Sunday, June 06, 2010

Spike The Leak

British Petroleum has now succeeded in sawing off the broken riser pipe from its spouting oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. The polluting oil exits directly upwards.

Suppose a 50 foot long spike were now lowered into the well?

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(6-8-10) Well, it appears that spiking the central leak would just force the oil out secondary leaks lower down.

ALL that can be done is to accept all the oil that comes, and to accept it in a way that keeps it non-destructive. For example, a long shroud or sleeve could cover the wellhead and receive the oil, moving it to the surface while keeping it in a defined space. At the surface it could easily be dealt with.

A shroud would, however, block access to the wellhead. The shroud that captures the oil would prevent the submarine from playing with the wellhead.

BP appears to be trying to rebuild the well. Return things to normal. The damage to the environment hasn't hit home yet as a drilling cost they will have to pay.

Perhaps relocating the flow to the surface until the relief wells take hold should be their highest priority.

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