Posted on 07/12/2010 9:19:15 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
BP's new cap has been installed, and the company will start pressure tests tomorrow that will test the tightness of the seal and the integrity of the well. According to BP's press release:
The three ram capping stack was installed on the Deep Water Horizon LMRP at 7 p.m. CDT. The stack completes the installation of the new sealing cap.
Following installation of the capping stack and in line with the procedure approved by the National Incident Commander and Unified Area Command, the well integrity test will begin July 13 on the MC252 well.
For the duration of the test, which will be a minimum of 6 hours and could extend up to 48 hours, the three ram capping stack will be closed and all sub-sea containment systems (namely, the Q4000 and Helix Producer) will be temporarily suspended, effectively shutting in the well. It is expected, although cannot be assured, that no oil will be released to the ocean for the duration of the test. This will not however be an indication that flow from the wellbore has been permanently stopped.
Information gathered during the test will be reviewed with the relevant government agencies including the federal science team to determine the way forward. Options include reinstatement of containment as well as extending the test duration beyond 48 hours.
The sealing cap system never before has been deployed at these depths or under these conditions, and its efficiency and ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured.
According to the same press release,
The Helix Producer containment system started operations on July 12. The Q4000 containment system continues to capture oil and gas from the MC252 well and flare the hydrocarbons safely at the surface.
Relief well operations continue throughout this period and remain the sole means to permanently seal and isolate the well.
The New York Times has an article about the pressure tests. It says:
If the tests on the well show the pressure rising and holding — an indication that the well is intact, with no significant damage to the casing pipe that runs the length of the well bore to 13,000 feet below the seafloor — BP, working with government scientists, could decide to leave the valves closed, effectively shutting off the well like a cap on a soda bottle.
“The best-case scenario is that pressures rise to the point we anticipate they would,” Mr. Suttles said at a briefing. “We’d likely be able to keep the well shut in.”
On the other hand, the tests could show pressures that are lower than expected, Mr. Suttles said, an indication that the well is damaged. That could mean that oil and gas are leaking into the surrounding rock.
In that case, keeping the cap closed could damage the well further. The valves would have to be reopened, he said, and oil would start escaping from the well again, although much of it, and perhaps eventually all, would be funneled through pipes to surface ships.
The same article said that a technician involved with the operation offered the opinion that it was unlikely that the cap would be left on beyond the test period, since there is a chance the pressure could damage the well over time, and since facilities will soon be available to capture the oil and gas that escapes.
Crrently there are 55 comments at TOD.
And picked this up from The Oil Drum:
Tighter cap on, now testing can begin
*********************************EXCERPT*************************************
Roger Cogdell, an oil pipeline engineer with Houston-based Virtual Pipeline Systems, who has conducted numerous hydrostatic pressure tests on pipes, said the tests will necessarily subject the well to intense pressures and create a risk that existing breaches in the casing could be worsened.
Cogdell said that BP likely will cut the test short if the pressure doesn't rise as quickly as anticipated.
The information, however, would better prepare workers to execute the imminent "bottom kill" operation in which a relief well will puncture the Macondo casing near the reservoir and pump in mud and cement to plug it permanently.
"Apparently, they believe the incremental benefit in knowledge of the well's condition for the kill operation is worth the near-term elevated risk of pressuring it up for several hours," Cogdell said.
****************************************************snip*********************************************
If BP is not able to shut the Macondo flow, its containment system will be re-engaged with the aim of capturing all the leaking oil, Suttles said.
Obama doesn't want any more bad news to interfere with his Golfing.
Unlike the national yoke of joblessness and hoplessness, which are metaphorical Obama "quagmires", Obama's oil pollution mess is a genuine, literal, toxic and gooey "quagmire"
.
So the Feds are running the whole show.
And apparently they are discounting the possibility that the high pressure itself could overtime cause the weakened Well bore additional damage and also cause problems in the structurally unknown original BOP.
Is Vegas taking bets on whether these idiots make the situation worse or better ?
His Czar is making another pass at shutting down all drilling in the GOM.
The good news is the Helix Producer is producing. The bad news is that the feds want to stop the Helix, so they can further destroy the well bore with high pressure.
Damn, so the world isn’t ending after all? All those doomsayers were wrong? Real men were working on real solutions while others cried that the sky was falling. Bloggers everywhere are deeply saddened.
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