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Message
Bolting on a new riser.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 8:18 am
Posted on 6/27/10 at 8:18 am
Last week I watched the Admiral of the Coast Guard Thad Allen say that one of the options is to take off the jagged part of the old riser and bolt on a new on capturing 100% of the oil. Didn't we suggest they cut the bolts and do that about a month ago? 
2
Posted on 6/27/10 at 9:33 am to Schwaaz
If you can bolt on a new riser why not just bolt on a control valve and be done with it.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 9:34 am to Schwaaz
Yes but they didn't have the capacity to handle it at the time. Using that system would have put more pressure on the well due to backpressure building up. Due to a rupture in the well bore they do not want to do that until they have the capacity ready to handle the volume that is coming out of the well.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 9:37 am to Oyster
Bolting on a valve or another BOP was indeed one their original options that got thrown out because the well just can't handle the pressure that this would cause. They learned more about this during the attempted kill shot.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 11:33 am to omegaman66
quote:
Bolting on a valve or another BOP was indeed one their original options that got thrown out because the well just can't handle the pressure that this would cause. They learned more about this during the attempted kill shot.
This was my thought as well as why not just bolt on a big flange valve and shut it. The zone would fracture under the pressure correct?
This post was edited on 6/27/10 at 12:11 pm
Posted on 6/27/10 at 11:52 am to GREENHEAD22
The BOP - that's the suppose to be fail safe piece of equipment in case of a blow out? We've all read that this is the first one to fail at this depth of drilling.
Is there any documentation of failures or near misses at this depth from other sights? If not, why the haste to shut them all down. It seems to me that a track record of near incidents would warrant the morotorium wanted by those screaming for it. However, a one time incident whether in reality or on record now does not establish a pattern. If a pattern has been established and overlooked by either the oil industry and/or the government then heads ought to roll.
The government lets people build on fault lines, in flood zones, etc. I don't see much continuity in their reasoning.
Is there any documentation of failures or near misses at this depth from other sights? If not, why the haste to shut them all down. It seems to me that a track record of near incidents would warrant the morotorium wanted by those screaming for it. However, a one time incident whether in reality or on record now does not establish a pattern. If a pattern has been established and overlooked by either the oil industry and/or the government then heads ought to roll.
The government lets people build on fault lines, in flood zones, etc. I don't see much continuity in their reasoning.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 11:52 am to GREENHEAD22
All they need is a new spetzer valve.It's all going back to ball bearings and gauze pads.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 1:09 pm to papasmurf1269
"No, no, make that Quaker State" 
Posted on 6/27/10 at 1:44 pm to omegaman66
quote:
Bolting on a valve or another BOP was indeed one their original options that got thrown out because the well just can't handle the pressure that this would cause. They learned more about this during the attempted kill
__________________________________
Thus if the failed BOP had properly functioned. We would now have a free flowing geyser on the gulf floor.
Bolting on a valve or another BOP was indeed one their original options that got thrown out because the well just can't handle the pressure that this would cause. They learned more about this during the attempted kill
__________________________________
Thus if the failed BOP had properly functioned. We would now have a free flowing geyser on the gulf floor.
This post was edited on 6/27/10 at 2:51 pm
Posted on 6/27/10 at 2:30 pm to Oyster
Per Kent Wells' technical update on 6.18, they are not installing a new riser on top of the LMRP. They don't want a riser on top of the LMRP in case a storm comes. Instead, they are installing new free-standing risers off to the side. This will allow them to disconnect and GTFO in the event of bad weather. Once these risers are in place (in a couple more weeks), they will put a sealed cap on the LMRP. There are three options for this cap and the one most favored at the moment is a flange-to-flange fitting. He said it was not strictly necessary but would help with the bottom kill because then the production zone would see the full hydrostatic pressure (the well + the 5000' to the surface).
Again this is from the 18th so it's possible something changed since then but it didn't sound like a permanent riser was in the plans for the reasons given.
Again this is from the 18th so it's possible something changed since then but it didn't sound like a permanent riser was in the plans for the reasons given.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 4:21 pm to MountainTiger
quote:
They don't want a riser on top of the LMRP in case a storm comes. Instead, they are installing new free-standing risers off to the side. This will allow them to disconnect and GTFO in the event of bad weather.
I'm assuming this means they are building off to the side because they are concerned about a storm while they are in the process of fitting the new riser, correct?
Posted on 6/27/10 at 4:38 pm to yurintroubl
Clarification as my information is far from complete or infallible. But getting some high pressures on the BOP were deamed worth the risk during the top kill and the bottom kill as well possibly. But this is pressure is different than the situation with closing a valve at the seafloor and here is why. TIME! If they put a valve on the BOP and closed it two weeks ago the pressure would soon rise to 13,000 psi and would stay there until the releaf wells can kill the well.
Doing the top kill increased pressure but not for super long extended periods of time. IF the well can not handle the higher pressures it would still take time for the oil to erode the earth in the area around the BOP enough to get it to fall over. So a short duration spike in pressure is far less likely to cause the catastrophe that the same pressure over a number of weeks would.
