Posted on 05/10/2010 8:36:29 AM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan
BP has released an infographic showing the current state of the Relief Well, the “final solution” in resolving the Gulf Oil leak caused by the Deepwater Horizon, that shows the current progress (As of yesterday) as well as the proposed design of how they plan to intersect the previous pipe.
(Excerpt) Read more at vizworld.com ...
Great graphic.
Now BP... we don’t another oil-spewing hole in the ocean floor.
bump
just wondering - why do they have to go so deep to tap into the line??
That appears to require incredible precision. How do they do it?
I’m guessing it has something to do with the angle at which they’re drilling. They can’t drill something at an angle too acute, or they’ll risk a collapse of the tunnel. Whereas if they drill straight down and gradually angle it toward the old well, the tunnel can withstand greater pressures from the sea floor.
Mind you, I’m not a professional, just an observation.
Looking for some expertise here on how the relief well is being drilled.
Good question. I am hoping some one with drilling expertise will explain the mechanics of this operation.
Also ...exactly how do they tap into the existing drill hole and plug it.
Deep water drilling with all that high pressure to deal with must be a tricky undertaking.
You don't need to be a professional to appreciate the enormity of the task.
Deep water drillers ...."they da man".
Seems kind of tough to hit a 20” line from a couple of miles away.
How are the dispersable chemicals working, which make the oil glob together and drop to the bottom of the sea. Yes, globs of oil to seep up naturally then sink to the bottom where it helps the environment by adding minerals etc to the see bottom. Years ago there was a constand oil slick from So CA to Mexico from oil naturally seeping up. It became a trickle and I think it’s completely gone, now, with the advent of oil rigs tapping into the the oil caverns.
How are the dispersable chemicals working, which make the oil glob together and drop to the bottom of the sea. Yes, globs of oil to seep up naturally then sink to the bottom where it helps the environment by adding minerals etc to the see bottom. Years ago there was a constand oil slick from So CA to Mexico from oil naturally seeping up. It became a trickle and I think it’s completely gone, now, with the advent of oil rigs tapping into the the oil caverns.
Indeed. The technology they utilize has got to consist of some very sophisticated guidance and control subsystem with very robust electronics at the drill end as well as the high power mechanical drill system it self.
When they say “Disperment Chemicals” you are being mislead, they are not chemicals but rather bacteria such as Pseudomonas putida and other things. Even the Federal goverment does not know what is in this dispersment, but I have some news for you, it’s not chemcials, it’s living.
The new well needs to be able to control pressure on the new well it drilled and control pressure on the well it is tapping into.
While drilling a well they control pressure on by using what they call mud. To control the pressure the weight of the mud needs to meet or exceed the pressure of the well at the depth they are drilling. The formula is quite easy- Depth in feet x pounds per gallon of fluid x .052. This will give you the force in psi that the column of fluid is exerting at a certain depth. At 18,000 ft that mud weight is going to have a lower ppg than at 18,000 ft.
Also, when they tap into the well they are going to be losing mud to the well they are taping into and are going to need to have the ability to replace the mud at a rate as high as the other well is going to be taking on that mud. If the other well takes on the mud at a higher rate then the new well will lose pressure control of the new well they drilled.
It should read at 18,000 ft. the ppg of mud weight the rig needs will be lower than at 8,000ft.
Figured that’s the reason for the rust color. Guess the bacteria getting fat off the oil causes a algae bloom (i.e. red tide.)
Directional drilling is how they will intercept the existing well. They know exactly where the pipe is they want to intercept in relation to the current drilling rig. By constantly taking surveys while drilling is in process they will know where they are at all times. When they get close to their target pipe they will be able to pick up magnetic anomalies which help with the precision streering of the downhole drill motor to make a perfect intercept.
At least that is how it is supposed to work.
The directional drilling technology advancement in the last few years have been tremendous. Logging while drilling, steerable drilling, directional gyros, magnetic tracking and downhole instrumentation such as temperature and pressure. It is just amazing to me.
The other thing I'm interested in is how do they guide and control the drill bit. Your trying to tap into a small drill hole at 18000 feet or so and at an angle to boot. Some tricky vectoring control ...no?
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