Growing oil well cavity could collapse as oil is squeezed out of the leak. (Vanity)

IMHO

[7thOF7th]

With each gallon of oil that leaks out of the hole in the Gulf, a vacuous cavity is forming and no longer providing structural support to the subterranean oil deposit. It is this very pressure that pushes the oil out of the hole. Under normal operating conditions sea water or heavy mud is used to replace the volume of oil extracted. If nothing is filling the space of the leaking oil, a catastrophe of immense and long lasting impact could occur. If the ceiling of the subterranean cavern collapses, it will release the entire oil deposit into the Gulf of Mexico. This would be biblical in size and scope of disasters as over a billion gallons of crude oil and gas are released all at once. IMHO

[PGR88]

or not

[randog]

LOL!!!

[TheThirdRuffian]

Um, no.

Oil is contained in either cracks or voids within rock, shale, sand, whatever.

It’s not a big lake.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Just guessing....but I would guesstimate that the volume of oil forced to the surface after the last 46 days is equivalent to a fart in a windstorm. The leak would need to continue for a good long time before something like that to happen.

Now, I'm no oilman....but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Safrguns]

Definitely Bush’s fault if that happens.

[saganite]

Thanks for the humor break. LOL! Don’t give up your day job.

[Eyes Unclouded]

That far down?

The cavity in question is under a few thousand feet of rock itself. Seems to me that if there was a collapse it would be far from the seabed.

I’m not a geologist so my physics may be off.

[savedbygrace]

ZOMG! We’re doomed! Doomed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmZRDUO1wGQ

[SnakeDoctor]

Is there any reason to think this is anything but a wild-ass-guess?

Oil deposits have been emptied before without the cavity collapsing and instantaneously ejecting the remaining oil. To remove oil from the earth is not unusual. To remove oil quickly is not unusual. The only thing that is unusual is that we’re not capturing the oil.

SnakeDoc

[Freds2nd]

No way. There is 18,000 feet of rock between the oil and the sea floor.

[ASOC]

IBTZ

[Uncle Ike]

I saw it explained on one of the early “Oil Spill” threads (where a similar concern was raised) that underground oil does not take the form of giant lakes or bubbles - but rather resides in capillary-sized voids in otherwise solid rock - so an ‘implosion’ such as concern you is unlikely in the extreme...

[The Cajun]

Hey, it's just an oil sand thousands of feet below the surface, it ain't a black hole.

[FreedomPoster]

So, you’re a PhD level petroleum geologist, or have similar qualifications?

Or . . .

[ZX12R]

No way. There is 18,000 feet of rock between the oil and the sea floor.

There you go. Ruining a perfectly good chicken little tsunami.

[wolfman]

The scenario you present is not really possible. There are thousands of feet of rock above the oil deposit. I do wonder what effect techtonic pressure has on this leak though. It is a very volatile time all over the globe with volcanoes and earthquakes.

[mountainlion]

You mean that global warming was not making the seas higher it was land sinking form removing oil?

[truth_seeker]

What an ignorant, ill informed crock.

[TexasCajun]

I would bet the reservoir is at least 10,000’ below the sea surface?