[deport]

You may need to get ahold of BP and tell them they are doing the relief wells all wrong. Here's what BP depicts as what they are attempting to do.

[Graphic depiction of BP's progress in drilling two wells designed to intersect the
original wellbore above the oil reservoir and allow heavy fluid to be pumped into
the well and stop the oil from flowing.]

As BP drills two relief wells in the Gulf of Mexico, we look at the process involved

BP crews have begun to drill two relief wells in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) to stem the flow from the MC252 well.

BP has relief well contingency plans in place to allow the company to regain control of a well. These plans are now being called into action in the GoM.

A drilling rig drills a relief well or second well to intersect the original, flowing well as deeply as possible. A specialized heavy liquid is then pumped into the flowing well to bring it under control. This liquid is denser than oil and so exerts pressure (known as hydrostatic pressure) to stem the flow of oil. Once the flow is stopped, the well can be returned to a safe condition.

[dennisw]

I know that’s the plan and I know that’s the depth the relief wells are going. I just hope it works. One relief well was started about 3 weeks after the first. Will we have to wait for #2 to come in?