The "Up to the Minute" BP Livefeed Discussion Thread

Seems to confirm they are, and were, well aware of the "busted downhole" theory...are they just trying to buy some time here?

news.yahoo.com...

[edit on 14-7-2010 by PatientZer0]

So, we're the crazy theorists...now CNN is reporting "what if" scenarios when the BOP integrity fails...

Who woulda thunk it!?

Kudos to ATS for being on top of this spill from the start... It seems we are stating news 2-3 weeks before it hits MSM. Keep up the great work guys (and gals). Keep watching, keep questioning, and keep them honest.

All ROVs have currently stopped testing and are watching from a distance.

I'm looking at the sonar graphics display and was wondering if this is somehow a pocket of methane gas. If it is, any idea how big it is?

What are the chances of hitting it and igniting it?

I shiver --- I hope this is not the reason why they stopped everything.

Not trying to ask a question off subject but in respect to what are they waiting for...

Is there any indication of politicians and/or high ranking corporate execs leaving the area?

I only ask because for weeks we have heard of possible destruction on a massive scale from tsunamis, methane explosions, toxicity and other things that go bump in the night.

Mods or any here on ATS believe this question to be inappropriate here - Please advise.

Regards,
thom

Right so everything has stopped till the high heid yins decide whats next.

The least they could do is bring the old top cap down and start capturing some of the oil again.

Can't understand why the relief wells have been stopped. Last I heard yesterday I think they were 6 feet away from the main bore. What possible technical reason could there be for not pushing on with it and seal the well from the bottom ?

reply to post by bigyin


Because..... THE SEABED IS UNSTABLE! Hence the seismic testing.

they opened up the other 2 pipes and will slowly try to close the big pipe first according to thad

Right, something going on with the well head. There is oil coming out of various places.

Uploading video as we speak. Thought they was not going to do this just yet

Will update with vids in a few minutes

reply to post by edmc^2


Not only that (that large quantities of methane, as well as oil, could have potentially surrounded the perhaps multiply compromised well), but wasn't this region found to be saturated by high levels of naturally deposited frozen and unstable methane hydrates amidst the seabed (which is a deep and unstable 'soft' sediment/sludge above the bedrock?

Plus the local faults/steep slope they're on, I know I'd be quite cautious too...let alone a committee!

reply to post by ckitch


No I don't think so. The unstable seabed has nothing to do with the relief wells which are a long way down, and which will reduce pressure in the main bore.

The government stopped the closing of the well head for fear of oil being pushed into cracked strata. I can understand that, but not the relief wells. We need the relief wells asap and we need them pumped full with concrete.

But the fact is BP is still trying to keep this well in production despite the unstable seabed, and the leaky well head. They do not have 'stopping the leak' as a first priority. They are thinking of ways to take the oil out and make profit.

I believe they could have stopped the leak before now.

Originally posted by StarTraveller
Right, something going on with the well head. There is oil coming out of various places.

Uploading video as we speak. Thought they was not going to do this just yet

Will update with vids in a few minutes

I watched his last conference and he had a board. He showed a diagram of how they would open the 2 side pipes on the new bop and the two side pipes on teh old bop. They would slowly close the big pipe (although they didn't do it as slowly as I thought they would) then close all the pipes from the top down in 6 hour intervals.

If the flow starts again in the big pipe, we can safely say there are problems with the well.

reply to post by ckitch


Unstable, and saturated by lightly frozen and hence potentially volatile naturally deposited methane hydrates with the potential for an enourmous chain reaction warming/release which is a suspected mass extinction event/hypothesis in certain scientific quarters, as I understand it...also is there a risk of a good old fashioned mudslide/tsunami given the gradient/sediment issue there?

Latest Feed recordings of various venting outlets within the past 10 minutes 2315 GMT:









I am guessing this is testing well integrity, the flow from the main pipe has stopped as it comes out of other pipes. Readings on the dial were 2000PSI on the Outlet and approx 7000PSI on the Inlet of the well head (on the yellow piece of equipment)

ST

Just to back up what I said above, taken from another thread:

National Incident Commander Thad Allen Press Conference, July 13, 2010:

which means there might be an opportunity to have what we would call a shut-in of the well, basically to just hold it at that point. Anything less than that might bring into play a decision to continue to produce. ... If we are to go to a full production of four different outlets around the 17th, 18th, 19th of July, somewhere around there, it will require us to continue to build and construct the second free-standing riser pipe. That is in progress right now and should be ready for production around the 19th of July

other thread

reply to post by bigyin


Perhaps their overall view, including a detailed 3d view of the entire site, both above and below ground, and including data about possible anomalies, structures, fractures, temperatures, surrounding hazards such as faults, volatile trapped methane hydrate deposits, canyon bank mud/seabed volatility, etc.. has thrown in a few hazards they need to think about, for the relief wells also?

I once saw a documentary featuring what I think was a Scottish research/control facility where they (some big oil company) were developing amazing technology giving remote operators control, and visualization in real-time, 3d, on massive wall-sized plasma screens, for 3d drilling capabilities. I wonder whether they have such tech active at the Deepwater site? That along with their other satellite, seismic and other survey data must make our scanning of ROV feeds seem like crumbs of info in comparison?

reply to post by StarTraveller


Thanks for the videos StarTraveller it's just coming out of one pipe now.

Linkwww.jtnog.org... but its coming out fast.

Thankyou

No problem at all Mars, will keep as on top as I can and post vids as things develop

Thought the most salient point was the pressure. Looking at the dial, we're still on zero...

Live feed still images updated once per minute:
data.plan9.de...

Good for those like me on dialup connection.
(thx to the oildrum chat)