-- Why has BP concealed that Deepwater Horizon has a 6,000 PSI BOP stack and choke manifold ?
-- Why waste time pretending that this geyser can be capped at the surface ?
-- Where are the deep water submersibles and the modern sensor array recommended by the Cameron Team ? And the U.S. Navy ?
-- How much hydrogen sulfide and oil are leaking from the seabed ?
Critically:
How long can the BOP-manifold at Deepwater Horizon withstand 10,000 to 14,000 PSI pressure ?
Enough with legal nicey-nicey. BP pursues propaganda and private profit. They and their corporate allies are pirates. More of Pedro de Menendez de Avilles, William Kidd, and the Bey of Tripoli.
Obama needs to move decisively:
"I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan British Petroleum on Sunday, Dec. 7 1941 April 20, 2010, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire British Petroleum."
-- F.D.R. / B.H.O.
K.I.S.S.: seize the site and seal this well below the sea bed. Do it ASAP.
MBTF :::
First, a quick review of what has happened over the past six weeks. BP ended up scavenging 10% of the ejecta flow from their worst-ever blow out. Surface scavenging was minimized by using a dispersant.
Surface burns are rare. Specialized equipment is available elsewhere in the world, but none of it have been moved and put to use. Burning old surface oil is not a difficult problem.
That 10% capture ratio is pitiful for 6 weeks' effort. British Petroleum is claiming that the capture is "25% to 50%" at a 6,000-barrels-a-day rate. That calculation would have the well ejecting 252,000 gallons a day.
This is a lie. Propaganda. Worthy of Joseph Goebbels. The "Top Kill" injection of 10,000 PSI drilling "mud" showed that the well head was still generating above 10,000 PSI pressure. Outflow was observed with a minimum above 3,000,000 gallons a day. The central ejecta flow was moving at 60 to 80 mph.
The immediate question:
if BP did cap off the system at the top, how soon would gas and oil generate between 10,000 to 14,000 PSI, again, and blow out the BOP-manifold pipe system ?
A second question: how soon can the U.S. Navy install a monitoring system -- using the Cameron Team's recommendation for Russian Mir submersibles and modern sensors -- will we see hydrogen sulfide and more oil coming up from deeper ruptures in the existing pipe system ?
(Yes, there's more to the pipe system than what BP shows in the video explanations.)
Similarly: instead of trying to go down 18,000 feet and pump oil with a "relief" well, why not intersect close to the existing pipe at 400 meters and seal it off with an explosion ?
(Difference is 2 or 3 months to completion.)
And finally: why not treat British Petroleum the same way that Thomas Jefferson treated the Bey of Tripoli and his Barbary Pirates ?
(Add a formal Declaration of War. Jefferson attacked Tripoli without doing a Declaration of War. Tear them a new one.)
Enough is enough. Obama is Commander in Chief and British Petroleum is doing damage and risking further damage to America that matches up with the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941. This dwarfs the physical damage of 9/11.
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Let's get to details.
When British Petroleum announced the plan for its "Top Kill" operation, one main selection in the equipment list didn't make sense. That was a 10,000 PSI pump for drilling "mud."
BP said that they were going to pump drilling "mud" down into the Deepwater Horizon system and then follow up by sealing the system with concrete. But with pumps that max out at 10,000 PSI that never had a chance to work.
The ejecta flow at this DW system had already been measured for gas-bearing pressures at 14,000 PSI.
This pressure information had been published through Halliburton channels. This came out when Mike Lynch at GLG did his analysis of Halliburton's first public statement. The 14,000 PSI readings were what told the crew on Deepwater Horizon that they had natural gas coming into the flow.
Natural gas at these pressures will also defeat any of the commonly used Oil Biz pipe systems.
During the event, ejecta flow pushed the Top Kill "mud" right out the hole in the riser. Ejecta flow had to be coming out so that it developed more than 10,000 PSI.
These systems can take high pressures for short periods.
But the standard in place for Deepwater Horizon for long term sustained pressure is 6,000 PSI. This reflects casing burst pressure as measured at joints. Gas pulses up above 10,000 PSI to the 14,000 PSI level are not tested -- this is an oil system not a gas system.
Here is a typical rating summary for a normal on-shore well in Wyoming:
Total Depth = 12,000 ft
Bottom Hole Pressure = 6,720 psi
Minimum BOP Working Pressure = 6,720 psi - .22 psi/ft * 12,000 ft = 4,080 psi
BOPE of 5,000 psi working pressure is required.
