[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Just for fun, would one of you two explain how you make a riser full of mud or sea water explode?

If this had been a producing well than MAYBE you would have something to go on. An exploratory that should not have had anything but mud in the riser, no way.

[Erik Latranyi]

Just for fun, would one of you two explain how you make a riser full of mud or sea water explode?

A) An impossible amount of pressure from gas

B) A tremendous amount of pressure from a bomb

C) A tremendous amount of pressure from a torpedo

D) A tremendous amount of pressure from the Sierra Club

[Deaf Smith]

Example, simple: A bottle of beer is charged with gas (CO2). Open it nicely and just a little fizz. Shake to bottle and it will shoot out all over when you open it. You expect to fizz a little, every bottle you open or you know that the beer is flat.

They knew the mud for the 8000 ft was gas charged and expected just a little gas to be flared off as the mud was pumped out.

The cement job did not hold and as the 8k ft of mud was replaced by the lighter sea water (on shore is was brine) the mud below began to be pushed up from the zone as the cap (mud) holding it down became lighter and lighter until there was nothing left to hold it down.

It doesn't take very long to displace fluid between a drill pipe and the inside casing and riser. Keep in mind the displacement begins at the bottom of the drill pipe 8k ft down so that you are pushing the 8k ft of mud above up, replacing it with sea water while Expecting the mud below 8k ft level to stay put.

BLOWOUT.

[trek]

The fluids in the well/riser complex are circulating not static. So gas can easily leak in from the surrounding formations if the well is not properly cased and sealed. This is undoubtedly what happened. And the gas which is under tremendous pressure in situ, expands dramatically as it rises up to the surface. So once the mud was removed from the improperly sealed well the rig was doomed.