It’s worth every penny you paid for it.
I second the motion to stop the nonsense about a “plot.”
I own a drilling company (land) and this stuff just happens, especially when drilling high pressure or intentionally underbalanced.
Not sure about gas coming up through cement. I can’t say I haven’t seen it, but cement is heavy and even a big bubble should have been easily controlled.
IMHO (and speculating like mad here), I would propose they were drilling underbalanced on purpose to prevent formation damage, counting on their BOP to do its job, and it didn’t do its job.
A 15,000 BOP should have a margin of safety to 30,000 or more. (Indeed, that would be what the factory tested it to and should stand, if assembled correctly.)
I never let third-parties assemble my BOPS on high pressure or intentionally underbalanced wells.
I thank you for your informative post, but I think it’s in response to somebody else. Still, I tend to lean against ‘plots’ because life is so risky one is wasting one’s time formulating one. The timing is bad, to be sure, but it could have been worse, and in one way is good: it takes the focus off the Wall Street speech. If industry types are agile, they could be using mike time to explain all that this thread has been pointing out and getting the jump on the leftist crisis-mongers.
I’m not in a position to see what the TV meme is right now.
Since we are working offshore and the ATM of pressure that comes with deep water would account for a catastrophic gas bubble at surface.
A small bubble at depth when it rises would EXPAND to huge proportions.
The talk has been that the cement was not set, gas came up through the cement and when it neared surface expanded to a huge FLASH.
The only thing that can be said for the missing men, is that it hit so hard and fast, they never knew what happened.
Prayers to all who work in and around a wellhead, whether it is on the surface of 5000 feet below the surface of water.
IT IS NATURE, it is something that man has tried to tame, control, collect and distribute.
As for the BOPS, it is easy to think it was the expendables that gave way, but from some investigations of BOP failure, many other things have to be considered. If the BOPS had seen a bunch of H2S on other jobs, the BOP may have been pitted (damaged internal or structurally) and wouldn’t have made it self apparent during a 7 minute HOLD test in a shop. That test looks for obvious leaks.
It will be interesting to find out:
Where the BOPS third party rentals? The last intrinsic test performed, and whether or not the BOPs had seen too much H2S?
Also will be curious as to the last time the rams had been replaced.
I have worked a number of wells that blew out, but none burned. We had a 300 foot flare for three days on one before we got it under control, brought up 14 pound mud like it was nothing. Melted a fence,burned up a pasture and made a 5 1/2 drill pipe relief line glow cherry red.
I am assuming my cousin wasn't working on that rig as we haven't heard anything.