It’s the collapsed “riser” above the Blowout Preventer ( BOP ), with “mud” ( drilling fluid ) and oil and other products being spewed from fissures in it. It has been the star of the show. A lot of the pressure is from the injection of “mud” into the well, which constitutes the “top kill”. Earlier today it looked to me like it might be succeeding, but it’s hard to tell, especially when you don’t know anything about it! It’s complicated.
I have learned a little about the BOP, though. It has impressive sounding engineering ( i.e. it acts with great force ) which is supposed to act as a shutoff valve to prevent a blowout. In this case, it famously didn’t work, but it did constrict the exit orifice, as far as I understand.
The “top kill” is injecting “mud” into the plumbing of the BOP which allows access to the drill hole below the supposedly closed BOP valve. Since it’s open, however, the “mud” blows back up through the BOP and out the riser, which is what we are mainly seeing. The question is how much oil and methane are still coming out with it.
Hey, looks like some action on the Live Video. An ROV is moving in on the ruptured riser.
Thanks for the explanation, guys.
MM (in TX)