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Effort to contain Gulf oil stalls with stuck saw
http://news.yahoo.com/ ^ | June 2, 2010 | Greg Bluestein And Brian Skooff

Posted on 06/02/2010 8:23:41 AM PDT by Biggirl

PORT FOURCHON, La. – The risky effort to contain the nation's worst oil spill hit a snag Wednesday when a diamond-edged saw became stuck in a thick pipe on a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bp; deephorz; energy; gulf; oil; oilspill
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More on President Obama's Chernobyel.
1 posted on 06/02/2010 8:23:41 AM PDT by Biggirl
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To: Biggirl

Saw’s do get pinched.


2 posted on 06/02/2010 8:25:33 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: Biggirl

3 posted on 06/02/2010 8:25:49 AM PDT by TSgt (We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. - Ronald Reagan)
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To: Venturer

They really should have used a cutting oil of some type


4 posted on 06/02/2010 8:27:57 AM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom sarc ;))
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To: Biggirl

I there someone in charge at the BP site named Murphy?


5 posted on 06/02/2010 8:31:36 AM PDT by Old Retired Army Guy (tHE)
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To: Biggirl

This thing is going to degenerate quickly. I propose that we all develop a sense of humor about this - and as a first step I’d like to see an “I Closed Wolski’s” (or, in the alternative, “I’d rather be Wolskiing”)bumper sticker on the robotic submersible. Think about it.


6 posted on 06/02/2010 8:31:41 AM PDT by Wally_Kalbacken
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To: Biggirl
The federal government also ramped up its response to the spill with President Barack Obama ordering the co-chairmen of an independent commission investigating the spill to thoroughly examine the disaster, "to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor."

Oooooh an independent commission that can follow the facts wherever they lead. Oooooh. Shiney.

7 posted on 06/02/2010 8:31:45 AM PDT by FourPeas (What do you call a peaceful Hamas protester? Deceased.)
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To: Biggirl

You have metal to metal contact with a huge pressure differential across the flow. This was a long shot and they knew it.

I’ve said in other threads that the industry and government should have known the risks and had a series of remediation plans with specifically designed equipment ready, and emergency response teams who have rehearsed using it in drills.

This is similar to traffic safety design inspired by traffic fatalities.


8 posted on 06/02/2010 8:36:09 AM PDT by cicero2k
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To: FourPeas
"to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor."

Except if the facts lead back to the WH and the news is not good, then the facts will be twisted or hidden.

9 posted on 06/02/2010 8:36:39 AM PDT by rockabyebaby (We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo screwed!)
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To: Biggirl

I assume the saw had Obama’s permission to get stuck. He is in charge. Or didn’t anyone inform the saw?


10 posted on 06/02/2010 8:37:16 AM PDT by JohnBrowdie (http://forum.stink-eye.net)
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To: rockabyebaby

Of course, if the facts lead back to the WH, it’s obvious that this crisis was inherited from the previous administration, whose policies caused the whole crisis and now The One is doing everything he can to clean-up the mess left for him by those lesser men.


11 posted on 06/02/2010 8:40:04 AM PDT by FourPeas (What do you call a peaceful Hamas protester? Deceased.)
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To: Biggirl

I can’t figure why they don’t cut off the remaining riser. It’s got to be putting a torque load on the cap.


12 posted on 06/02/2010 8:42:31 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, A Matter Of Fact, Not A Matter Of Opinion)
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To: Biggirl; All
Scientist Michio Kaku Says Gulf Oil Leak "Could Last Years"; Create "Dead Zones" in Gulf – Video ---- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2525989/posts
13 posted on 06/02/2010 8:54:51 AM PDT by hennie pennie
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Wonder if we’ll find they were cutting from the wrong side.


14 posted on 06/02/2010 8:59:34 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Wire saws are fragile to begin with. The shears, even the big one they have down there now, don’t seem to be working at that depth but the little hydraulic rotary saws do. They need an even cut, that’s why they set up the wire saw, but it will jam if they can’t keep the kerf open.


15 posted on 06/02/2010 9:06:05 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, A Matter Of Fact, Not A Matter Of Opinion)
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To: Biggirl

BP isn’t trying to stop the oil spill. They are trying to salvage a well they have sunk a great deal of time and money into. I have to wonder if this spill could not have been stopped already if they were willing to use destructive methods that preclude the ability to use this well in the future. It seems to me they are doing everything they can to try

At the same time, I am a COMPLETE ignorant layman, so I could be absolutley, completely and totally wrong. But looking at the methods they have employed, all would leave the shaft viable for use in the future.

IMHO, they don’t give a damn how much oil continues to spew from the leak as long as they don’t have to redrill this well anew.

I expect my ignorance to invite an intelligent correction with the facts.


16 posted on 06/02/2010 9:14:03 AM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (Liberal are like termites eating away our cultural foundations.)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

I’m looking at the flange and it seems that the leak is above it. Why not break the flange by loosening the nuts and insert a skillet.Then, tighten the nuts and the flow should be mitigated. I know, it won’t work.


17 posted on 06/02/2010 9:20:28 AM PDT by Hilltop (Control the high ground. Control the battlefield.)
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To: Biggirl
I think some people forget that they are cutting a pipe within a pipe. If there is any differential movement of the internal drill pipe relative to the exterior riser pipe, binding is almost guaranteed.

Problem is if the binding is with the internal drill pipe, there is almost no way to get a wedge or other device in there to free it.

18 posted on 06/02/2010 9:22:54 AM PDT by sjmjax
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To: Hilltop

Maybe they can’t handle the torque on the flange bolts with the robots.


19 posted on 06/02/2010 9:25:28 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, A Matter Of Fact, Not A Matter Of Opinion)
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To: Freedom_Is_Not_Free

The well is lost already, too much damage. The mud is abrasive, they are concerned that the pipe has been worn away internally from prolonged mud flow..


20 posted on 06/02/2010 9:28:22 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, A Matter Of Fact, Not A Matter Of Opinion)
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