a start but a very small one.

13 to 18% of the oil at best.

Time for Obama to nationalize this disaster and allow Sec. Steven Chu and company a look at what is happening.

[TriplD]

6. They probably don't want to get too much water in their oil

and they'd risk that if they used a larger pipe.