BP: New cap will be on busted well later today

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5 mins ago
NEW ORLEANS – BP expects to attach a new, tighter cap to its leaking well later in the day and then testing will be needed before it's clear if the oil has stopped spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said in a Monday morning briefing the plan to replace a leaky old cap on the well remained on track to be done by the end of this week.

The new cap is designed to funnel oil to vessels on the surface as part of a containment system that could prevent crude from spilling for the first time since April 20.

BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well for a permanent fix.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Underwater robots steadily assembled heavy metal pieces Monday as BP prepared to install a tighter cap over its busted well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, offering hopeful signs that it could soon bring the gusher under control.

The oil giant said it was ahead of its schedule to get the new, better cap in place. Once the cap is in place and working properly, officials hoped it would capture all of the oil spewing out of the well and that it can all be funneled to containment ships at the surface.

"The hope is that we can slowly turn off the valves, close the capping completely and then test pressure to see how the well is performing," Thad Allen, the government's point man on the disaster, said on CBS's "The Early Show."

While the operation is under way, the previous cap had to be removed — meaning all of the oil is escaping unfettered until the new cap can be installed. Still, the chance to capture all the oil was a welcome bit of news 83 days into the environmental and economic disaster that has fouled the Gulf and its fragile coastline.

more at link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_oil_spill

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. ~

:kick:

[lunatica]

2. Fingers and toes crossed in fervent hope that this works n/t

[KatieW]

3. Does anyone know why BP couldn't have done this sooner? Why the delay of 80 + days?

[KharmaTrain]

4. Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20...

The bigger question is why did BP claim to be able to handle these problems when they knew they couldn't. Hopefully we'll have a criminal investigation to answer those questions. Once the well ruptured, it was too late. Other than drilling the relief wells, which started shortly after the explosion and still goes on, there were no other proven ways to deal with this type of catastrophe...and no assurances this latest trick or even the relief wells will be successful. While those wells are being drilled BP appears to be throwing the kitchen sink at the problem...in trying to limit the damage promotionally as much as anything else. These are all efforts to try to show they're doing something/anything...and if its successful so much the better.

[slackmaster]

5. As a Systems Admin my job occasionally involves figuring out how to fix live systems that are broken

Sometimes in ways that should have been foreseen by company management, but happened because shortcuts were taken in spite of our warnings. In fact, my employer has a serious problem with a live database on a commercial Web site right now. I know how to fix it (one new index should do it), but I plan to take an extra long shower and eat a big breakfast before I go in late this morning.

I'll let you in on a little secret: When we are presented with that kind of situation, we always know immediately how to fix the problem. But we have a tradition of allowing things to stay broken for days or weeks, even if the problem is causing massive damage. We always pretend like we are making a serious effort, when in reality we are just goofing off and deliberately wasting more time and the company's money. I'll bet the ROV operators in the Gulf of Mexico are running funny cat videos on YouTube while they're manipulating equipment underwater.

Sooner or later we get bored of the drama, and only then do we implement the actual fix, which we knew about all along.

We're funny that way. We extract revenge for being ignored whenever the situation presents itself. We like to watch the management goons sweat while they try to keep the customers and investors calm. Since we have no union to represent us, this sort of passive sabotage is sometimes the only way we can stick it to the Man.

I'm sure those BP techies could have had the well plugged several weeks ago. They're just playing it up for fun.

[MineralMan]

6. I don't know exactly, but

the hardware they're installing now isn't off-the-shelf stuff. It has to be designed especially for the situation, then manufactured on a one-off basis.

80+ days seems like a long time to do that, but I have no idea how much engineering needed to be done to design something like this. The fact that it has to be installed by remote control robots may have played a part as well.

You just can't drop into the local Ace Hardware for a deal like this one. Every part has to be made from scratch.

Why did it take so long? I can't answer that.

[tekisui]

7. It took two months to fabricate the tools and to manufacture

the spool/cap system. It had to be specially made.

Of course, I think that just further drive home the point that we shouldn't be drilling offshore. The risks are too great and the fixes to problems too complicated.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. +1

We are in over our heads in more ways than one.

[Cetacea]

9. Because they love seals and walruses

And since they live in the the arctic they didn't feel any sense of urgency.

[Joe Fields]

10. I hope it works, but it appears that the science doesn't add up.

I'd give anything for this to work. But scientists say that the p.s.i. at the well head ranges from 10,000 to 15,000. Cement used to reinforce the casing deteriorates at 8,000 p.s.i.. Maybe BP has a new plan to reinforce the casing. If not, I don't expect much success.

:hi: