I dunno why they haven't just dropped a concrete cap on it. Cut your losses and just drill a new well nearby at this point.Dilbert_X wrote:
Speaking as a pedantic engineer myself, it seems remarkable no oil company thought to have one or two of those metal funnel things ready to go, or to have some other back-up plan in case the safety valve blew off or failed.
'Meh, we'll wing it' is not normal practice in any industry I've worked in, and oil rigs are about as safety critical as is possible.
Probably got overconfident with the current levels of safety technology. I imagine that from now on many companies will have designs for such apparatus around the world and a bloody big funnel on every continent.Dilbert_X wrote:
Speaking as a pedantic engineer myself, it seems remarkable no oil company thought to have one or two of those metal funnel things ready to go, or to have some other back-up plan in case the safety valve blew off or failed.
'Meh, we'll wing it' is not normal practice in any industry I've worked in, and oil rigs are about as safety critical as is possible.
I imagine because it would take a good while to make and cure a concrete cap, at this point steel should be quicker.JohnG@lt wrote:
I dunno why they haven't just dropped a concrete cap on it. Cut your losses and just drill a new well nearby at this point.Dilbert_X wrote:
Speaking as a pedantic engineer myself, it seems remarkable no oil company thought to have one or two of those metal funnel things ready to go, or to have some other back-up plan in case the safety valve blew off or failed.
'Meh, we'll wing it' is not normal practice in any industry I've worked in, and oil rigs are about as safety critical as is possible.
Are you guys joking around? Because they are planning to drop a concrete slab on it.Dilbert_X wrote:
I imagine because it would take a good while to make and cure a concrete cap, at this point steel should be quicker.JohnG@lt wrote:
I dunno why they haven't just dropped a concrete cap on it. Cut your losses and just drill a new well nearby at this point.Dilbert_X wrote:
Speaking as a pedantic engineer myself, it seems remarkable no oil company thought to have one or two of those metal funnel things ready to go, or to have some other back-up plan in case the safety valve blew off or failed.
'Meh, we'll wing it' is not normal practice in any industry I've worked in, and oil rigs are about as safety critical as is possible.
A cap is unlikely to seal fully so they'll need to pump to prevent leakage - just guessing TBH.
It says concrete and steel 'dome' the video says the concrete is there to give it weight, so I'm guessing its non-structural but I don't know anything about offshore structures.Marlo Stanfield wrote:
Are you guys joking around? Because they are planning to drop a concrete slab on it.Dilbert_X wrote:
I imagine because it would take a good while to make and cure a concrete cap, at this point steel should be quicker.JohnG@lt wrote:
I dunno why they haven't just dropped a concrete cap on it. Cut your losses and just drill a new well nearby at this point.
A cap is unlikely to seal fully so they'll need to pump to prevent leakage - just guessing TBH.
http://gawker.com/5532385/bps-oil-slick … ncrete-box
Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-05-06 06:45:04)
No, not joking around. I haven't been following the story but it's the first thing I thought of when I heard about the spill. "Just cap it". What I think they're trying to do is drop the cap on it so that it just slows the leak long enough for them to get a new rig in place and start pumping it. As I said, at this point they need to just cut their losses and stop trying to play cute with it.Marlo Stanfield wrote:
Are you guys joking around? Because they are planning to drop a concrete slab on it.Dilbert_X wrote:
I imagine because it would take a good while to make and cure a concrete cap, at this point steel should be quicker.JohnG@lt wrote:
I dunno why they haven't just dropped a concrete cap on it. Cut your losses and just drill a new well nearby at this point.
A cap is unlikely to seal fully so they'll need to pump to prevent leakage - just guessing TBH.
http://gawker.com/5532385/bps-oil-slick … ncrete-box
Some Basic Q&A's. Some pertaining just to Fl.That process presents several challenges because of the frigid water temperature — about 42 degrees Fahrenheit — and exceptionally high pressure at those depths. Those conditions could cause the pipe to clog with what are known in the drilling industry as "ice plugs." To combat that problem, crews plan to continuously pump warm water and methanol down the pipe to dissolve the clogging.
