Disturbing comments about the oil situation from an expert.

[Kablooie]

From Patt Morrison's show on KPCC, Los Angeles. 6/21/10

Interview with Iraj Ershaghi, director of petroleum engineering at USC

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In my opinion there is a worst case scenario that could be happening. If there is a 1 in 100 chance that my idea is correct, steps have to be taken right now to stop the flow. The only hope we have is this pipe that's hanging in the hole with very poor cement around it.

The reservoirs are 35 to 65 million years old. They are very soft sediment. What happens is that although some of the flow is finding it's way through the collapsed casing, a percentage of the flow, or most of it, is going outside the casing and is causing erosion of the rock so the distance between whatever was cemented and the rock is increasing. If you let this continue till over September, it's possible that that flow makes it to the surface. If that happens that is a disaster unstoppable by anything because now you could have a crater of several miles that would be flowing oil and produce maybe 100 to 500 million barrels. With the hurricane season coming up cities like New Orleans will not be covered by water, they will be covered by oil.

We need to take advantage of this well, it's the only hope we have to stop the oil. We should not let this partial flow through the riser continue if that erosion is going to destroy the integrity of this pipe.

Current policy that BP is using where they are trying to true the risers to produce some oil has to be stopped.
A continuation of that will encourage the oil to go around the pipe, loosen the rock, make it to the surface and make it impossible to collect.

BP has a second blow out preventer on a drill ship and they had it from day one. However for whatever reason, that mystifies everybody, they haven't used it. The second BOP is the only solution at this time. If you remove the riser and put in the second BOP, the BOP is still open, the flow goes through it. You bolt it down very easily, and they you shut the second BOP and that is the end of it. The weight of the fluid, 9000 psi, that by itself will kill the well by the back pressure. They can do that. We do not understand why they have postponed that.

The shortest way is to make sure that the second BOP is bolted to the top of the existing one and make sure you shut the whole thing and forget about this silliness of producing the oil and making money out of it.

---

Listen to the show at:

http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2010/06/21/from-the-oil-slicked-shores-of-the-gulf-to-the-hal/

[pitohui]

1. this is either absolutely ridiculous or absurdly misquoted

you lost me at the wells are 35 to 63 million years old

think abt what an idiotic remark that is, human beings have not been drilling the gulf of mexico for 3,500 years much less 35 million!

if someone is spewing panic and hysteria, it's time to turn the dial and stop giving these people an audience

yeah sure BP is sitting on a cure but for mysterious reasons of their own would rather the disaster continue and not fix it, yeah, sure, THAT'S real believable too

this transcript almost can't be right or the person making these claims needs to put down the crack pipe

[Kablooie]

2. He was talking about the rock.

I did misquote. I'll fix it.
He said reservoirs, not wells.

I had to simplify some because his speech rambled at times.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. But others have said that if the well itself is compromised, a new (functional) BOP won't help.

They are out of ideas.

Imagine if they spent a fraction of executive salary/bonus on "spill" research as opposed to relying on 30 year old technology and "safe sea otter/walrus" gulf plans.

[glitch]

5. "Imagine if they spent a fraction of executive salary/bonus on"

just about anything useful other than the despicable and utter glut of the few.

[Webster Green]

4. They can't just pop in a new BOP.

The old one is already leaning and being sandblasted from the inside out. It would not be a good idea to add another one on top, which is the only way you could install a new BOP.

They are 5 stories high and weight quite a bit.

[Turbineguy]

6. It's a 50 million barrel find.

Not that we want that to get out, but it's not 1/2 billion barrels.

[Empathic_1]

7. All the camera links....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8598259