Friends of Bear Whiz
The Halliburton Q&A info "leak" put the DH system at 6,000 PSI for sustained working pressure. Figure its good for twice that on a gas pulse.
14,000 PSI ??? Holding 14,000 PSI after several days ???
No way. So of course DH blew out. BP and Halliburton managers chose to ignore the engineers and the operating limits of the equipment.
Recall Chernobyl and the "Challenger" disaster and the F.B.I. HQ mishandling of requests to get into the Zacarias Moussaoui laptop ? They were cause by the same pattern, where technically incompetent managers override competent advice and written specifications.
At least the Russians prosecute, so you would expect their management class to exercise some measure of caution in the future. After "Challenger" and the F.B.I. disasters, only the engineers and the great American Coleen Rowley were sacked.
If this system is sealed off at the BOP-LMRP (Blow Out Preventer - Lower Marine Riser Package) then pressure can be expected to build up to the 14,000 PSI level.
The whole pipe system will go back to the risks that appeared prior to the blow out. Thus, capping this well at the surface would prove useless.
Another blow out would be expected within days.
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Now the system is still getting natural gas (hydrogen sulfide) pulses. Pressure does not build up. Not to pressures at 14,000 PSI anyway.
Still, this ejecta flow has to be testing the 6,000 PSI sustained pressure limit. If the new cap is closed off, this pressure could easily reach 7,000 to 9,000 PSI and above.
This is a volcano. The BP propaganda has been treating it as though it was a gas hose at a filling station.
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The "morons" running the BP effort have done their damnedest to hide these risks.
-- There are no sensors out testing for gas (hydrogen sulfide) leaks from this well field.
-- There is no public discussion of the 6,000 PSI working pressure limit of the pipe system.
-- There is no plan to relieve pressure on the pipes and joints prior to doing relief wells that could come in many months from now. At might just as likely fail.
-- There is no hole being drilled to get an advanced explosive device (or a small nuke) down there to effect immediate cut-off -- particularly if the pipe system fails and the whole force of this ejecta volcano breaks through.
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James Cameron is an expert at using the ROV submersibles and at the camera systems.
When Cameron called, 23 experts attended a video conference that was supported by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Their recommendations for 3D camera surveillance and installation of a modern sensor system -- this is surely a top national priority to defend America.
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Also, for those who are not Russian-phobes, here is a simple and brutal demonstration of a simple technique that can seal off damn near anything.
MODERN HYPER-EXPLOSIVES WILL DO THE JOB PERFECTLY WELL.
NO NUKES REQUIRED.
The Russians have a talent for big. This problem is perfect for them. Their engineers came up with something that no one else had imagined.
Today, either we go with the Russians or we risk seeing this base-14,000 PSI volcano break through the 6,000 PSI-rated pipe system. Of course we don't have to use a nuke. The nuke is just the best technical option for the explosive device.
TO REPEAT: NO NUKES REQUIRED.
Meanwhile, if that pipe system fails, the ejecta flow will increase to levels far beyond what has happened so far. The limits for outflow were first investigated scientifically by Daniel Bernoulli.
One can be sure that Bernoulli in the early 1800s had no idea that numbers of such size would ever be run through his equations. He lived in a dangerous world. But not in a world where the ecosystem itself was at risk from the humans.
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Pressure inside the Deepwater Horizon system must reach above 10,000 PSI with 14,000 PSI the highest measured reading.
These figures put the situation outside the rated capacity of the in-place pipe system. That is 6,000 PSI.
The pipe system cannot be assumed to be capable of withstanding these conditions intact.
We recommend two actions:
- Drill an intersection hole down to the 400-meter level and seal off the main Deepwater Horizon pipe with an explosion. Technically, a small nuclear device is preferred. If that is politically infeasible then go with a modern hyper-explosive that yields some 2 kilotons-equivalent of TNT.
- Continue with the relief wells. Assuming the 400-meter intersection blast seals off DH, they can be abandoned. Access to the oil through the Deepwater Horizon site is not a necessity.
Those SOBs are damn well pirates. Killers. Liars. Eco-serial killers. They must be stopped before this well's ejecta flow breaks through the 6,000 PSI pipe system for a second time.
A Declaration of War against a corporation is not something that engineers should recommend. The details of this step are outside our areas of expertise. Still, contrary to BP propaganda on teevee, that is where we are. At war.