They are also worried about the volatile cocktail of oil, gas and water when it arrives on the ship above. Engineers believe the liquids can be safely separated without an explosion.
BP engineers are also examining whether the leaking well could be shut off by plugging it from the top instead of drilling a relief well to cap it from the bottom.
Because the oil is on the continental shelf...Harmor wrote:
Does the Obama administration really have an incentive to fix this? Unlike other deasters this has an evil oil company to blame and an entire industry to regulate. To me its a win for Obama the longer this goes.
Also why are we drilling in 1 mile deep waters (plus another 5 miles)? Why can't we drill closer to shore? I would think it would be easier, cheaper, and safer to drill in shallower waters.
There's oil closer and shallower...the Chinese and Vietnamese are drilling it, why can't we?JohnG@lt wrote:
Because the oil is on the continental shelf...Harmor wrote:
Does the Obama administration really have an incentive to fix this? Unlike other deasters this has an evil oil company to blame and an entire industry to regulate. To me its a win for Obama the longer this goes.
Also why are we drilling in 1 mile deep waters (plus another 5 miles)? Why can't we drill closer to shore? I would think it would be easier, cheaper, and safer to drill in shallower waters.
It was only 40 miles offshore... Most of the rest of the gulf has been staked out... You know they drill new wells every day that they don't plan on using for years right? They drill it and cap it. There are millions of capped wells in the United States that aren't currently being extracted...Harmor wrote:
There's oil closer and shallower...the Chinese and Vietnamese are drilling it, why can't we?JohnG@lt wrote:
Because the oil is on the continental shelf...Harmor wrote:
Does the Obama administration really have an incentive to fix this? Unlike other deasters this has an evil oil company to blame and an entire industry to regulate. To me its a win for Obama the longer this goes.
Also why are we drilling in 1 mile deep waters (plus another 5 miles)? Why can't we drill closer to shore? I would think it would be easier, cheaper, and safer to drill in shallower waters.
They do, and it depends.. state laws. Florida law bans drilling within 125 miles of the Florida coast.Harmor wrote:
Does the Obama administration really have an incentive to fix this? Unlike other deasters this has an evil oil company to blame and an entire industry to regulate. To me its a win for Obama the longer this goes.
Also why are we drilling in 1 mile deep waters (plus another 5 miles)? Why can't we drill closer to shore? I would think it would be easier, cheaper, and safer to drill in shallower waters.
Same people that bailed out all the out of work IT/IS workers in 2001.Reciprocity wrote:
lol, all these louisiana fishermen on TV whining about losing their way of life. "Who's gunna help me?"
Boats can freely move about the ocean... They can fish elsewhere, just like the IT guys rdx mentioned more than likely had to pack up and move to work elsewhere...Spark wrote:
Adapt to what? Trying to catch imaginary fish?
Well, it would've been nice if we had told Wall Street and GM that.rdx-fx wrote:
Same people that bailed out all the out of work IT/IS workers in 2001.Reciprocity wrote:
lol, all these louisiana fishermen on TV whining about losing their way of life. "Who's gunna help me?"
In other words nobody. Get over yourselves, adapt, overcome, move on.
Or file a class action lawsuit against BP, and see how long that takes.
oops missed the first part.Kmarion wrote:
They do, and it depends.. state laws. Florida law bans drilling within 125 miles of the Florida coast.Harmor wrote:
Does the Obama administration really have an incentive to fix this? Unlike other deasters this has an evil oil company to blame and an entire industry to regulate. To me its a win for Obama the longer this goes.
Also why are we drilling in 1 mile deep waters (plus another 5 miles)? Why can't we drill closer to shore? I would think it would be easier, cheaper, and safer to drill in shallower waters.
Cali on the other hand.
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4296 … lling2.jpg
.. but lets be honest. What politician Dem or Rep would want to get involved? As soon as they do they are claiming responsibility for everything else that happens. It takes balls and none of them have it.The U.S. official leading the response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill said Sunday that only BP had the expertise to plug the gaping hole in its deepwater well and that he trusted the oil company was doing its best
