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BP has fast-tracked a plan to collect all the oil leaking out of its deep-sea well in the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the month - but this new plan isn't risk-free.
Last week, the oil company said it needed until mid-July to have all the ships and plumbing set up to deal with the daily flow of as much as 50,000 barrels of oil, gushing up from a broken well 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf. In response to orders from the Obama administration, BP came up with a way to shave two weeks off that schedule - basically by hooking up the plumbing to the spigots that are available now instead of taking the time to switch the pipes around.
Eventually, BP and its industrial partners will still have to do that extra pipe-switching. But in the short run, the revised plan should take care of all the oil and gas, assuming it works anywhere close to advertised.
BP's chief operating officer, Doug Suttles, laid out the details in a letter to the Coast Guard dated Sunday, but here's the breakdown in simple terms:
- 1. Discoverer Enterprise, steady as she goes: The current system brings up about 15,000 barrels of oil to the Discoverer Enterprise drillship for processing, through a cap assembly that was installed over the sawed-off top of the well's blowout preventer earlier this month. That capture capability can be boosted to 18,000 barrels, but under the current system, the rest of the oil has to spew through the cap's ports into the Gulf.
- 2. Q4000, for the burn: Another rig, known as the Q4000, was used last month in BP's unsuccessful "top-kill" attempt to close off the well. Now one of the two lines that was used in the top-kill try has been converted to reverse the flow. The collection system leading to the Q4000 could bring up another 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day, starting as early as Tuesday. But there's no equipment onboard that rig to process and store that oil. Instead, the oil will have to be burned off, using an "environmentally friendly" piece of equipment known as the EverGreen Burner. Some question whether this arrangement is all that environmentally friendly. Clean or not, the burner might have to be used for the next month.
- 3. Pulling a switch with two heavy-hitters: Last week's plan called for setting up another Q4000-type system by the end of the month, which would have accommodated another 10,000 barrels a day. The revised plan goes with a more ambitious operation to handle an additional 20,000 to 25,000 barrels a day. BP has just arranged to have two oil-processing ships sail to the oil-leak site. Either the Helix Producer I or the Toisa Pisces will be hooked up to the other line that was used during the top-kill operation. BP will go with whichever ship is ready first. These three simultaneous operations - the Deepwater Horizon, the Q4000 and one of the two heavy-hitter ships - should be able to handle up to 53,000 barrels of oil a day.
- 4. Make the system more solid: Between the end of June and the middle of July, BP will fine-tune the system to make it more hurricane-proof. The company will also send down a new type of cap that will be sealed more securely on the top of the blowout preventer, with two attachments for riser lines. By mid-July, both of the heavy-hitting processing ships should be ready for service.
- 5. Shift the plumbing: In the latter part of July, the line leading to the Q4000 will be switched over to the other big ship, which brings two big benefits. First, BP will no longer have to burn off hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil every day. Also, the daily processing capability using those two ships alone will balloon to between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels. The Discoverer Enterprise can still take care of 10,000 to 15,000 barrels a day, sucking up oil from the new, improved cap on the blowout preventer. Yet another ship, the Discoverer Clear Leader, can handle another 10,000 to 15,000 barrels flowing through a second line leading from the cap on the blowout preventer. The four simultaneous operations will have a daily capture capacity of 60,000 to 80,000 barrels - far more than the current worst-case estimates for flow from the oil leak.
- 6. Relief wells, still the long-term fix: If the system works as planned, BP should be able to take care of all the leaking oil. But this system can only collect the oil. It can't do anything about controlling the flow or stopping the leak. BP still has to rely on a relief-well system for that part of the job. Right now the first two wells have reached depths of about 14,000 feet and 9,000 feet (including 5,000 feet of water), and they're expected to hit the required 18,000-foot mark by August. There's no guarantee that these first wells will do the trick, but if BP's system is sucking up all the oil by that time, it's not so crucial that the first relief wells are exactly on target.
This is the current best-case scenario, but Suttles' letter points out the potential risks as well. The top-kill lines that are currently connected to the blowout preventer (and figure so prominently in steps 2 through 5) were never designed to be used for continuous oil flow. There's a risk that those lines may erode - or they may get plugged up with the junk left behind by the top-kill attempt.
If a hurricane blows through the area, all the ships will have to disconnect from their lines, and oil will once again flow freely into the Gulf through those lines until the storm has passed and the ships can be reconnected.
Even if all the lines are working, the operations team will have to juggle four oil-processing operations simultaneously and safely. "Work is ongoing to confirm that this combination of four production vessels is indeed possible within appropriate safety parameters," he said.
"The risks of operating multiple facilities in close proximity must be carefully managed," Suttles said. "Several hundred people are working in a confined space with live hydrocarbons on up to four vessels. This is significantly beyond both BP and industry practice. We will continue to aggressively drive schedule to minimize the pollution, but we must not allow this drive to compromise our No. 1 priority, that being the health and safety of our people."
