Oil Spill: Efforts To Use Robots To Cap Leak FAIL

Reuters is reporting via Twitter that the latest efforts to stop the BP oil leak using robots has failed.

Reuters' exact message is:

FLASH: Robots fail to close valves at leaking BP oil well

Thursday, BP began the process of lowering a 4-story concrete dome 5,000 feet underwater in an effort to contain the spill. Robots and underwater equipment must be used to place the dome on the ocean floor.

We will update you on this developing story.

Comments

[GaryCharles]

09:34 PM on 05/07/2010

And white people call the Mayan Indians stupid. lol

[jscam87]

09:27 PM on 05/07/2010

What a stupid headline. The timing makes it look like a current response to lowering the coffer. Anything for ratings, but completely misleading...

[SShaw490]

08:53 PM on 05/07/2010

People have asked, what if the containment doesn't work. Well, there's another option, but it's incredibly risky. There is a pipe coming out of the BOP stack that goes into the well (the remnants of the old casing and drill pipe). They could conceivably cut that pipe and push another, smaller diameter pipe inside it and use that to pump very heavy and viscous mud into the well to try to put enough hydrostatic pressure on the bottom of the formation that it would kill the well.

Here's the rub - once you cut that pipe, you're going to get full well flow of oil coming out, and as you pump the mud, it's going to get carried out with the oil (and gas). You're going to have to pump like there's no tomorrow and hope you can push mud in faster than it's blowing out.

If you don't kill the well, all is lost. You'll have maybe 60,000 barrels a day flowing into the gulf and not a thing you can do about it until the relief well is drilled - in maybe 3 to 6 months.

It's incredibly risky, it's a total unknown, and once you start, there's no going back. And if the containment doesn't work, and assuming they don't have some other repair that might slow down the flow (which I assume they don't because they'd have done it already)...that's it.

It's a nasty business.

[stevebol]

12:48 AM on 05/08/2010

There's no guarantee that the relief well will do what it's supposed to. This is a permanent leak in the ground that can never be shut off.
They're going to wind up trying to blast this thing shut and there's no guarantee that will work.

[SShaw490]

05:40 AM on 05/08/2010

The relief well should work - that's been done thousands of times. They'll drill as close as possible to the original well, then pump mud into the leaking wellbore until it's filled, then cement it shut. Once they get the mud into the leaking well, the hydrostatic pressure from the mud will balance the formation pressure and oil will stop flowing. The only problem with the relief well is that it takes a very long time to get it done - maybe as much as 6 months total.

[HarmlessOldMan]

08:49 AM on 05/10/2010

From what I understand is that BP decided to cut cost by using sea water instead of Batrite (mud) in the drilling process. Sea water works ok with the pressures in a well that deep but not if you hit a pocket of methane hydrate. BP or the drilling contractor should be held 100% liable for the damages and the costs of "fixin" the problem. Let the congregation say AMEN!

[GreenEyedGuru]

08:42 PM on 05/07/2010

Hmm it seems like all these 'recovery' efforts are just designed to ensure that BP can continue to pump oil out of this well.

[stevebol]

12:52 AM on 05/08/2010

This isn't something they had planned for. BP now has a permanent connection to the depths of hel(l) whether they like it or not.

[ghunt]

08:30 PM on 05/07/2010

Efforts to regulate: BLOCKED by Republicans.

[chazz509]

08:17 PM on 05/07/2010

it's just the next step to Geidi Prime for this planet!

[Ken Dreger]

07:47 PM on 05/07/2010

SHOCKED!

The reality is the BP is doing all this for show. It can't not do something to appease Americans so it comes up with this idea. Maybe next time they'll use puppets so I'll be even more amused.

[SShaw490]

08:37 PM on 05/07/2010

They didn't "come up with this idea". This has been done before, just never in 5000 feet of water. BP will have plenty to answer for, but this isn't a baloney, show effort. It should work. No, it HAS to work. I've worked in that industry all my life, and although I don't know the exact details of this, I can say that we're in serious danger of losing the structural integrity of the entire wellhead, which will allow the well to flow at full flow into the ocean. Think 10X as much oil as we're seeing now and you get the picture.

The containment HAS to work, because it'll be months before they get a relief well drilled and actually kill the leaking well with cement and heavy mud.

[worker beenumbed]

08:46 PM on 05/07/2010

Why not kill the leaking well now

[jsgaetano]

07:45 PM on 05/07/2010

The term "conservative" and "success" will never be in the same sentence, unless we are talking about them never being together.

[windup]

07:30 PM on 05/07/2010

I think for the sake of accuracy they should replace the word "leaking" with "gushing".

[rich misty]

07:42 PM on 05/07/2010

They are lying about the flow rate.

http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/04/gulf-oil-spill-bigger-than-exxon-valdez.html

The update dated last Saturday night stated that satellite photos showed a flow rate of 26,500 barrels per day @ 42 US gallons per barrel.

[SShaw490]

08:41 PM on 05/07/2010

They can't possibly know that. For one thing, some of the oil doesn't even come to the surface, and there's no way to know the thickness of the oil that is on the surface, nor is there a way to measure the amount of oil/water emulsion that's taking place. It's anyone's guess.

