Posted on 06/16/2010 8:25:05 AM PDT by blam
Guess What: BP's "Bottom Kill" Solution Might Just Cause More Oil To Spill
Joe Weisenthal
Jun. 16, 2010, 6:41 AM
For those of you assuming that the ultimate solution will come from a relief well, Der Spiegel throws some cold water on "Bottom Kill," and why it's no sure thing.
First, one big risk is simply the fact that you're creating a new hole:
"More oil could leak than before, because the field is being drilled into again," says Fred Aminzadeh, a geophysicist at the University of Southern California. Ira Leifer, a geochemist at the University of California in Santa Barbara, voices similar concerns: "In the worst case, we would suddenly be dealing with two spills, and we'd have twice the problem."
But wait, there's more!
Although the BP engineers have already completed two-thirds of the first relief well, it is extremely difficult to find the out-of-control well in the middle of the bedrock, says David Rensink, incoming president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
"You're trying to intersect the well bore, which is about a foot wide, with another well bore, which is about a foot wide," Rensink said recently. Hitting it with the first attempt, he adds, "would truly be like winning the lottery."
...
Rensink is particularly concerned that BP, in drilling the relief wells, will penetrate into precisely those rock formations in which extreme pressure and temperature conditions facilitated the April blowout in the first place. Gas bubbles and gushing oil from the depths are real possibilities. "Any relief or kill well needs to be drilled with more caution than the first well," Donal Van Nieuwenhuise, a geologist at the University of Houston, told the New Orleans daily Times-Picayune. "You don't want a repeat performance."
Read the whole thing >
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Think of it this way:
You are trying to lasso a piece of spaghetti with another piece of spaghetti from a hundred feet away with blinders on.............
I thought the relief wells were simply an attempt to produce oil from the same formation close to the leaking well, at such a rate that the leaking well is relieved from flow.
Now it sounds like they are trying to physically intercept the leaking well shaft above the reservoir and plug it. This would be much more difficult to do.
So which is it?
Releif wells are NOT new technology. I, having some experience in the Gulf oil patch, trust that they know how to do this. Directional drill technology is excellent these days.
It sure looks like a lot of hesteria this morning on FR!!! Note to self, buy Tinfoil stock.
I believe they intend to intercept the present shaft above the reservoir.
Purpose of releif well is to intercept original well bore and inject cement to permanently plug the wildwell.
ELE.
Thanks. So they must intend to penetrate the shaft with another shaft (same diameter?) then pump in a sealant. Why did they choose the depth they did? Couldn't they do this closer to the seabed floor?
The purpose of the relief wells is to attempt a bottom kill, so it has to be at the bottom.
Nuke the hole!
Hell yeah!
Sometimes a purely chemical disaster just doesn’t suffice...
So that you have plenty of wild well bore above your intercept to contain the plug. Intercept down low and you don't need as much pressure to contain the leak, as the flow of oil helps move the plug mud up the bore. The higher you intercept the more pressure you need in your relief wells, and the greater the risk of splitting the casing.
Basically, if you're 10,000 feet down, you have 10,000 feet of potential plug with a lot lower risk of splitting casing because of the pressure at which you feed the plug mud.
The “intersect on the first attempt” is a bit of a red herring. No, they don’t usually get it on the first try. But after a handful of tries, they do. In close proximity there is ferrous sensing technology and (I believe) inertial guidance all the way down.
We need to find some way to make the oil leak self-replicating. And are 300-ft high Cloverfield monsters out of the question?
Good luck to BP with the bottom kill.
I was considering BP, since this is one heck of a discovery and their stock is distressed, but Reynolds seems like a sure bet!
Yeah, well, when an 18” diameter pipe isn’t a big enough leak, blast a quarter mile wide crater!
What people are ignoring, is that with a mud weight of between 14.1 and 16.8, depending on sources, the well was under control, even though the plug was compromised.
Put that same hydrostatic pressure on the formation, and it will be shut in again. then the new plug can cure. The rest, once you can put the fluid in the wellbore, is just a math problem.
The same fluid column (drilling mud) will be exerting hydrostatic pressure in the relief well, holding the formation fluid back.
The problem on the Deepwater Horizon came about when the riser pipe was displaced with seawater (despite apparent indications that cutting the hydrostatic pressure on the formation was letting the well flow, indicating a bad plug), flow indicators were ignored, and the well blew out. The displacement with the lighter seawater reduced the hydrostatic pressure on the formation downhole by some 2200 psi, letting the well blow out.
