Quote:
Originally Posted by Timber Loftis
I am not arguing that I do not use oil, nor that everyone should stop using oil. I am simply pointing out that not nearly enough thought was put into where we were seeking oil in this case. It took bleeding edge technology to go down 5000 ft. to get this oil, and we didn't have the bleeding edge technology to fix it when and if it broke.
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- Shallow Water GOM has been drilled out since the mid '90s and deepwater exploration started as far back as the early 80's. I should know. I found one of the first deepwater fields in October 1983 at a then record depth of 1355 feet. It's not a matter of picking and choosing where you want to go to look (although the drilling moratorium off the coast of Florida in SHALLOW water doesn't help) for oil. It's a matter of exploring in frontier areas and that includes going into ultra deep waters. Oil doesn't exist everywhere.
- We most certainly DO have the technology to drill in waters that deep and to solve problems like this one. In fact, we've gone DEEPER than the 5000 foot wd that this well was being drilled in. I might be off a bit, but I believe that the current water depth record is over 10000 feet in the western GOM.
- Here's what is supposed to happen: At the sea floor is a massive piece of equipment known as a blow-out preventer. It's SOLE function is to prevent the massive pressure surges that occured here. A part of the BOP is a device called the shear ram. The hydraulically powered shear ram is supposed to sever the pipe and close it off to protect the rig and work crews from the flow of explosive oil and gas. Obviously that didn't happen.
In addition to the shear ram the BOP has a series of cut-off valves. (Just like the main water cut off valve for your house but a LOT bigger.) If the Shear rams fail, the pressure valves can also be turned to cut off the flow. In some cases these valves can be controlled remotely and in others, they must be closed manually. IEven at these depths manual cut-off can be performed by remote submersible robots which have been designed expressly for this and utilized successly in hundreds of deep water operations.
- What happened here is a case of catastrophic failure, NOT stupidity, NOT going beyond our technology. The pressure surge, left unchecked, caused the explosion that ended up sinking the drillship but likely also damaged the ram valves. The damaged shear rams failed - either to activate at all or in failing to completely close off the pipe. In addition the BOP stack probably sustained additional damage when the 5,000 foot pipe connecting the well to the rig was severed from the vessel as it sank. As a result, the shear rams and the additional valves could not be fully closed.
Video shot by the robotic submarines (a.k.a. remote operated vehicles or ROVs) seems to indicate that oil is leaking from three spots in a pipe that is laying on the seafloor. The pipe would have to be a portion of the riser, which would have to still be attached to the BOP, but crimped and bent over. An uncuttable piece of joint lodged in the shear ram would perhaps explain why the ROVs haven't been able to subsequently engage the ram. An uncuttable piece of joint lodged in the shear ram would perhaps explain why the ROVs haven't been able to subsequently engage the ram.
That leaves the ONLY option as drilling a relief well to pump cement or a synthetic fluid heavier than crude into the well to suppress the flow. Unfortunately that's a three month project.
So it's NOT accurate to say that we don't have the technology and that we're going BEYOND the limits of what we can do safely, TL. Questions about WHY the rams failed are legitimate though. Especially considering that this well had not one, not two, but FIVE hydraulic shear rams - two Cameron TL double shears and a Cameron TL single shear.
And no, I don't think this is a just one big "OOPSIE" either.
By the way, here's an EXCELLENT link to some pics. Scroll down to pic 10 to see the robot in action.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/201...louisiana.html