Any offshore oil operation requires workers to deal with lots of toxic materials and burn off the natural gas that comes up from the well along with the oil. A methane flare-up is thought to be the immediate cause of the April 20 oil-rig explosion that touched off this disaster. Suttles said the stepped-up oil-recovery operation could run the risk of a "major surface accident" - a scenario that one assumes might involve a flare-up from one ship sparking another explosion on a nearby ship.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. James Watson's written response to Suttle's letter, released today, noted BP's stepped-up efforts but held off from voicing explicit approval. "We have continuously demanded strategies and responses from BP that fit the realities of this catastrophic event, for which BP is responsible," he said. "We will continue to hold them accountable and bring every possible resource and innovation to bear."
BP spokesman David Nicholas told me that the team managing the comings and going of the ships converging on the epicenter of the Gulf oil spill will have to serve as "air traffic controllers" for what's shaping up as an unprecedented oil-processing operation. The most crucial two weeks of the response to the disaster in the Gulf may be just ahead. Is this the best BP can do? Are there ways to reduce the risks? Feel free to weigh in with your comments below.
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I don't care, it's unspeakable that BP had no plans in place in the event of a catasrophe. This learning and doing as they go along is beyond outrageous. I hope they die as a company !
BP Oil fooled itself on how robust to respond by believing it's on lowball lies about how much oil was really leaking. Had BP Oil been more interested in solving the problem rather than trying to limit legal liability then BP Oil could have had the correct assets in the Gulf to suck up all the oil long before now. Now BP Oil has to scramble to get assets positioned from a long ways away. Now we're hearing that BP Oil will be able to suck up up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day, that's a long ways from their initial estimate of only 1,000 barrels a day.
Only a fool would try to bomb the well thinking that explosives will solve the problem. No it probably won't and it will likely make the problem worse. Now we have to just wait until relief wells are drilled so that the leak can be stopped properly and finally without worries that oil will still spill.
@ magnets
That is really stupid, yes lets set off a nuke, that is the answer to everything. Lets not pay attention to what type of rock, soil, and ocean floor, lets forget about all the radiation that will be released into the ocean not to mention having that radiation carried throughout the oceans natural currents to other areas outside of the gulf. Hell lets kill the rest of ocean life that the oil hasn't already decimated.
Lets ignore the possibility that setting off a nuke could destabilize the ocean floor and create fissures that would release the oil under the ground. Using a nuke to seal a pipe on the floor is over kill, if you want to talk about stupidity anyone suggesting using nuclear weapons to fix the leak is insane.
There seems to have been several failures here:
1) The structures (geological and mechanical) associated with this well do not appear to have been sufficiently robust to preclude the possibility of a blow out.
2) There was no foolproof backup plan in place to avert the disaster. (no relief well in place)
3) There doesn't seem to have been an adequate plan for the aftermath of a blowout.
In other words some people; consumers, government and the corporate world, decided the risk of this type of outcome was acceptable and took it. (I refuse to accept the possibility we were all ignorant of the risk)
This is criminal negligence against our planet and we're all guilty!
Now's the time to stop letting greed and gluttony get the best of us.
Why would plugging it be any more dangerous that containment?? At some point it has got to be plugged or are you suggesting that we let it continue...
Nobody but BP really knows for sure but there are hints and plenty of suspicion that the well casings that line the drilled hole are not intact among other things. The pressure the oil is at is enormous so if you just put a plug in it you may get a bigger hole leaking from somewhere else that you would be completely unable to deal with.
BP's top kill method was kind of an attempt to plug the leak and they gave it up. A few people self included suggested just applying a hydraulic clamp to pinch the pipe shut or install a valve. These ideas have not been tried, supposedly because it would be too dangerous.
The relief well which doesn't exist yet, will allow control of the leak from far below the seabed and the damage.
What I can't believe is that they couldn't have a ship vacuum up the oil while still trying to contain the leak! Apparently we don't have any common sense anymore??? Or do we just not have enough resources to develop a vacuum system that could take care of such a spill?
Public, governmental and corporate reaction to this has ranged from 'crying over spilt milk (oil)' to 'crying wolf' to 'crying havok' to formation of lunch mobs.
Now, I'm no more happy with the ongoing leakage of oil into our most precious commodity (water) than any of the rest of you. I am just as worried about the actualized damage and additional potential disaster that could come about in the hurricane season.
But... The government did not regulate proper safety precautions or mandate proper escape and recovery plans for deep water drilling. The company met, to the best we can tell, all federal guidelines for running such an operation. That leaves us without a guaranteed plan for fixing things. Barring the invention of a wonderchemical, the invention of a time machine, or the intercession of a higher power... they are doing what they feel is possible to do at this point in time.
Asking BP to fix it faster sounds great on the 20 second byte. Talking tough and swinging a noose for the company makes us feel less impotent about the situation, sort of? Demanding a pound of skin now while the real wound is still open is rather pointless; it may kill the host, but still taint the well for generations.
