it's a four inch pipe

[spanone]

BP inserted a new tube Sunday into the damaged oil pipe that has been gushing oil from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico for three and a half weeks in a bid to capture as much of the oil as possible.

The four-inch wide new pipe was inserted into the broken section known as the riser, from which the majority of the oil has been leaking. If it works, the inserted pipe could keep a substantial amount of the oil out of the see by siphoning it up a mile-long pipe to the Discoverer Enterprise drillship and then to nearby barges.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/16/AR2010051601510.html?hpid=topnews

[ZombieHorde]

1. The size of the pipe is less important than how the pipe is used. nt

[spanone]

3. i won't touch that line for a milion dollars....bwahahaha

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

2. And what a 36" hole or something close to that?

:shrug:

[stevedeshazer]

4. A four-inch pipe?

That's appropriate for all the Hummer drivers out there that want to "drill, baby, drill".

[lutherj]

5. They stuck a four in pipe into a 21 inch pipe?

That should work.






:sarcasm:

[TexasProgresive]

6. What's your source that it's a 21" pipe? n/t

[Motown_Johnny]

7. I remember seeing something with the video of the pipe saying it was 22 inches in diameter

I can go look for it if you like

[RC]

9. BP trying to put stopper in leaking oil well

May 14, 2010

BP trying to put stopper in leaking oil well

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GULF OF MEXICO — Undersea robot operators tried to thread a small tube into the jagged pipe that is pouring oil into the Gulf of Mexico early Friday in BP's latest attempt to cut down on the spill from a blown-out well that has pumped out more than 4 million gallons of crude.

The company was trying to move the 6-inch tube into the leaking 21-inch pipe, known as the riser. The smaller tube will be surrounded by a stopper to keep oil from leaking into the sea, which could be in place later Friday, BP said. The plan is for the tube to siphon the oil to a tanker at the surface.

The company was trying to move the 6-inch tube into the leaking 21-inch pipe, known as the riser. The smaller tube will be surrounded by a stopper to keep oil from leaking into the sea, which could be in place later Friday, BP said. The plan is for the tube to siphon the oil to a tanker at the surface.

http://goshennews.com/breakingnews/x712209625/Hose-sucking-oil-from-Gulf-well

[Motown_Johnny]

10. here is a link for you

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126809525

^snip^

Without even having a sense of scale from the BP video, he correctly deduced that the diameter of the pipe was about 20 inches. And though his calculation is less precise than Wereley's, it is in the same ballpark.

[lutherj]

12. I've been trying to find a definitive description of the size of the pipe. The best I came across

indicated 21". Unfortunately I don't remember the source. As I recall it was attached to one of the videos of the leaking pipe, as Motown mentions in post 7.

[TexasProgresive]

16. Yeah I found something that said the riser was 21"

The tool that is or has been inserted in the large pipe has rubber flanges that are extended to create a seal. That tool is connected to standard 4"drill pipe which carries the oil and gas to the surface.

Other reading was that BP was going to insert heavy mud into the well at the bottom of the blow out preventor which in theory will stop the flow of oil and gas. They are going to use a 30,000 horse power pump and believe they can out run the oil with the mud. Time will tell.

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. Um, that has been widely reported for over a week. Here is a current link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37177037/ns/gulf_oil_spill/

[FLPanhandle]

11. Well, it's a 21 inch crimped and bent pipe.

So, it's probably not flowing at the maximum rate the pipe could handle.

[Motown_Johnny]

8. it seems like a step in the right direction, If I were them.....

... the next thing I would do is place a "collar" on the 4 inch pipe and slide it all the way down so that it lands on top of the larger pipe. Then lock it down.

[IDemo]

14. Why not a larger pipe over the outside?

Even if just a short length to act as a sleeve, terminating in a fitting to a 'normal' width of pipe to the surface.

[spanone]

15. 21" pipe according to l.a. times....& this says the little tube is 6"....who knows?

BP has offered scant details of its progress in trying to thread the 6-inch tube into the 21-inch pipe spewing oil from the ocean floor. Company spokesmen said technicians were continuing the methodical work of using joysticks to guide the deep-sea robots that are manipulating the contraption, but wouldn't elaborate on Salazar's report.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/05/gulf-oil-spill-bps-latest-attempt-to-stop-leak-encounters-problem.html