From an email I received, information not verified:
Notes from:
Lindsey Williams on Politics 101 w. Dan Gonzales
Topic: Gulf Oil Disaster
Background:
1970's - Russia started drilling exploratory wells 40,230 ft. deep. 310 successfull super deep wells were put into production making Russia the world's largest oil producer up to today. At this depth they found ABIOTIC OIL.
Abiotic oil is formed at the heart of the Earth. It is NOT a fossil fuel. The Russians drilled these wells on dry land; never in the ocean. Modern American Company aka British Petroleum (BP) wanted to compete with Russia.
This brings us to the current disaster... This was an accident. This was NOT an inside job.
The Oil Rig Goes Down:
BP tried drilling one of these super deep wells on an UNANCHORED drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The United States Government issued BP the permits to begin their drilling operation, knowing full well the scope of the operation.
They started drilling 5000 ft below the surface of the gulf, and then another 25,000 to 30,000 ft into the earth; NOT the reported 3800 ft. They hit a strata of oil at such a pressure it burst every safety valve. They unexpectedly hit pressures beyond any human technological containment.
When a new well is put into place, two things are normally reported, but weren't:
1) Flow rate at well head (unknown or not reported)
2) Well Head Pressure (Normal Pressure: 1500 psi like Alaskan rigs)
The well head in the gulf experienced pressures at 20,000-70,000 psi! No oilman has ever seen this type of pressure at a well head.
The safety valve warped under the immense pressure and failed to contain the well. They did not replace it because they knew that no safety valve would work. Industry figures give a low figure of 4 million+ gallons (77,000 barrels) of oil A DAY leak out of the gulf deep well.
Containment:
Every attempt to stop the flow has failed. The only option they have to seal it is to drill an angled well into the existing well and send a nuclear weapon into the leak, detonate it, thus sealing the well. Prep time to make this happen is 3-4 months. However, if it fails, the nuke would rupture the strata and it will never be stopped. The oilmen are scared to resort to this tactic. It is a gamble.
The main pipe was 20 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick of steel. The materials being pushed up through that pipe contain abrasive materials. These abrasive materials have worn down the pipe to 1 inch thick and has ruptured all the way up the pipe from way under the ground, causing seepage. The plumes of oil that BP and the Government denied existing were caused by the erosion of the main pipe. Plumes of oil are seeping up through the sea bed at distances of 20 or more miles away from the main pipe. BP and the Government both now admit to the plumes' existence.
Hidden Danger:
The reddish crude oil is one thing, but the EPA report that Volatile Organic Compounds are being released into the air. The EPA tested the air in Florida this past week and report that the following toxic gasses are being released into the air from the well:
1)Hydrogen Sulfide (toxic, flammable) safe levels: 5-10 ppb tested: 1200 ppb
2)Benzene (toxic, carcinogen) safe levels:0-4 ppb tested: 3000 ppb
3)Methaline Chloride (toxic, flammable) safe levels:61 ppb tested: 3000-3400 ppb
The prevailing winds blow NW to the SE, carrying these toxic gasses over Florida. One hurricane will spread these invisible toxic gasses up the East Coast.
There is concern that a giant gas bubble is forming which could release an exponential amount of these gasses into the atmosphere. However, nobody is talking about this yet.
There is also concern that a release of pressure from the oil chamber could trigger tectonic activity. USGS have reported that around 25 small earthquakes occur around the well on a daily basis. It is certain that the tectonic plates have been affected. If more pressure is released along the N and S faults, major earthquakes could occur. It is suggested to google midplate and deepplate faultlines and see their activity.
I’m not sure anything in that e-mail is true.
For example, it is clear the pressure wasn’t 20-70,000 pounds. The well was under control until they took the mud out.
I’ve also seen no indication either BP or the government has signed on to the theory of oil plumes from this well showing up elsewhere.
And if the pipe was cracked up the pipe, we’d see oil leaking out from directly beneath the BOP, and they’ve been watching that closely and there’s no indication of oil coming up just outside the riser — the idea that the oil would find cracks 20 miles away, but not (at 20,000 pounds) be able to push through the cracks between the rough hole and the smooth liner is silly.
Today's Dialogue at the Oil Drum really gets into why 100,000psi is not the psi in the formation...
well's borehole pressure
*************************************EXCERPT*************************************
I have spent the past 30 min looking for a good ref for over burden the source of the well's borehole pressure and haven't located one.
A good rule of thumb is .45 psi per foot of depth for sea water column and .75 psi per foot for rock formation.
The oil/gas zone is permeable, that means there can be no differential pressure between 2 points in the permeable zone except for the differential depth. So yes it's like a tire, except when it's flowing, pore size changes flow rates within the formation but not greater than the initial pressure.
Believe rock he has good explanation.
We need to put this 100,000 psi nonsense to rest. It makes TOD look less than reliable for facts.
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Chip -- Dig thru the doc and you'll find a pressure plot. From the log data they estimate the OBG (overburden gradient) to be around 16 - 16.3 ppg. They probably used the wire line density log to come up with a site specific OBG. You'll also notice the frac gradient is in the upper 15’s. I suspect the low FG is why they’re setting csg just above the intersect: cut down the possibility of lost circulation.
ppg.http://energycommerce.house.gov/documents/20100614/BP-Production.Casing.TA.Options-Liner.Preferred.Long.Version.pdf