Doing the top kill increased pressure but not for super long extended periods of time. IF the well can not handle the higher pressures it would still take time for the oil to erode the earth in the area around the BOP enough to get it to fall over. So a short duration spike in pressure is far less likely to cause the catastrophe that the same pressure over a number of weeks would.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 4:58 pm to yurintroubl
quote:
I'm assuming this means they are building off to the side because they are concerned about a storm while they are in the process of fitting the new riser, correct?
There is no new riser. They are putting them off to the side because a manifold needs to go between them and the BOP and because the surface is getting pretty crowded.
Take a look at the 4th slide in this slide pack: LINK That is what they're hoping to get to by mid-July.
This post was edited on 6/27/10 at 5:02 pm
Posted on 6/27/10 at 5:50 pm to MountainTiger
He didn't specifically say riser but said a pipe. I assumed the pipe was a riser.
I also heard the Ex-CEO of Shell say that he wouldn't be surprised if they had to blow the entire thing up because the relief wells might not work. This just keeps getting worse and worse.
I also heard the Ex-CEO of Shell say that he wouldn't be surprised if they had to blow the entire thing up because the relief wells might not work. This just keeps getting worse and worse.
Posted on 6/27/10 at 7:05 pm to Schwaaz
Pipe, riser, pretty much the same thing. According to Wells, there is no riser or pipe going on top of the LMRP. Flow will be diverted to free-standing risers that can be disconnected if necessary (let's hope it doesn't become necessary).
Posted on 6/27/10 at 9:26 pm to omegaman66
quote:
Clarification as my information is far from complete or infallible. But getting some high pressures on the BOP were deamed worth the risk during the top kill and the bottom kill as well possibly. But this is pressure is different than the situation with closing a valve at the seafloor and here is why. TIME! If they put a valve on the BOP and closed it two weeks ago the pressure would soon rise to 13,000 psi and would stay there until the releaf wells can kill the well.
Omegaman, I don't see how that's possible. The reservoir pressure is about 9500 psi at roughly 13500 ft below the wellhead. So the pressure at the BOP would be much less than that. I don't know the specific weight of the oil but I would guess the BOP would never see more than 5000 psi. Still a lot of pressure, of course, but a big difference between 13,000 and 5,000.
Posted on 6/28/10 at 12:29 am to MountainTiger
Reservoir pressure is 11,000-12,000psi, I remembered 13K was a tad off.
If you drill a well and then cap it at the top in a short period of time the pressure will equalize all the way up the well till the pressure at the BOP is the same as in the Reservoir.
Not sure what was meant by "there is no new riser" Yes there is they just finished insulating it. It is a floating riser. ???
If you drill a well and then cap it at the top in a short period of time the pressure will equalize all the way up the well till the pressure at the BOP is the same as in the Reservoir.
Not sure what was meant by "there is no new riser" Yes there is they just finished insulating it. It is a floating riser. ???
Posted on 6/28/10 at 1:02 am to omegaman66
Wouldn't the pressure at the BOP be the reservoir pressure minus the hydrostatic head of the oil?
What I meant by no new riser is no new riser on the LMRP which is what the OP was claiming. They are installing floating risers, as you said. They have installed one of them which the Helix Producer will use to produce oil from. One more will be going in on the other side of the well and they have a different ship that will be using that one. Take a look at the slides I posted earlier, they explain better than I can.
What I meant by no new riser is no new riser on the LMRP which is what the OP was claiming. They are installing floating risers, as you said. They have installed one of them which the Helix Producer will use to produce oil from. One more will be going in on the other side of the well and they have a different ship that will be using that one. Take a look at the slides I posted earlier, they explain better than I can.
This post was edited on 6/28/10 at 1:17 am
Posted on 6/28/10 at 8:02 am to Oyster
quote:
Bolting on a valve or another BOP was indeed one their original options that got thrown out because the well just can't handle the pressure that this would cause. They learned more about this during the attempted kill
quote:said
Oyster
quote:
Thus if the failed BOP had properly functioned. We would now have a free flowing geyser on the gulf floor.
Ok,could someone,anyone in the know please address this.
What Oyster is saying to me is the BOP would have pretty much ruptured the well/seafloor if it had worked properly.
Posted on 6/28/10 at 8:13 am to meauxjeaux2
Hydrostatic head. hmmmm... you are probably right, there might need to be some adjustment to the pressure at the BOP. I am not a physics major and no learned enough to say for sure. But I think you are probably right. Subtract some amount to get the static pressure at the BOP.
But whatever that pressure is that I was trying to put a number too, would in the JC opinion be too much to risk.
I have not addressed this question because I don't know the answer. I can see how it could go either way. It all depends on what exactly happened to cause the rupture. Lack of spacers might have been part of the reason behind it. But I don't know and can only speculate. Could be that if it had not failed then the rupture would not have occured because something in the well bore would not have come flying up at high speed???? I too would like to know the answer to this.
But whatever that pressure is that I was trying to put a number too, would in the JC opinion be too much to risk.
quote:
Thus if the failed BOP had properly functioned. We would now have a free flowing geyser on the gulf floor.
I have not addressed this question because I don't know the answer. I can see how it could go either way. It all depends on what exactly happened to cause the rupture. Lack of spacers might have been part of the reason behind it. But I don't know and can only speculate. Could be that if it had not failed then the rupture would not have occured because something in the well bore would not have come flying up at high speed???? I too would like to know the answer to this.
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