The AM Forum

http://www.spe.org/notes/2010/07/faqs-on-deepwater-drilling-gulf-spill/ (http://www.spe.org/notes/2010/07/faqs-on-deepwater-drilling-gulf-spill/)

Please note the responses to the FAQ's from SPE members.  Interesting comments, some paralleling thoughts expressed on this board.  SPE is the oil and gas industries equivalent of IEEE and every bit as professional.

Also some knowedge of methane hydrates, particularly formation at critical temperature and pressure is useful in discussing some of the earlier attempts to control the discharge at deep sea depths.

The industry will go forward with deep sea drilling and production, if not in US then certainly offshore Brazil, Cuba, South China
Sea, North Sea... you name it.

Financing (who and how) of offshore Brazil deep sea exploration and development at this time and short term future is particularly illuminating right now. 

R. S. Wilson, PE O&GE, SPE /AIME

As Expected:.

 I'm Not Impressed one bit, with this, No Disrespect to the Poster an I haven't had any concerns about drilling other fields, or being so concerned with Brazil,.. Stay on Target America has the Problem...other countries they have their own issues an concerns, all I'm getting out of this mish mosh is we're drilling Relief tubes so that's the reasoning for the August Timeline I Hope it works as we're generating How many GPM.

 As far as these generated meetings an gatherings coupling collectives of Prof's Added on purpose time wasting my answer to that is You'all had Nothing Prepared an All this started when..,? and we're at what time now,..? HOW MUCH MORE TIME DO WE LET PASS.. OK it's time to get Up an Go.. stand up an Limp out of the cushy offices an protected jobs,, an I do like the discussion on Role Playing...Why Yes we're Furthering the need for more Role Playing with the department of Interior oh does that Ring of Compartmental-ism...more PSi's PIE's MOB"S Ya gotta love it man... Getting Geared up for the advancement to hand  off the issue to the Feds Hands Boys...Here we're done...It's your Baby now... 8) Tax Payers a Tench Hut now Do Your Duty PAY UP.

I don't Trust what is Happening Not one Daw Gone Bit.

Again No Disrespect meant to the poster or the Fourm.


73

Jack.

none taken  ;D

-jes thought a little info should be radiated outward
into the aether.

nice post acronyms there Rick!

Didn't know what ya did  ;D

Thanks much for the info.  The SPE faqs are great, the member comments are more telling.  While I fully agree that too many have jumped the gun in reaching conclusions about the cause (especially Congress), I think SPE could be more realistic and admit that poor decisions by the drilling directors are going to be the major cause.

b.

Of the initial leak. The lack of containment is a whole different story.

And what do the "Members" Have to say about Rain, and the Impending Refugee Crisis.

I'm Not saying anymore than the TILT Average is growing and Crop Damage is surfacing.


73

Jack.

Rick,

Doesn't this stuff drive you crazy.

The media, and BP for that matter, are not forthcoming with ANY information that might allow you to have an idea of what happened here.

So look at this.  https://hub.us.pason.com/drilling_data/get_last_24_hours/1277904024

That is the last 24 hours of a well EnCana is drilling in Wyoming. I'm at my house here in Colorado, 450 miles away, and not only me but anyone with a user name and password can look at all the drilling information on  any well if the have been granted access.

Note the BOP Drill at about 13:20, they are done everyday.

This is real time information, that has been recorded and saved since the well started. It would have been sent to BP and all consultants who were working on the well.

So where is this stuff?

I would like to know TD on the well, the mud wt. at TD, see the mud/geologic log, see all the recorded drilling information, it looks to me like openhole logs were run, how much rat hole beyond the last pay zone did they have, how long did they wait on cement after running their long string. Did they properly bump the cement plug, did they maintain pressure against it. Did they run a CBL(cement bond log) before they decided to displace the drilling mud with sea water? Did they wait long enough for the cement to set?

Based on T&P and the formation you landed your casing in and are setting your cement in, the curing time for the cement could be anything from 6 to 48 hours. Maybe more, I'm  a petroleum geologist, so I'm not a expert on cementing wells although I've done it myself many times.

What I've seen is a lot of PC bullshit, and no hard facts of what occured, although I know they were all recorded.

In the Spring of 1942 the East Coast of the US was covered in oil from Florida to NYC. From what? German U-Boats sinking our oil tankers coming from Texas to the Northeast. Was this a big environmental disaster?

No, I guess prople, where more interested in making sure the National Language wasn't German instead of saving a few birds along the coast.

I'm glad they did that, because learning German sucks.

You all have a good day!

Marty Granica  WB2RJR

They need to Interview the Deck Sup. is he still alive..?

No he was killed but they interviewed his wife and she thought he was very trouble just before the blow out.

-Marty Granica  WB2RJR and all:
      Yes, very germain thoughts.

No doubt 12 lives, several score B bbl's oil, several T's nat. gas, several B $'s later dispersed to the good, sundry and the silly, coupled with the emnity of thoughtful people everywhere  has caused BP to have serious thoughts too about best practices.