[cdecisneros]

07:25 PM on 05/07/2010

Has anyone ever tried to cap a hose with water running out of it? Underwater? In the dark?
Did not think so? This reminded me of the Russian sub rescue mission and that did not work either. Oh well.

[jsgaetano]

07:46 PM on 05/07/2010

Sounds like that whole "industry self-regulation" thing doesn't work out as well in the reality-based community as conservatives always claimed.

[SShaw490]

09:16 PM on 05/07/2010

Self-regulation has always been ridiculous. When I was at Enron (may it rest in peace), I personally sat in a meeting with Jeff Skilling and explained to him why we needed to make a pipeline repair. He asked if it was required by regulations, and we said not exactly, if we don't repair it we have to do leak surveys to make sure it doesn't start to leak, but this pipeline goes under shopping center parking lots, school property, apartment parking lots - and if it blows out, it's going to be a disaster. He said he wouldn't approve a repair unless it was required by a regulatory body. We did it anyway and said, fire us if you don't like it. All I can say is, I hope his cellmate did a bunch of things to him that aren't approved by a regulatory body...

[SShaw490]

08:26 PM on 05/07/2010

This method has been used before and should work - it just hasn't been done on a well in this deep water. And the containment is just to keep the oil out of the water for the 3 to 6 months it takes to drill a relief well and cement the formation in the leaking well.

[MarinafromMaine]

07:18 PM on 05/07/2010

Let us all pray tonight that this works. The lives of so many creatures and perhaps the ocean itself, is at stake.

[Ken Dreger]

07:49 PM on 05/07/2010

Didn't work. This one gusher in the Soviet Union burned for 3 YEARS until they nuked it.

That will be coming soon.

[Bluesue]

09:00 PM on 05/07/2010

That doesn't sound good for the sealife. Talk about a dead zone!

[stevebol]

01:05 AM on 05/08/2010

That's what I've heard. Found it:

http://trueslant.com/juliaioffe/2010/05/04/nuke-that-slick/

[SShaw490]

07:02 PM on 05/07/2010

Uh, using robots to "close valves" isn't the same thing as using robots to put the containment system in place. If they get the containment in place, it'll work. That's pretty foolproof.

[SShaw490]

07:07 PM on 05/07/2010

There's plenty to point to as failures by BP, Transocean and the deepwater exploration industry in general - don't let this turn into the left's piling-on in Iraq, when the left came across as gleeful every time another car bomb blew up more kids because we got righter and righter with every tragedy.

This is plenty tragic - let's hope against hope that this containment works and keeps the oil out of the water until they get a relief well drilled. Realize this - if this doesn't work, that well could be leaking 5,000 barrels a day into the gulf for months. MONTHS. And it's possible that the wellhead could fail completely - which could mean 10 TIMES as much oil gushing out and now way to do anything about it. If you care at all about the ocean, pray with all your strength that this works. Nobody's getting off the hook if it works except a lot of birds and dolphins.

[rich misty]

07:44 PM on 05/07/2010

http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/04/gulf-oil-spill-bigger-than-exxon-valdez.html

[Jim Lee]

07:47 PM on 05/07/2010

Look no one wants a possible solution to fail but it just seems their method of trying to correct the situation is nonsensical. I rather have them think about it before trying something that gives people false hope,

[LazarusTJFA]

07:20 PM on 05/07/2010

The rig was fool proof & the Titanic was unsinkable. Unfortunately neither was true. Let us HOPE it works. There are already at least 3M gallons of oil in the Gulf. Possibly much more.

[Oren nerO]

06:58 PM on 05/07/2010

I heard that they actually lit a sperm whale on fire when they burned the oil. It surfaced and caught fire. First time in history that a whale burned to death in the ocean. what's next - I bet China will be able to top this disaster - its a race to the bottom folks - in more than one way. The gulf is looking like the future of all the oceans in 50 years. Gone will be the days of the deep blue sea or a sea of green - it will all be a sea of black oil and plastic.

[SShaw490]

07:12 PM on 05/07/2010

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Every time you start your car or turn on your lights, there's a human and environmental cost to that act. We have to start living with MUCH less energy. I'm talking half as much. If we don't, more coal miners will die; more drilling rig workers will die; more dolphins and birds and whale will die; more glaciers will melt and more polar bears will starve. The next time you go out and start your car, keep in mind that when you put gas in the tank, you might as well be filling it up with blood. I drive like everyone else does, but I think it's time to figure out how we can drastically reduce all energy usage.

[Oren nerO]

07:17 PM on 05/07/2010

Maybe we should just go back to whale oil - why let them just burn up in the ocean - that doesn't get my car anywhere

[LazarusTJFA]

07:24 PM on 05/07/2010

There are way more people on the planet than can be sustained. China has had a 1 child policy for decades & their population keeps rising. The only relief may come because a vast majority of their children are boys. That will ensure smaller population growth in the future. Think the world is ready to adopt that type of harsh Draconian solution?

[zelduh]

07:55 PM on 05/07/2010

I sincerely hope that is not true.

[satanlite]

06:50 PM on 05/07/2010

Of course it didn't work. This is theater desined to pacify Americans.

[jsuperconductor]

06:41 PM on 05/07/2010

Corporations! AAAHHH!!! much worse than robots attacking their makers. Great, I'll really not sleep tonight.