The "Up to the Minute" BP Livefeed Discussion Thread

Originally posted by Ektar
reply to post by StealthyKat

 

But how can that be as the report at 3:15pm was they didn't know what was blocking the annulus & that the formation could have collapsed around the well bore...

Ektar

Before they do it. they said they are going to "fish" whatever is blocking it out Apparently, it's a dri;; pipe they have to fish out...*SIGH*



Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:00pm EDT

(Reuters) - BP Plc is in the last stages of killing its ruptured Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, a new set of steps will push the final plugging process into September.

Here is how the process is intended to play out, according to retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response, and Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production.

Each step must have Allen's approval before proceeding:

PRESSURE TESTING

* On Aug 19, BP began testing pressure in seabed equipment atop the Macondo well, including a failed blowout preventer, or BOP, and a capping stack that has sealed in all oil flow since July 15.

* In advance of the test, BP flushed out the equipment and injected seawater to test whether pressure inside the equipment is the same as that at the seabed about a mile beneath the ocean surface.

* The test is intended to confirm whether the well is sealed after BP finished pumping cement inside from the top on August 5 to the point that oil will not flow if seabed equipment at the top is removed.

* The test is expected to last 48 hours.

REPLACE BLOWOUT PREVENTER

* Once the test is finished, BP aims to try to retrieve a drillpipe up to 3,500 feet long that scientists believe is hanging inside the failed BOP.

* The drillpipe had drilled the Macondo well.

* A drillship at the water's surface will be hooked up via pipe to a cap atop the BOP equipment, and the drillpipe will be retrieved through the ship's pipe.

* If the drillpipe is left inside, the BOP would have to be lifted that high during removal, complicating the process.

* If successful, Allen will consider approving BP's plan to remove the BOP and replace it with another.

* The replacement BOP has been used with the second of two relief wells. That well was a backup for the first, which remains on target to intercept the Macondo well near its bottom.

* The failed BOP is key evidence in various investigations into the cause of the April 20 blowout, including probes by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Coast Guard with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

* The replacement would provide a more secure top to the well that can handle increased pressure during relief well operations.

THE RELIEF WELL

* The first relief well is about 3.5 feet from the side of the Macondo well, and about 50 feet from its intercept target near the bottom of the Macondo well about 13,000 feet (2.4 miles) beneath the seabed.

* BP will place a plug in the second relief well to keep it stable before removing its blowout preventer to replace the failed one.

PLUG AND ABANDON

* Once the relief well has pumped mud and cement into the bottom of the Macondo well and pressure tests declare it dead, BP will plug and abandon it.

* While cement at the bottom of the well will completely seal it off from the reservoir if all operations take place as planned, more plugs will be placed at different levels throughout its length.

* Once each plug is put in place, cement will be pumped in on top to create multiple seals. (Reporting by Kristen Hays; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

www.reuters.com...

[edit on 20-8-2010 by StealthyKat]

[edit on 20-8-2010 by StealthyKat]

4 AM pacific time: Challenger is searching for the source of what looks to be a volcano near the well.

It looks like it's raining fire. Some of the "rain is red and leaves trails"

reply to post by Tribble


going to check it out

This was so amazing, I started a thread!!!

Originally posted by Tribble
4 AM pacific time: Challenger is searching for the source of what looks to be a volcano near the well.

It looks like it's raining fire. Some of the "rain is red and leaves trails"

Challenger 1 or 2? Challenger 1 got turned off...

It was Olympic Challenger UHD 30 doing the searching- but of course it is far away now, sitting and looking at nothing.

We posted at the same min. I put the utube link there.

Could someone please tell me how to find "the utube video number" so I can post properly.

reply to post by Tribble




Yeah...that always happens to me too LOL! I tell everyone "go look at THIS!"....and they go there and it's gone.. I wish I could help with your question, but I don't know anything about that....

reply to post by Tribble


According to that video, it was on a 'biological survey.' And am I missing something? I just don't see the 'raining fire.'

I watched challenger for quite a while, and didn't see anything unusual....it was just looking at the sea floor.

reply to post by StealthyKat


Looks like that's what happened to me too- Poof and it's over lol

ty for your comment, as I posted a question not a fact, as some people have already ripped me for the basis of the post.

I mean really, I didn't post it in breaking news lol

Oil seeps on Ocean Intervention ROV 2. Coming up in streamers and sometimes blobs. Coming from just around the area where the wire/hose goes under the sand.

reply to post by Tribble


That's why I wish I knew how to capture screen shots. I see things, and then try to explain to people what I saw, but it's not the same without video or screenshots.

Ocean intervention 3 rov 2....does anyone know what the white stuff on the sea floor is? Is that hydrates?

Originally posted by StealthyKat
Ocean intervention 3 rov 2....does anyone know what the white stuff on the sea floor is? Is that hydrates?

Reflection of the ROV headlights shining on the seafloor.

Thanks....that's what I was thinking. It's been pretty quiet this morning...haven't seen any disturbances or anything unusual...*yawn*

Does anyone notice something strange on Skandi 1 and 2? The seafloor looks weird....all white and bumpy looking...I have never seen that.....on Skandi 2, you could see the BOP pretty good, then a couple of big bursts of clouds came up from beneath it. Anyone else see it?

10:00 am central......as I mentioned above...the sea floor on Skandi 1 started looking strange...all white and billowy (the entire area).....all of the sudden there was an eruption....when it cleared, there were big cracks with white plumes coming out of them....the camera started to pan around, and there was MORE cracks, so it quickly turned to staring at the ground so you couldn't see it.

[edit on 20-8-2010 by StealthyKat]

10:15 am central....We have new spraying. This time it is grey or white coming from a hose type thing....spraying straight down.....on Enterprise 1....this is not spreading out like the green spray, but rathr, in a more forceful, concentrated spray. Can't see WHAT it is spraying though.

11:00 am central.....I guess I am the only one here I was hoping someone could help me confirm what I am seeing on Skandi 2....with the pixilation, it is so hard to see, but I swear I see big plumes of something coming from the BOP....I know they are doing pressure tests but.....I don't think it would do that would it? If anyone is on, will you go look and let me know what you think? I hope it's just my eyes playing tricks on me.....

cant make anything out Kat, pictures too bad.

is that swinging thing on enterprise where the spray was coming from?