General Electric has such stuff to get within inches of a casing and has been using it for several years, “175 successful projects”. (I sure hope obama did a google search and will be using this technology. It is GE, so I imagine he will).
The entire article has useful information related to the BP blowout and gives a good description of hazards they may encounter.
What is MAGRANGE™III?
MAGRANGE™III (an acronym for MAgnetic Gradient Ranging) is GE Energy’s latest suite of proprietary hardware, software, and interpretive tools that can locate subterranean steel materials within inches, at depths in excess of 15,000 feet.
Utilizing this patented technology in blowout well control, GE Energy is able to accurately drill a relief well to control a blowout, to retrieve or sidetrack around a fish, and in a variety of other situations that require directional drillers to precisely locate a target well or fish.
MAGRANGE III simplifies the relief well process by providing superior data to determine the direction, angle, and distance of the relief well to the target well. Even the best well surveys are only accurate within approximately 50 feet (assuming a .25 (accuracy at 12,000 foot depth), and many older wells have no surveys at all. Put MAGRANGE III to work for you for the help you need in a blowout.
Why should I use MAGRANGE III?
Previous methods of well control required multiple sidetracks to be drilled, increasing the cost and time needed to recover a blowout. MAGRANGE III delivers accurately positioned relief wells, often enabling well control to be regained within an hour. With more than 175 successful projects completed, GE Energy is the company to trust when you need immediate well control.
How does MAGRANGE III hardware work?
The MAGRANGE III sensor array is run into the drill hole on a wireline. Magnetic data is logged either during the insertion or removal of the tool. The typical scenario includes the operator drilling the relief well in the general proximity of the target well (usually within 20-60 feet), running MAGRANGE, and then, based on data collected, adjusting the down hole tool to more accurately reach the target well. Depending on the depth of the hole, measurements can be repeatedly taken to further fine tune the relief well until control is regained.
What service does MAGRANGE III include?
GE Energy is the industry leader in blowout well control. Superior technology, combined with an experienced lead engineer overseeing every project, allows GE Energy to deliver fast and accurate blowout control, when and where you need it. From initial solution engineering, to data measurement and analysis, and to success, GE Energy provides unmatched service at your drill site.
When should I consider MAGRANGE III?
MAGRANGE III has proven successful in a wide range of purposes – below is a summary of possible applications:
• Typical blowout: MAGRANGE III can position the relief well close to the perforations of the target well, permitting kill fluid to be pumped into the relief well and the blowout control to be brought under control. Depending on the formation, the relief well may be effective up to 20 feet away, or in other instances, direct mechanical contact may be required for the relief well perforations to impact the target casing – often in two hours or less.
• Proper well abandonment: If foreign materials or rot prevents a well from being cemented and properly abandoned, MAGRANGE III can facilitate drilling alongside the original hole and “kick over” to make a shallow intercept. The original well can then be cemented and can be abandonment completed.
• Avoid charged formations: In the vicinity of a damaged well, shallow sands can become highly charged with gas, making relief work dangerous. Using MAGRANGE III, GE Energy is able to track the target well at a safe distance before controlling the well.
• Fish location: MAGRANGE III can be used in original wells to strike below the relief well and to pinpoint the location of a fish. Retrieval is particularly challenging in washouts, however, MAGRANGE III can provide essential data to allow the fishing operator to retrieve the fish. In instances when a relief well is drilled and the fish is unable to be retrieved, MAGRANGE III can enable a drill back into the original hole below the fish, converting the relief well into the new well.
• Intermediate kill for all hole depths: Typically, every 3000 feet of additional depth doubles the cost of a relief well. For wells are between 17,000-20,000 feet deep, MAGRANGE III can be used to drill nearly parallel, and into contact, with the target well (at an intermediate depth of approximately 10,000-12,000 feet). A borehole televiewer can then be utilized to locate and radioactively mark the sector of the relief well in which contact is made with the target well. A high-powered perforating gun with a radiation detector can then be lowered into the hole to perforate directly into the target well and regain control of your drilling operation.
Be prepared when a blowout arises
Contact GE Energy today to learn more about the superior technology and service of MAGRANGE III.
See my post 19 about GE’s technology - interesting stuff.
Your talk of mud reminds me of a funny story. Some salesman/technician from the company that sold our oil well the bentonite “mud” gave a “lesson” to all of us on how to measure it, calculate how much weight you need, remeasure, etc. (It was a slow day!). After about a half-hour of our “lesson”, our experienced mud man, who had been holding his tongue the entire time, said “So, if I don’t add water, it’s just dirt - right?”
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