BP: Equipment in place for Gulf 'top kill' try

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Associated Press

COVINGTON, La. — BP engineers say they have the equipment in place to try a complicated procedure that they hope will seal the blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well.

BP PLC senior vice president Kent Wells said Tuesday the company hopes to launch the "top kill" on Wednesday and will soon start 12 hours of tests to prepare for the maneuver.

<snip>

The top kill has proven successful in aboveground wells, but has never before been tried a mile beneath the sea. Company executives peg its chances of success at 60 to 70 percent.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j2WM-6T8Nj9-NM50L97Qc8BdwyfgD9FTT4080

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BP: Has Been Designing 'Top Kill' Fix To Leak Since Day 1 Of Spill

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) said Tuesday that the company had considered a so-called "top-kill" procedure to stem the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico from the beginning, but the unprecedented depth of the water in which the procedure is to take place required a lengthy design period.

"We have been designing "top kill" from day one," but it has taken this long to properly design the procedure, said Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, in a conference call. BP executives previously warned this procedure has never been tried at depths so great, adding there is a 60% to 70% chance of success.

Wells said the vessels and equipment for the procedure are now in place but that "we are in the final states of pressure testing it." This diagnostic testing can take another 12 to 24 hours and if it is deemed safe the actual top-kill procedure will take anywhere from half a day to a couple of days to complete, he said.

Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100525-707418.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines


Imagine the time that could have been saved if they'd had been required to have this design done before being permitted to attempt drilling?

[blue sky at night]

1. Why is the fact that Cheney and the boys....

were the asshats that gave them the go ahead on this....they all need to be in jail and soon. You never risk what they did to "save" money.

[DCBob]

2. If "60% to 70% chance of success" then this should have been tried weeks ago..

I think they were stalling hoping to figure out a way to save the well.

[JBoy]

6. This well is unusable for extraction. I think it's just taken this long

to get the necessary equipment in place and to work out the procedure.

[lark]

15. Hell, they just wanted to get more oil to sell

stopping the volcano has obviously been low priority because every option to "capture" the oil was used first.

God, this makes me so sick, I just can't stand it!!!!!

[Jennicut]

25. That figure in insane. It has never been tried before at 5000 feet.

This is a last-ditch effort, otherwise we wait two or more months until the relief well is done.

[Greyskye]

3. This blogger predicts it won't work:

http://monkeyfister.blogspot.com/2010/05/major-change-down-below.html

He's been monitoring the live feed, capturing screenshots, and giving running commentary. Very depressing.

And 'Top Kill' my ass. Drilling companies should be required to do as they are in Canada: drill the relief well simultaneously with the main. That way they are ready in case of a blowout. Smart folks, those Canadians.

[DCBob]

9. I think its going to work.. apparently its been effective before on shallower wells..

Seems to me the depth just makes the process more complicated but shouldn't affect success of the technique.. IMO.

[sasquuatch55]

10. Two immense pressures, 5000 ft. of water, and opposing force of spewing oil.

I hope it works, but doubt it.

[DCBob]

16. This works routinely above ground.. they've had a month to work out the details for deep water..

I think it will work. As evil as BP is they do not want this PR disaster to go on any further.

[Greyskye]

11. It's not the depth, it's the new venting through the seabed floor

At about 8am, CDT, as I watched, things started changing rapidly. Where the water around the two major gush points used to be very clear, it is now super turbid, and detritus is flying everywhere in a chaotic manner. seabed venting is obvious to see when ROV cameras pan around.

Yet-to-be-confirmed rumors are that the casing wall has finally worn through, about 300 feet below seabed, at an annulus (coupling), and the gas and oil are now finding a new way out to the seabed.

Not good news, as it will make the Top-Kill/Junk Shot nearly ineffectual... At the least, it means that more pressure and mud/cement is going to be required.

We'll see.

[DCBob]

14. I have not heard of this "venting" from anywhere else except from this blogger..

I don't trust BP, but not sure I trust an anonymous cam viewer either.

[bluestateguy]

4. I take it this isn't the Kevin Costner solution

Or does that come later?

[Akoto]

5. Nope, it's different.

My understanding is that they're going to inject a thick fluid into the breach, and if it stops the flow of oil, it will buy them time to cement it shut.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. This is an attempt to stop the flow

Costner's is a clean up plan.

[snooper2]

8. They should have had this as the first option

instead of a dome, another dome, siphoning,...That will come out in more congressional hearings

But they did have to work to get the BOP ready...(Including fixing leaking hydraulic hose and replace one of the pods on the BOP - both of which were malfunctioning BEFORE the blow out (per Electronics Engineering Manager on 60 minutes story)). More of which will come out in hearings.

BP put a video together of what they have been doing to get the BOP ready for the topkill...

http://bp.concerts.com/gom/rovs_24052010.htm

[slackmaster]

12. The best "first option" would have been to have a relief well already in place

In case something like this happened.

[depakid]

19. +1

Redundancy is almost always a good idea where primary system failure will be catastrophic. Of course, it would also have helped to have required more fail safes on the primary system too- as other nations have.

[zumba da geek]

13. 60%

Where do people come up with these figures. BP obviously doesnt understand mathematics. If this is something that has never been attempted in a comparable fashion, than the chance of success or failure is an unknown quantity.

[maddezmom]

17. BP CEO says expects to decide soon whether to go ahead with plugging Gulf oil gusher with mud

BP CEO says expects to decide soon whether to go ahead with plugging Gulf oil gusher with mud
By Greg Bluestein (CP) – 8 minutes ago

COVINGTON, La. — BP is still running tests Wednesday and will decide shortly if it will go ahead with an effort to seal the blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well by pumping heavy mud into a massive device on top of the breach.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said on NBC's "Today" show that if he gives the green light, he expects the so-called top kill procedure to happen Wednesday.

more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h4f2bYHtgOfeFsrHo-2HcF8vlubw

[DCBob]

18. CNN cam is still just showing the leaking pipe..

Wish there was a cam on the "top kill" apparatus.

[Roland99]

20. BP killing the live feed today? Is that because they don't want us seeing that "top kill" process?

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/05/markey-bp-will-kill-live-feed-of-oil-spill/1

[DCBob]

21. I think I read somewhere they were going to keep the cam on...

conflicting information out there now.

[slackmaster]

22. In my job, I occasionally have to perform sensitive operations that may or may not work in a crisis

The last thing I'd want would be TV cameras broadcasting my efforts live all over the world.

Give BP's technical people and engineers a break. They're working a crisis that has far broader impact than any situation that I or most of us are ever going to have to face in our lives.

[lonestarnot]

23. Well good point, but misleading the public on the gusher is not right either.

They should clarify!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

24. The BP site with the live feed seems to say otherwise

This was there before ------->> Please be aware, this is a live stream and may freeze or be unavailable from time to time.



This was added since I last looked. ------->>> Throughout the extended top kill procedure – which may take up to two days to complete - very significant changes in the appearance of the flows at the seabed may 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. BP will report on the progress of the operation as appropriate and on its outcome when complete.

I think this may mean they're going to be keeping the feed going? I suppose only time will tell for sure.

Edit to add link: http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html