We use oil. We use a LOT of oil. We are the reason they felt it reasonable to drill where they did. We are the consumers who did not pay enough attention, did not strenuously enough exercise our rights as voters, as citizens.
The only thing we can do, besides heading to the bayou with a roll of paper towels, is to not thel this occur again. Pay attention, get involved, be an American. If this is not a mandate to reduce, then we will never do so until there is no oil left. If this is not a clarion that we need massive corporate reform in regards to potentially threatening environmental operations, then we might as well not bother to cap the well.
Many parallels w/ America's drug use being used as an excuse for the Drug War. Both seem to have no logic in basis or fixes(no pun intended!). Just a whole lot of wasted(again no pun) time and money.
I agree with your points. Thank you.
ok; your telling me, the US NAVY, doesen`t have a mini sub or two to unbolt that broken pipe and install a new one ? but we can go to the moon and back, no problem, right ! what about the navy seals, cant they do something ? come on people, this is 2010 remember. helloooooooo.
Politicians LOSE votes, BP LOOSENS standards, LOST is the innocence. Bookmark Dictionary.com.
THEIR mistake is our LOSS. THEY'RE killing the Gulf. Noone will vist THERE due to BP's having been given the option to perform at substandard levels of safety protocol. And a lot more than Manatees and Dolphins are at stake. DO NOT LET THE BIG OIL DEFENDERS PULL WOOL OVER OUR COLLECTIVE EYES!!! Drill Baby Drillers will be back w/ a vengence in no time.
It is amazing how no one has discussed taking the bolts loose from the fitting we see everyday on the news and bolting on a new valve stack to first stop the leak and then recover the well head for production. Everyone want to shove something in it or over it why not bolt something onto it? Just a thought genius.....I used couldn'y even spell engineer and now I are one. LOL
As far as worst case scenarios, did anyone mention bolts of lightning?
This is truly unbelievable!
If the pipe spilling the oil is only 21 inches wide, why not install a 42 inch pipe (twice as big or even bigger) over the spewing pipe and run this new 42 inch pipe all the way back up to the surface. It would require alot of pipe, but I think it is reasonable. Then attach the end of it to either a platform to burn it or even to tankers. Even can be piped all the way back to land to some tanks. Any comments???
I think it is time that our counrty invest in oil clean up tech. so we as a nation can respond to the mess like the Gulf. If we can invest in tanks and other things we should at least invest in the ability to respond to oil spills so our government can respond these spills so we don't seem helpless.
Our engineering company came up with a dome diversion head 4 weeks ago that would handle the flow, pressure, freezing, hydrate crystals, methane gas, current, etc. It would divert 100% of the oil to the surface where it could be pumped to tankers. We have sent the design to everyone, but only a few form letters have been returned. What does that tell you. Also, the crimping device would work that was mentioned earlier on. A hydraulic unit could operate at that depth and much deeper. The only problem with that is there has been damage to the well head and BOP sleeves. I think they are afraid that the crimping job may blow out the entire well head. I really don't have the insider information though, so I am assuming that is why they don't crimp it. But based on what we have seen of their engineering team so far and their poor design, maybe they are just clueless.
OK, maybe this is too easy, but my idea is to drill two holes, one on either side of the well. Then pack each with explosives and seal the holes to the top. When the explosives are set off well below the seabed, the resultant pressure will collapse the well like a soda straw. If it does not seal it off completely, the flow will be reduced such that it can be contained. They know exactly the makeup of the rock they drilled through is and can figure out how deep to go and how much explosive to use to collapse the well and not just make more of a mess. Anyone have a better idea to stop this - and now?
OK, maybe this is too easy, but my idea is to drill two holes, one on either side of the well. Then pack each with explosives and seal the holes to the top. When the explosives are set off well below the seabed, the resultant pressure will collapse the well like a soda straw. If it does not seal it off completely, the flow will be reduced such that it can be contained. They know exactly what the makeup of the rock they drilled through is and can figure out how deep to go and how much explosive to use to collapse the well and not just make more of a mess. Anyone have a better idea to stop this - and now?
why can't they use something similar to a drainmaster... it goes in a pipe then pressure is applied and it expands and plugs the pipe..you could get it well below the wellhead then inflate it its also small enough to go in pretty easy ... once inflated you back it up with concrete using the topcap fittings..
as far as having a plan .. they depended on the blowout preventer( that was their catastrophic failure back up) and it failed whoever made it is to blame.....
i know you can't crimp it. at the temperatures and thickness of the pipe with out applying heat it would crack or break off.. nuclear actually in side the well head might work but enormous risk that it would worsen the problem.. if you could burn the oil at the well head it would greatly lessen the pollution but also ruin whats left of the wellhead causing a harder solution later I don't think even a hardhat diver can work much below 300ft much less a mile.....good luck bp