They'll spend a lot of time and money cleaning up operating practices, safety and design. They'll have a lot of review of public image and corporate relations.

The standard business model for every large corporation, particularly international, will now change.  It will incorporate but not record methods for dealing with increasing statism in all its expensive, grandstanding glory.  Expenses and subsequent charges for products and services and, of course, taxes, overt and hidden, will inexorably go up.  

We as informed, somewhat compliant consumers will bear the cost.  Some of us will laud the increased expenses as necessary; most of us will p&m about the nasty corporations, mega exec. compensation, etc. whilst totally ignoring the basic tenants of "Animal Farm" and excessive government disguised as "helpful and necessary."  Note that some informed gov't is necessary.  It is so much easier to attack with mantra rather than build or rebuiild with thoughtful, constructive talent.   Very few problems in the real domain have linear solutions.

Yes, we see this pattern repeated.  Compare the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919 which killed 25 men:

-Occurred in winter
-Involved brown sticky fluid
-Construction Supervisor skipped static pressure tests of vessel
-Leaks were ignored and disguised by painting tank brown
-Rising tank temperatures over several days were ignored
-Sailors were first responders to scene
-Company denied responsibility.  Initially claimed Anarchists caused explosion.
-Waters surrounding site were brown for months afterwards
-Cleanup involved men with shovels for months afterwards
-Residents claimed area smelled for years afterwards
-Legal actions dragged on for several years
-Company ordered to pay damages

Lessons:
-Who uses molasses any more?
-When was the last time you met an Anarchist?
-Welding is a faster way to cover up stress cracks than painting
-Bostonians got over fear of molasses and no longer wear high button shoes.

b.

The riggers dropped a $100K amp we had them moving between buildings.
It was our fault because we didn't provide them a procedure on how to move a rack of equipment.
only in amerika

Yup, then there is the Short Term Memory to count on.

Top ten oils spills of all time. Hard to say what the current spill is adding up to with all the estimates, but it's very likely it won't be anywhere near the worst (at least as far as amount spilled) of all time.


1. Kuwait - 1991 - 520 million gallons
Iraqi forces opened the valves of several oil tankers in order to slow the invasion of American troops. The oil slick was four inches thick and covered 4000 square miles of ocean.

2. Mexico - 1980 - 100 million gallons
An accident in an oil well caused an explosion which then caused the well to collapse. The well remained open, spilling 30,000 gallons a day into the ocean for a full year.

3. Trinidad and Tobago - 1979 - 90 million
During a tropical storm off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, a Greek oil tanker collided with another ship, and lost nearly its entire cargo.

4. Russia - 1994 - 84 million gallons
A broken pipeline in Russia leaked for eight months before it was noticed and repaired.

5. Persian Gulf - 1983 - 80 million gallons
A tanker collided with a drilling platform which, eventually, collapsed into the sea. The well continued to spill oil into the ocean for seven months before it was repaired.

6. South Africa - 1983 - 79 million gallons
A tanker cought fire and was abandoned before sinking 25 miles off the coast of Saldanha Bay.

7. France - 1978 - 69 million gallons
A tanker’s rudder was broken in a severe storm, despite several ships responding to its distress call, the ship ran aground and broke in two. It’s entire payload was dumped into the English Channel.

8. Angola - 1991 - more than 51 million gallons
The tanker expolded, exact quantity of spill unknown

9. Italy - 1991 - 45 million gallons
The tanker exploded and sank off the coast of Italy and continued leaking it’s oil into the ocean for 12 years.

10. Odyssey Oil Spill - 1988 - 40 million gallons
700 nautical miles off the cost of Nova Scotia.

I ran across an article the other day (from National Geographic IIRC), which stated that Nigeria averages the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez spill about once a month. Government oversight over oil drilling by British, US, French and Dutch oil companies is non-existent. An example of what happens when exploration and drilling are left totally unregulated, and apparently, a few Americans would like to see the same thing here.

Little or none of the oil wealth is going to the Nigerian people.  Instead, it goes to corrupt government officials and their cronies, while most of the population remains in poverty trying to eke out a miserable existence via subsistence farming and fishing, and now has to live amidst polluted rivers, fields and coastal waters.  This has resulted in the development of a guerilla movement with growing popularity that may eventually evolve into outright civil war. Once all hell breaks loose in Nigeria look out for world oil prices.

BTW, I know one of those officials who is trying to smuggle his wealth out of the country before all hell does break loose.  He has offered to pay me a six-figure sum to help him out, but first I have to come up with $20,000 to take care of a few trivial expenses. I just got an e-mail from him this morning. But I have to wonder about his orientation since he addressed me as "My Dearest".

Speaking of BP and Africa, the company announced Thursday that it planned to start drilling off the coast of Libya within weeks despite calls for a moratorium on the plans, over the company's alleged links to the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Some US senators are urging the UK government to investigate what role the company might have played in the decision to free Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in August 2009. At the time of his release on "compassionate grounds", doctors said he had only a few months to live. Now, nearly a year later, he's still alive and kicking. BP has admitted to lobbying the British government for a prisoner transfer deal in 2007. BP reportedly signed a $900 million exploration agreement with Libya in May of that year, the same month Britain and Libya agreed to allow al-Megrahi's release.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38256677/ns/world_news-africa

Gee Don, I got that email also. Do you think I should reconsider

Zed.L.R's Response,

 FB now let's take care of the sick, clean up the mess an Get-R-Done.

