BP Succeeds in Containing Well

[sabrina 1]

BP caps well; Effectiveness of 'top hat' unclear

The well has been capped, more or less. BP engineers Thursday night guided a containment dome onto the hydrocarbon geyser shooting from the Gulf of Mexico oil well -- a desperate and iffy attempt to capture the leaking oil and funnel it to a ship on the surface.

....


It was not an elegant operation. Furious clouds of oil escaped the "top hat." Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander for the spill, called the development a positive step but said, "It will be sometime before we can confirm that this method will work and to what extent it will mitigate the release of oil into the environment."

It was a day crammed with engineering drama. First, BP used robotic vehicles and a pair of giant shears to cut a damaged pipe a mile below the gulf's surface. The result simplified the whole arrangement at the sea floor: Instead of spewing from multiple leaks in a tangle of bent pipes, the oil and natural gas surged in a single plume from what looked like a deep-sea smokestack.

Then came the dome, lowered by cables, guided by robots, illuminated by lamps in a world without natural light, and carrying with it the hopes of countless engineers and pretty much the entire Gulf Coast.

I hope it works!

[tomm2thumbs]

1. I hope it works - for all of our sakes - especially life around the oceans.

thanks for posting

[Ex Lurker]

14. I'm watching the cam right now

the cap is indeed sitting on top of the well, but the oil is flowing up and around it. I can't tell that it's capturing any at all.

[tomm2thumbs]

2. double post - deleting

but still, thanks for posting

[Feron]

3. That is a really misleading headline.

The well won't be capped until the relief well kills it in August at the earliest..Gotta love the MSM. Heh.

I do hope this containment scheme succeeds however.

[Luminous Animal]

4. It wasn't The Post's headline but the OP's. Totally misleading headline.

My heart leaped when I read it but the link reveals that not only has the gusher not been capped but optimism is severely limited.

From the article:

"It will be sometime before we can confirm that this method will work and to what extent it will mitigate the release of oil into the environment."

[sabrina 1]

8. Did you read the Post's Headline before accusing me of

mis-representing it? Please do so again before making false accusations. The headline states 'BP Caps Well' and the article states that the 'well has been capped'.

I am not an engineer, or a reporter. I did not post this in LBN and simply paraphrased what the article stated in the subject line.

If you are going to attack someone, then you should make sure to have your own facts straight.

It was pointed out to me above by another commenter that this is a containment ~ and I will try to edit my subject line.

But I cannot change the Post's headline to suit you, sorry.

[Luminous Animal]

13. I read the Post's headline and I felt that your paraphrasing whitewashed the

situation even more than theirs. And I think your edit is even worse.

[sabrina 1]

15. Did the Post say the well was capped or not?

Are you aware of what they are trying to do? They were trying to put a cap on the well to contain the oil.

You don't seem to understand the process. Maybe you should go read some of the professional sites for a better understanding of the process.

And if you have a problem with the Post's headline, tell it to the Post. I believe they have an email address.

Meantime I am very happy that this cap may work to contain the oil until they can get the relief well operating.

Like everyone else here except for you who seem more concerned about editing, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[bahrbearian]

20. Or did they put a cap on it to pump dispersant down to it?

[Scuba]

16. Ignore those self-important critics. Thanks for your post.

[sabrina 1]

17. Thank you ~

You are right ~ :-)

[sabrina 1]

5. I don't know anything about the technology. Probably

the reporters don't either so are just publishing what they are hearing from their sources. At least they added that it might not succeed.

But even its only 'a containment' I agree with you, I hope it works until they can make it permanent with the relief well. Thanks for pointing that out!

[laughingliberal]

6. Rec. Crossing fingers. nt

[Bluebear]

7. Your headline, unfortunately, is not the reality of what I heard on the news.

Oil is still gushing and BP said they have "7 or so more options" to try.

[sabrina 1]

10. I have edited my subject line

as it was pointed out to me that this is a containment. But I cannot change the Post's headline, which stated that the well had been capped.

I hope it works also.

[sabrina 1]

18. I just read a report that explains why the oil is still gushing even

though the cap is in place. I remembered your post and thought you might be interested.

I have no idea whether it is true or not, BP's track record is not great. However, they say that the placement of the cap was finally successful. But when they cut the pipe after the diamond cutting device failed, they had to make a 'rougher cut' with shears. This made it harder to get the cap to sit 'tightly'.

Re your post and about the oil still gushing, the article said that the cap won't cut off the flow completely, but it will slow it down. And they are now waiting for 10 to 12 hours to see if this works as it has to 'settle' around the pipe. If it doesn't, they have several other caps of different sizes to try.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Crossing fingers that it works

will buy time until they do the final relief well.

[TomCADem]

11. So, Cue The Right Wing Complaints That Obama Overreacted? Remember Swine Flu?

The Republicans first attacked President Obama for not doing enough to contain the swine flu outbreak. Then, when it was finally under control, they complained that the federal government overreacted.

Heck, Bobby Jindal is already demanding that deepwater drilling resume immediately!

[sabrina 1]

12. Yes, he pressured BP that's true.

Regarding this report, I have been reading around the internet to see what others like the Oil Drum eg, think of this, whether it will succeed or not. All are hoping it will at least contain the gusher but admit it is a risky operation as it could make things worse if it doesn't work.

[Ganja Ninja]

19. "Effectiveness of 'top hat' unclear"

I'd say its pretty clear. Go look at the live video. There's more oil now then ever.

[sabrina 1]

22. It does look that way. This Discovery News report acknowledges that is is hard

to see whether it is working or not but claim that when they close the valves it will diminish the flow:
Cap Over Ruptured Well Appears to Be Working

Admiral Thad Allen, the official in charge of the US government response to the spill, said the upside-down funnel-like container was already collecting about 1,000 barrels a day of oil. But he cautioned this was a rough estimate.

"Production is slowly moving up. It's around 1,000 barrels a day right now," said Allen.

A live video feed showed clouds of oil still gushing from the pipe, making it hard to determine how much progress was being made. Government scientists have estimated that 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day are pouring from the pipe.

"I'm pretty confident this is going to work," said BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles, speaking on ABC. "It probably won't capture all of the flow. But it should capture the vast majority."

The containment device has four vent valves on the top to prevent the formation of hydrates, which doomed an earlier attempt at containing the flow.

Workers are "slowly closing the vents and increasing the flow of oil," Allen said.

But BP's record so far has not been good on the claims they've made, so I hope they are right this time.

[Are_grits_groceries]

21. I hope to hell that it works

or that something else does.

However. after all the previous assurances and assertions, I will have to wait until these stop: