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Started By
Message
Containment Box
Posted on 5/4/10 at 1:40 pm
Posted on 5/4/10 at 1:40 pm
can anyone who is in the O&G industry give me a good reason as to why this idea wouldn't work?
i understand it's never been done in water this deep, but since pressure shouldn't be an issue, and placement of the box shouldn't be too difficult with the help of the ROVs, this seems like it should work just fine
i understand it's never been done in water this deep, but since pressure shouldn't be an issue, and placement of the box shouldn't be too difficult with the help of the ROVs, this seems like it should work just fine
2
Posted on 5/4/10 at 1:57 pm to YatTigah
Its a matter of getting the box over the holes and in place without causing more damage.
Then having the ability to siphon the oil to the surface from 5,000 feet.
At this point BP is not gonna go out on a limb and say "this is absolutely gonna work" and then be further embarrassed when it doesnt.
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:06 pm to YatTigah
you have a high pressure well flowing at estimated 10k psi. You can not flow that to a open hopper barge. The pressure needs to be regulated down. If you do that it will put pressure on the vessel and push it up. The only way is too vent off the gas pressure then put it too a tank.
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:07 pm to ItTakesAThief
i understand that they run a risk of damaging the riser even more if they screw up when they lower the box.
but can you explain to me why pumping the oil from the box to the surface would be a problem?
but can you explain to me why pumping the oil from the box to the surface would be a problem?
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:28 pm to YatTigah
when are they going to put the containment box on the leak?
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:32 pm to Placebeaux
I think it's connected to the Enterprise, would that make a difference?
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:35 pm to Chad504boy
quote:
when are they going to put the containment box on the leak?
BP says thursday, but i don't think they expect it to be operational until the weekend
This post was edited on 5/4/10 at 2:37 pm
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:35 pm to Chad504boy
Prolly gonna be a while. They're fabing 2 of them round the clock. They are enormous.
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:41 pm to Bussemer
quote:
I think it's connected to the enterprise
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:46 pm to YatTigah
The oil is coming to the surface. The question is can the upside down funnel contain enough of the oil to make a difference?
Posted on 5/4/10 at 2:52 pm to YatTigah
quote:
but can you explain to me why pumping the oil from the box to the surface would be a problem?
They won't be 'pumping' anything. Subsea pumping is just now emerging as a technology.
The issues have been clearly stated:
-You're taking a house-sized containment tool and placing it 5,000 ft. below the water line. There's accuracy issues.
-The tool is very heavy, so if you missed or it's placed wonky, you will hurt the equiment already down there, potentially causing another leak.
-You need to have pipe or hose to transport the product to the surface. If you're using pipe, you need to run the pipe using a vessel that can stand the weight. If you're using flex-hose, then you need a hose that can withstand the hydrostatic pressure/temps/load that comes with this application. That's hard to find.
Posted on 5/4/10 at 6:34 pm to o0 ecdysis 0o
Ok another stupid question but what about the gas that is coming out and the gas that is dissolved in the oil. Wouldn't it expand as the pressure lessens on it's way to the top?
the whole idea of a small bubble under tremendous pressure (2200psi) becoming a very large bubble at sea level pressures?
the whole idea of a small bubble under tremendous pressure (2200psi) becoming a very large bubble at sea level pressures?
Posted on 5/4/10 at 6:50 pm to LSU2001
Will it sink into the sand at the bottom of the ocean?
Posted on 5/4/10 at 8:19 pm to arowana
quote:
Ted Bourgoyne, professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at Louisiana State University, said that getting it to flow nearly a mile up the drill pipe to the ship will be tough. "It's pretty challenging. I don't think it's ever been tried in this deep a water," Bourgoyne said. "We'll have to see if we get a good chimney effect going and and we get a good flow of oil up the pipes or whether it just bubbles out the bottom. You'd have to do some pretty good modeling on that."
BP probably hasn't had much time to analyze the composition of the oil and gas coming from the well and create models for what it will take to make it flow properly up the pipe, Bourgoyne said. If there's too much resistance in the pipe, the oil won't make the long journey to the top. The best situation, Bourgoyne said, is if there's also a lot of gas in the well, because the lighter gas will help the oil bubble up to the surface. "It's a gravity-driven phenomenon," Bourgoyne said. "I'm sure they'll get some oil and gas to flow up it, but the question is whether they'll get enough."
LINK
i'm certainly not questioning the Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Engineering at LSU, but can anyone explain this to me in simpler terms?
it seems like they'd just attach the pipe to the top of the box and let it flow to the top as it's been doing this entire time. if it's a "gravity driven process" it seems like they're basically just trying to control the flow and direct it to the barge. i don't really see how the oil could flow out from beneath the containment box...
This post was edited on 5/4/10 at 8:20 pm
Posted on 5/4/10 at 8:45 pm to YatTigah
This is how i see it, in very basic terms, without much of an engineering background, so i could be completely wrong
think of a cup, upside down, with a tiny straw coming out the top of it (the containment box)
now put that cup on your mouth and blow as hard as humanly possible but without stopping to take breaths (if that were possible) and thats like the oil coming out
while air will come out of the straw, air will also slip out the sides of bottom of the cup because the pressure of air is so great.
now since the box weighs 80 tons or so, oil may not slip out the bottoms, but thats their concern.
another concern is the pressure in the pipe (the straw coming out of the cup) because pressure increases as the oil and gases move up the pipe, and since this is so deep and this has never been tried at this depth before they're concerned that the pressure in the pipe or hose they'd be using would be too great to hold.
and of course there is the concern that at 5000 ft thats a pretty hard target to land the containment box directly on.
think of a cup, upside down, with a tiny straw coming out the top of it (the containment box)
now put that cup on your mouth and blow as hard as humanly possible but without stopping to take breaths (if that were possible) and thats like the oil coming out
while air will come out of the straw, air will also slip out the sides of bottom of the cup because the pressure of air is so great.
now since the box weighs 80 tons or so, oil may not slip out the bottoms, but thats their concern.
another concern is the pressure in the pipe (the straw coming out of the cup) because pressure increases as the oil and gases move up the pipe, and since this is so deep and this has never been tried at this depth before they're concerned that the pressure in the pipe or hose they'd be using would be too great to hold.
and of course there is the concern that at 5000 ft thats a pretty hard target to land the containment box directly on.
Posted on 5/5/10 at 12:05 am to Ash Williams
can anyone with knowledge of the oilfield or a chemistry degree explain this to me a little further?
Posted on 5/5/10 at 12:09 am to YatTigah
well since this is how my uncle who's been working in the field as an engineer for 30 years explained it to me i figured id pass it along, however im also very curious to hear other experienced folks opinions on it
Posted on 5/5/10 at 12:13 am to Ash Williams
i wasn't trying to be a dick or anything.
there seems to be alot of really knowledgeable guys around here and i figured they'd be the best people to ask.
there seems to be alot of really knowledgeable guys around here and i figured they'd be the best people to ask.
Posted on 5/5/10 at 12:14 am to YatTigah
quote:
i wasn't trying to be a dick or anything.
dude
stop being such a dick
gees
Posted on 5/5/10 at 12:16 am to Ash Williams
quote:
dude
stop being such a dick
gees
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