Posted on 07/18/2010 9:33:31 AM PDT by blam
UPDATE: Admiral Allen Orders Well Opened, BP Says It Will Keep Well Closed
Gus Lubin
Jul. 18, 2010, 11:15 AM
UPDATE: BP will keep the cap closed until it fears the well is at risk, Operations Chief Doug Suttles said in a conference call this morning.
This contradicts orders from Admiral Allen to open the well and begin siphoning oil -- to avoid a possible pressure-buildup.
So who's behind the wheel? And is BP about to take a huge risk?
PREVIOUSLY: Admiral Allen has ordered BP to open the containment cap that they finally closed last Thursday, according to Bloomberg. BP will return to siphoning oil from the well, capturing more than ever before.
While changing equipment, oil will leak unimpeded into the Gulf.
But what's most worrying are signs of ongoing uncertainty about well integrity. Opening the well is a precaution against an apocalyptic ocean floor collapse:
Allowing oil to flow from the well will make the final kill procedure easier and safer, as it will lower the pressure in the reservoir and make any potential hidden leaks less risky, [Houston professor] Van Nieuwenhuise said.
In other words, the final relief well procedure will NOT be a cakewalk.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
However, in a business week article that suggests Allen did order BP to go back to "containment" (which actually means opening up the well and capturing the oil, I found this nugget:
Thad Allen wants to do containment because they want to find out what the real flow rate was,” Don Van Nieuwenhuise, director of Petroleum Geoscience Programs at the University of Houston, said in an interview yesterday. “Unless they do something like that, they’ll almost never be able to prove what the true flow rate was.”That is an interesting speculation. The low pressure measured translates to an oil spill much lower than what government is trying to charge BP for.
So maybe they want collection so they want to say whatever is collected is what was leaking before, to get more money from BP.
It seems government was very dissappointed with the low pressure readings, because they lose money.
I'm still holding another speculative theory -- the liberal ecology group that gets all the money from the collected oil might be putting pressure on the white house to turn containment back on. They were collecting up to 15,000 barrels a day with the Enterprise, which translates to a gross of over a million a day if you assume $70 a barrel.
The Helix is supposed to be able to collect 20,000, so if they hook enterprise back up they could be collecting 35,000 barrels in a few days -- that's almost 3 million dollars a day, a significant if not ALL of that going to an ecology organization. Over the 30 days before the seal, that could be their entire previous budget.
And if they bring ALL the rest of the production online, it could be a lot more.
So, who’s right? Greedy, accident-prone, corrupt BP, or Coast Guard Admiral Allen, who knows nothing whatever about drilling and is advised by a panel of Obamanoid “experts” who know nothing about drilling?
Hmm. I think I’ll flip a coin on this one.
It’s the deaf leading the blind. Or was that the other way around?
The problem with opening and closing is just like your faucet....there's a kick to it...your house pressure is zip compared to this rig.
I can see what BP is saying....just keep quiet for a while....and I think there's a wise man somewhere telling them to wait....and it's NOT a politician. Maybe they're considering a shift on the sea floor...maybe they're getting seismic info that is making them skeptical.
Personally, I'd be a wreck...and I think everyone who's on this job is a mess...not sleeping etc etc....
” Orders? I don’t get this. Is this guy smarter than all those BP engineers?”
Had the same feeling. Allen comes on and sounds like he is directing things. Has anyone seen a joint presentation between Allen and BP ??
The explanation I read a while back said the main pipe casing had shattered and oil was forcing its way out of the borehole and into the surrounding seafloor, thus weakening it.
Relief well has 100ft vertically to drill & 4ft laterally. Able to start killing the well the week after next thru mid-Aug. - Doug Suttles
about 4 hours ago via web
We've monitored the bubbles, looked for indications that hydrates are forming to indicate oil & gas but there was none. Encouraging -Suttles
about 4 hours ago via web
We are continuing to run extensive tests and monitor. We're going to take this day by day. -Doug Suttles
about 4 hours ago via web
It seems to me over the last few months that BP has used Twitter and Facebook updates to counter some of the governments statements. That made immediate responses to Obama's accusations about not paying compensation via these websites.
Collapse? A volcano doesn't collapse. Who wrote this Shepard Smith, Whorealdo or Rick Sanchez?
And yes we're all gonna die. One day.
What I want to know is when are they going to start moving with the RW again??
I am no expert in this area, but I have read a lot of what experts say. Your guess may be correct. Some of the petroleum engineers have long been concerned that the hydraulic effect of a subterranean leak in the well bore could router out the sand deposits, "soft" rock and/or salt domes and provide a volcanic like path to the pressurized oil pool. I think it is like hydraulic mining where they use high pressure water hoses to router way earthen banks to expose minerals.
methinks The Admiral and his advisors neeed some time off.
Apocalyptic? There go the fear-mongers again. Fear-mongers vs engineers.
Apocalyptic? There go the fear-mongers again. Fear-mongers vs engineers.
In short, Adm. Thad Allen(Ret.) is a false front gubbermint figure, placed there purely as a stage prop to help the media monkeys think the gubbermint is in charge.
BP has a lot more at stake here than he does--if they screw up now, they're done for-- so I'd trust their judgment before his.
None of the above, it was actually Perez Hilton (/sarc)
THAT is the answer!
There was some conspiracy guy on Coast to Coast the other night saying the same thing Allen said. That the oil leak hasn’t stopped, it has just moved elsewhere along a fracture zone. This is shown by the lower than expected pressure readings.
The whole ocean floor within 10 miles of the well is going to collaspe and release gas and oil and kill us all.
Good Grief...
Obama has harnessed his best scientists from universities and government.
In which group would you place your trust??
Because 0bama needs video of the crude shooting out 24/7 on the MSM.
Follow the crises trail.
Why are you in a hurry for the Radiological War to restart?
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