Something is Happening in Top Kill Process [LIVE THREAD]

http://www.bp.com/ ^ | 5/26/2010 | Self

[Positive]

I have been monitoring the live feed of the "Top Kill" apparatus from BP.com and after about three hours there is a definite change of events down there.

For the first couple of hours we could see several views of a very complex device rocking around in clear water.

Now there is gushing of what I presume is the "mud" plumeing.

We may get some incite as to progress soon.

[Laura722]

Yeah I noticed the same thing. I just checked the leak after not looking at it for a few hours. It does look like something could be slowing it down. I hope this “top kill” works.

[vigilante2]

They were going to fill it with mud then finish it off with cement

[SueRae]

Thanks for that. I hope it’s also been effective at colder ocean temperatures. Hoping and praying that the odds go in their favor. we’ll know sometime tomorrow afternoon.

[MississippiMan]

That’s a pretty dang good plain-English explanation. Now can you explain to us layman what this “top kill” strategy is?

Thanks...

MM (in TX)

[jacquej]

I know what the BP PR folks have said, and I am praying for success in stopping this catastrophe.

I am worried, however. I used to trust, but am now too old and jaded by the events of the past few decades to assume the best of media people and government officials. You know, that “fool me once” saying?

If I blame anyone in this mess, I blame the environmentalists first, and us second, for not fighting harder against them and our “electeds”. We probably share some of the blame, too, for craving all the goodies of modern civilization

[Sudetenland]

The cementing wont even begin until they kill the well. Their projections are it will take two days to kill it. They will then pump in the cement. Green cement will take 12 hours, but that is not the concern.

The big problem is killing the well. They have to use a mud heavy enough to contain the down hole pressure, but not heavy enough to fracture the strata. It's always a balancing act. What kills the well is the "hydro-static head" or the total weight of the column of mud above the "pay zone."

Once it is "killed," then they simply pump in the cement mixed at a weight equal to the mud.

I have not been in the business in 20 years and technology of drilling fluids has changed substantially since them, but that is the gist of it.

Everybody pray for this to work.

[Sudetenland]

Hven’t you been paying attention? Cheney’s fault. :)

[TribalPrincess2U]

Maybe it’s mud cause they done spilt all the oil.

[2harddrive]

I don’t want to muddy the waters, but, it looks like BP has “deep throated” the well with the Top Kill initiative, and it appears to be a success. Despite what the Fed.gov said, they did NOT bite off more than they could chew!

[DonnerT]

The mud is not abrasive. It is a lubricant, but at near 10,000 psi it will abrade slowly. The trick is to balance the gas/oil pressure with a column of heavy mud down the bore before the BOP and casings loose their integrity.

[MWestMom]

Thanks for the feed. What a mess.

[MWestMom]

Don’t be snarky. ;)

[TornadoAlley3]

This top kill procedure has not been carried out offshore at 5,000 feet water depth before, and its success cannot be assured. It is expected that the entire procedure could take up to two days, and it cannot be predicted how long it will take for the operation to prove successful or otherwise. Should it be necessary, plans and equipment are in place to combine the top kill process with the injection under pressure of bridging material into the BOP to prevent or limit upward flow through the BOP.

BP will continue to provide a live video feed from the seabed through the diagnostic testing and top kill, if undertaken. Throughout the diagnostic process and top kill procedure very significant changes in the appearance of the flows at the seabed will be expected. These will not provide a reliable indicator of the overall progress, or success or failure, of the top kill operation as a whole.

Should the top kill not succeed in fully stopping the flow of oil and gas from the well, BP would then intend to move forward to deployment of the LMRP cap containment system.
Deployment of this system will involve first removing the damaged riser from the top of the BOP to leave a cleanly-cut pipe at the top of the BOP’s lower marine riser package (LMRP). The LMRP cap, an engineered containment device with a sealing grommet, would then be connected to a riser from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship and then placed over the existing LMRP with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well.

The LMRP cap is already on site and it is anticipated that this option will be available for deployment by the end of May.

Additional options also continue to be progressed, including the option of lowering a second blow-out preventer, or a valve, on top of the failed Deepwater Horizon BOP.

Work on the drilling of two relief wells, begun on May 2 and May 16, continues. Each of the wells is estimated to take some three months to complete from the commencement of drilling.

Further information:
BP Press Office London: +44 20 7496 4076
BP Press office, US: +1 281 366 0265
Unified Command Joint Information Center:+1 985-902-5231
www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com
www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse

[SueRae]

Thank you for your response/explanation. Praying that the odds go in their favor on this. I can’t imagine the stress level of all those involved in this repair.

[Sudetenland]

Top kill, killing the well from the top down, as opposed to killing it with a relief well where they drill to depth from another location using directional drilling and kill it at the formation.

EVERYONE GO TO THE BP WEBSITE AND WATCH THE LITTLE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO WHERE THEY TELL EVERYTHING THAT THEY PLAN TO DO!!!! Top Kill

WATCH THIS ONE ESPECIALLY!!! Kent Wells Update

[MWestMom]

I think on Fox the yesterday I say the top Coast Guard man state that BP didn’t expect this to work. They honestly believe that the only thing they can do is drill the relief well and that will take up into August to complete.

We’re in big trouble if that’s the case. And as someone said earlier, when hurricanes and tropical storms start picking this up won’t it spray not only oil; but also the toxic disbursement that BP is using all over the place?

[Darnright]

Sooner or later you’re going to need something called Flip4Mac to watch video files. Also, you may need to download Quicktime.

[George Varnum]

...It looks like they are giving it a super-mondo enema.

[balls]

See post 138. The Kent Wells Update answers, or moots, most of the posts on this thread.