Unable to Stanch Oil, BP Will Try to Gather It

[depakid]

Source: NY Times


The 98-ton, four-story container that BP hopes will take care of the main oil leak was loaded onto a barge in Port Fourchon, La., on Wednesday in preparation for its journey to the well.
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BATON ROUGE, La. — With remote-controlled robots a mile underwater unable to seal the gushing well, and with the drilling of relief wells that would allow crews to plug the spouting cavity months away from completion, it is time for the big box. The end of the oil spill, or at least the end of much of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, may soon be delivered by a 98-ton steel box standing four stories tall, with a fresh coat of white paint.

The containment dome, as engineers are calling the structure, was built over the past week by a crew of more than two dozen welders working around the clock at a shipyard in Port Fourchon, La. On Wednesday, the dome began its journey to the site of the ruptured well, where it will be lowered by cable 5,000 feet beneath the sea to sit atop the larger of the two remaining leaks.

The dome will not shut off the gushing well, which is still spilling an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil a day; the goal is just to keep some of the oil out of the water by capturing it and then funneling it to a drill ship, called the Discoverer Enterprise, waiting on the surface.

Think of the dome as an inverted cup gathering the gushing oil, and the drill pipe as a straw carrying it to the surface. If it sounds simple, it is not. Containment domes have been used in shallow water, but never at this depth.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/science/06container.html?hp

[NYC_SKP]

1. This is just the first of three being deployed, one for each leak.

I read that these are expected to capture about 85% of the leaking oil.

Better than nothing, and I hope they work.

:patriot:

PS: These are painted white for visibility, and North, South, East, and West are indicated with the letters N,S,E, and W.

It's easy to become disoriented when operating an ROV in deep murky water from 5,000 feet away at the surface.

[demosincebirth]

2. I wonder why they keep on calling this oil catastrophe "oil leaks?"

I would call it a gusher!

[Javaman]

3. because bleeding like a ruptured artery, doesn't play well on the news. nt

[Mind_your_head]

4. Why did they bother/take the time to paint it? It's gonna be 5,000 feet underwater fer chrissakes.

[austin78704]

5. Corrosion

Steel will rust very rapidly in ocean water. Paint will slow the decay.

[Mind_your_head]

6. yeah right. I think that the white paint looks REAL GOOD on the teevee

[austin78704]

8. Suit yourself.

Paint is a practical way to control corrosion. But if it's your goal to find any and every reason to be suspicious and outraged, have at it.

[dsn]

16. It does...

but that's what color ship paint is when you get it. The dome would last about a week in seawater if it wasn't painted; seawater is like acid to unprotected steel. Eats right through.

[paparush]

13. I think it will aid the optics on the robotic submersibles to see how far down into the

seabed this thing sinks.

It looks like they have marked it with increments in feet.

[DURHAM D]

7. Calling the ship on the surface that receives the oil/gas/water the "drill ship" -

just seems wrong.

Its not drilling anything. It is receiving - more like a tank battery.

Or like a giant separator.

Edit: Lowering a four story building a mile down into the ocean with cables reminds me of the carney game where you lower a ring on a string and try to catch a bottle neck. Hope it works.

[ladjf]

9. The device might work. However, if the dome is placed on the sea

floor, how does it keep from damaging or possibly breaking the bent pipes that are attached to the wellhead?

[Robbien]

10. Hopefully it has legs

If our first thought was about the box crushing the pipes, let's hope they had that thought also.

[ladjf]

12. I'm sure that they have thought about possible damage to the

pipes. I just haven't heard the explanation.

[FLPanhandle]

15. There are cutouts in the box for the pipe to pass through

n/t

[ladjf]

17. I thought I saw that in the video. thanks. nt

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

14. Maby that's why it is a four story building.

I wondered why four story building too, like where did they that number from. Also the taller it is the more $$$$.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. Skeptical but hopeful.

161 atmospheres.
2367 psi.