BP learned during Top Kill procedure some mud went into formation, the rock outside of well casing, implying problems with well integrity.
Source: http://www.georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/06/evidence-points-to-destruction-beneath.html
Below is the picture of well design (Source: www.energy.gov/oilspilldata )
A total of 25,290 barrels were recovered on June 17, 2010 at MC252 well. The 16,020 barrels were collected with LMRP cap and 9,270 barrels were collected via Choke line of failed blowout preventer. The amount of 9,270 barrels of oil collected via choke line is substantially higher than an earlier estimate of 5,000 throughput capacity. ROV live feeds are not broadcasted via BP.com at the moment and it is not clear how much is still leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP: LMRP cap collected 11,100 barrels in 24 hours; remaining oil is still spilled into the Gulf. BP will provide rate of collection every 12 hours starting June 7.
Currently preparing two backup setups, to be introduced in mid June (choke and kill lines suction) and end of June (submerged riser)
BP briefing: Kent Wells presentation slides: http://tinyurl.com/Kent-Wells-June7
BP briefing: Kent Wells conference audio: http://bp.concerts.com/gom/audio/kentwells_technical_07062010.htm
Methane Hydrate Stability Curves for Fresh and Saline Water (Schematic)
Scheme adopted from Bob Lankston presentation
Source: http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/2008/08088lankston/ndx_lankston.pdf
The President speaks in Grande Isle, LA after assessing the response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill and reaffirms the Administration’s commitment to doing all in its power to help protect the environment and the livelihoods of the population affected by the spill. May 28, 2010. (Source: White House Video Channel http://www.youtube.com/whitehouse )
Subsea efforts continue to focus on interventions via the blow out preventer (BOP).
Source: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062409
A series of diagnostic tests are currently underway on the Deepwater Horizon’s failed BOP to improve understanding of the status and configuration of the BOP and determine whether a ‘top kill’ procedure can be successfully executed. These tests involve pumping drilling fluids into the BOP to measure pressures and validate flow paths. When complete, a decision will be made on the execution of the top kill procedure itself.
This top kill procedure has not been carried out offshore at 5,000 feet water depth before, and its success cannot be assured. It is expected that the entire procedure could take up to two days, and it cannot be predicted how long it will take for the operation to prove successful or otherwise. Should it be necessary, plans and equipment are in place to combine the top kill process with the injection under pressure of bridging material into the BOP to prevent or limit upward flow through the BOP.
BP will continue to provide a live video feed from the seabed through the diagnostic testing and top kill, if undertaken. Throughout the diagnostic process and top kill procedure very significant changes in the appearance of the flows at the seabed will be expected. These will not provide a reliable indicator of the overall progress, or success or failure, of the top kill operation as a whole.
Should the top kill not succeed in fully stopping the flow of oil and gas from the well, BP would then intend to move forward to deployment of the LMRP cap containment system.
Deployment of this system will involve first removing the damaged riser from the top of the BOP to leave a cleanly-cut pipe at the top of the BOP’s lower marine riser package (LMRP). The LMRP cap, an engineered containment device with a sealing grommet, would then be connected to a riser from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship and then placed over the existing LMRP with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well.
The LMRP cap is already on site and it is anticipated that this option will be available for deployment by the end of May.
Additional options also continue to be progressed, including the option of lowering a second blow-out preventer, or a valve, on top of the failed Deepwater Horizon BOP.
Work on the drilling of two relief wells, begun on May 2 and May 16, continues. Each of the wells is estimated to take some three months to complete from the commencement of drilling.
Scientific American Magazine published an article on biodegradation of slick oil.
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-microbes-clean-up-oil-spills
The paper says microbes will clean up the deepwater horizon oil spill, but it will take awhile. Attempts to accelerate microbial biodegradation of slick oil failed in the past. Nature likes to degrade oil with its own slow pace.
Excerpt from the publication:
“Microbes are available now but they are not effective for the most part,” says marine microbiologist Jay Grimes of the University of Southern Mississippi. At this point, there are no man-made microbes that are more effective than naturally occurring ones at utilizing hydrocarbons… The natural world is replete with a host of organisms that combine as a community to decompose oil—and no single microbe, no matter how genetically enhanced, has proved better than this natural defense. “Every ocean we look at, from the Antarctic to the Arctic, there are oil-degrading bacteria,” says Atlas, who evaluated genetically engineered microbes and other cleanup ideas in the wake of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska. “Petroleum has thousands of compounds. It’s complex and the communities that feed on it are complex. A superbug fails because it competes with this community that is adapted to the environment.”
Article Source: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062375
A series of interventions via the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) are been developed. Subsea efforts continue to focus on progressing options to stop the flow of oil from the well through interventions via the MC252 blow out preventer (BOP) and to collect the flow of oil from the leak points.
The first planned intervention is the so-called “top kill” operation where heavy drilling fluids would be injected into the well to stem the flow of oil and gas and, ultimately, kill the well. Most of the equipment is on site and preparations for this operation continue, with a view to deployment as early as Wednesday, May 26. If necessary, equipment is also in place to combine this operation with the injection under pressure of bridging material to seal off upward flow through the BOP.
Sophisticated diagnostic work using remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) will precede the ‘top kill’ operation to allow the procedure to be planned in detail.
Being progressed in parallel with plans for the top kill is development of a lower marine riser package (or LMRP) cap containment option. This would first involve removing the damaged riser from the top of the BOP, leaving a cleanly-cut pipe at the top of the BOP’s LMRP. The LMRP cap, an engineered containment device with a sealing grommet, would be connected to a riser from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship and then placed over the LMRP with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well and transporting it to the drillship on the surface. The LMRP cap is already on site and it is anticipated that this option will be available for deployment by the end of May.
Additional options also continue to be progressed, including the option of lowering a second blow-out preventer, or a valve, on top of the MC 252 BOP.
BP Briefs US Government on Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Subsequent Oil Spill:
Press Release Source: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062374
The investigation team’s work shows that this accident was brought about by the failure of a number of processes, systems and equipment. There were multiple control mechanisms— procedures and equipment—in place that should have prevented this accident or reduced the impact of the spill: the investigation is focused on the following seven mechanisms
1. The cement that seals the reservoir from the well;
2. The casing system, which seals the well bore;
3. The pressure tests to confirm the well is sealed;
4. The execution of procedures to detect and control hydrocarbons in the well, including the use of the BOP;
5. The BOP Emergency Disconnect System, which can be activated by pushing a button at multiple locations on the rig;
6. The automatic closure of the BOP after its connection is lost with the rig; and
7. Features in the BOP to allow Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) to close the BOP and thereby seal the well at the seabed after a blow out.
White House BP Oil Spill Web Site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill/
White House BP Oil Spill Blog:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/05/ongoing-administration-wide-response-deepwater-bp-oil-spill
Gulf Coast Oil Spill – an Open Government Initiative under Department of Energy
http://energy.gov/open/oil_spill_updates.htm
Volunteer for Gulf Coast Oil Spill Cleanup
http://www.serve.gov/oilspill.asp