Yes. Go here for more.

419eater.com

Gotta lurve that place.

No Leak Now Yea... :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10654584

I loved the "Skeleton Coast" story.

I like watchen folks walking around with empty bags that bothers me, like whats up.

73

Jack.

Now they are saying the capped well may have sprung a leak.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38273995/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf

Now that they have a good interface to the well head why don't they just harvest the oil and turn it into cash and screw the pressure test. The oil coming up will reduce the backpressure and pay to clean up their mess.

Frank said:
I was wondering that exact same thing! At least you could re-coop your losses.

Because they don't have a permanent connection.  The present cap is just slipped over and clamped down with a rubber seal which is liable to slip or blow off.   They would need to get a solid bolted steel pipe connection.

So they make these stupid choices on purpose. Why do it right once when you can screw up and stay in the news. The best way to keep the ocean floor from leaking is draw oil off the well and keep the pressure down. What am I missing here?

Frank said:
I'm you on this one Franz. I don't know what for kind of pressure rubber seals are good for but you are talking about building up 9000 PSI. That's alot of force. Granted you have about 2700 PSI pressure from the sea but still that's another 6K PSI. Plus most rubber seals are prone to attack by any petroleum based product.

Now this is Rather ironic don't you think?  A short time ago you all were ready to nail them to a cross for Allegedly cutting corners and safety rules that caused the accident.
Now you want them to skip a safety test that even marine science types are saying is required and make sense (and by the way the Feds made sure they would do, Uncle Sam actually stopped the operation to have it reviewed by other "experts" first).
"Stupid Choices" might be what got them here in the first place. Don't you think skipping a rather crucial test of the seal/cap would be foolhardy?  After all there are going to be points in the recovery process where the flow will be shut down, like when a full ship pulls out to be replaced by an empty.
Wouldn't it be better to have it fail now while everything is still in place or would you all like to repeat this operation in a couple months time to save 48 hrs worth of testing?

I doubt the seal in question is a simple rubber compound, probably one of any number of synthetics that could live in oil 24-7-265 with a physical structure designed to take the pressure differential.

BP had no trouble replacing the flange so why did they select one that is a simple JS seal. Why do they seem to be so half assed? Why do they need to rasie the pressure of the well when the ocean floor could spring a leak that would be impossible to control. Why not draw oil off the well and turn it into cash rather than playing games. They could close the valves if a storm blows up and continue when it is over. 
Ed safety is the concern, so why run the pressure up and cause a bigger failure when you can harvest the oil and make money. It seems way past stupid.
Who gives a crap if the head can hold back 7000 pounds when it is less then 3000 when oil is flowing into a ship above where you can sell it for $75 a barrel. crap they could connect a new riser pipe and set up a platform above it.
Please what am I missing here.

Well,  I haven't seen much of the design of the cap so I honestly can't say if it is half baked or not.  I can say that they had to design, build and test by trial something that had to work first time out so from that perspective the test makes sense.
Let's not forget that there will be bad weather that will force the tankers off the pipes and the cap will have to hold back the full monty while they wait out the storms, Better to know now that it'll do it, or build one that will.
Also, from what I saw on the news/net, the Feds basically made BP run the tests, after having the plan reviewed by a bunch of 'experts' (one has to wonder if they are the same 'experts' that gave the rig the safety award a short time before the accident??) the government review was what caused the day or so's delay in placing the cap.  Besides, no one down there BP, or fishermen etc can afford to have this thing pop-off again.

The cap is just a temporary fix too, the permanent fix will be when one of the reliever well plugs this one with mud.

I do believe that they are as eager as anyone else to get that thing under control and to start some sort of nearly normal operation to start recouping what must be a staggering loss.  Not to mention penalties, fines, clean up costs, and future reparations.  This spill will cost them big time.

 " I don't know what for kind of pressure rubber seals are good for but you are talking about building up 9000 PSI."



Maybee they can buy some from Morton-Thiokol.



klc

It is the other 100 days that might be the problem.

ding. ya got me.

Why plug a well full of oil when you can harvest it and make a pile of cash to pay off the fines. The well pipe is holding after a number of days so WTF

This mornings new said they wanted to pump down some mud to close it. That's stupid unless there's other issues.

Sure would be nice to hear the truth for a change.
The latest flange looks like a big grease fitting so not impressed.

Remember the Jaguar, Triumph, Spitfire and anything else that came out of GB from  years ago?  They drive on the left.  Nothing has changed.   :D

Hi Bob,

:( I miss my old Triumph, Fight to get it running but I had some fun on mine I had that sparkle finish on mine Man it was a Chick getter.LOL

73

 :) Peanut

Changing Gears again BP wants to pump Mud And Cement down the hole the Drama continues...

What a bunch of hey hole birds