BP is cutting the riser right now!

BP.com ^ | 05/31/2010 | BP

[omega4179]

Very interesting.

[Yardstick]

Yeah, audio of the guys running the robots. That would be perfect.

[DeusExMachina05]

I agree, shouldnt expect to see a dramatic difference yet. Imagine connecting two water pipes together while the water is running...many steps needed to be done now...a mile down.

[ArmstedFragg]

I’ve opined since the beginning that the damage potential was being grossly over-hyped, that’s still my opinion. You have to mix in evaporation, natural conversion, recovery efforts, the 20,000 barrels the RIT got, and the burns. I think we’re seeing a reprise of the Katrina reporting. One indication of that would be the reports claiming Florida would be devistated within 24 hours that we got about 40 days ago. There’s no doubt it’s a mess, but if they get the flow down 80 percent with the cap, and the relief well gets done in August, the recovery will be fairly rapid.

You regularly read stuff about the ‘69 Santa Barbara spill that talks about how the smell of petroleum is still in the air. It is, but it has nothing to do with the spill. There’s natural seepage in the channel. The inability of reporters to find any actual evidence of that spill causes that creative journalism phenomenon.

Ugly, but not the end of the world, as long as there’s not a runaway.

[Ronald_Magnus]

"If the cap don't seal, you got to get real"

[nascarnation]

I’m sure it’ll be on youtube

[editor-surveyor]

“How did they plan on hold this thing down on the riser?”

.
Library paste.
.

[bert]

Where did you see that?

I can’t see a damn thing

[Errant]

I’ve got a couple pairs of those big throated welding vise-grips they’re welcomed to borrow... ;)

[Sefton]

“How did they plan on hold this thing down on the riser?”

Dentugrip

[commish]

there is a rubber gasket on the bottom of the cap, and then an O-ring inside the cap. Once the cap is seated, the O-ring will be compressed hydraulically to make the inner seal.

I doubt that they have done that yet. BP said it could be 12-24 hours before they will know if they have a seal and if it is working or not.

[Errant]

Me too, I wonder why they didn't use a larger diameter pipe. It looks pretty small to me in comparison to the riser but maybe they're trying to avoid the methane crystals building up?

[Ronald_Magnus]

“I’ve got a couple pairs of those big throated welding vise-grips they’re welcomed to borrow... ;)”

Cowboy Clamps?

[biff]

We’re gonna need a bigger pipe! /S

[mazda77]

Considering the water pressure is around 2400 psi at that depth, the pressure of the well opening has to eclipse that in order to be coming out of that pipe. So how much is not a lot of pressure?

[DeusExMachina05]

The ROV’s are now going in close for shots of the piping and the cap

[Errant]

LOL, That’s funny!

[Recon by Fire]

It looks like that Dog is not going to hunt tonight.

[RightFighter]

Whatever pipe that they’re showing right now with the blast of oil coming straight up - is that where the hose to the surface will be connected?

[Sefton]

Does anyone know why they didn’t try to re-cut the riser with the Diamond Wire Saw once they chomped off the pipe?

[caww]

I agree...they were reporting of oil “patches” on the beaches...but that is no big deal at all...because they can be scooped right off the beach. I had to laugh as the reporter stood on a full white beach with “one” patch maybe a foot long!

Louisianna’s having it rough...that’s because nobody would give the Gov. the go ahead which could have prevented a whole lot of the damage. By the time the hurrican’s go thru etc. that’ll also clear alot of it out.