BP Oil Spill: Containment Cap To Be Replaced Next Month

NEW ORLEANS (AP)- As officials reported a gradual increase in the amount of oil being captured from a spewing wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, BP PLC said it plans to replace the cap collecting the crude with a slightly bigger device next month.

The newer cap will "provide a better, tighter fit" than the current one collecting roughly one-third to three-fourths of the oil gushing daily from the sea floor, company spokesman Robert Wine told The Associated Press.

The oil began spewing forth after a BP oil rig explosion April 20 and recently increased after officials cut the pipe carrying the flow as part of the latest containment effort.

BP believes the bigger cap will fit over more of the outflow pipe than the current cap, Wine said, but the change will allow the oil now being collected to again spew out into the Gulf during the changeover.

Wine acknowledged the frustration people must have when they look at the video feeds from undersea that show a lot of oil still flowing into the sea.

"We want to capture every drop of oil that is still leaking," he said. "We want to protect the coastline and repair the coastline that has been damaged."

Officials say the current cap is collecting more than 460,000 gallons of oil per day. BP continues to drill relief wells in hopes of a permanent solution.

Wine said the estimate of the proportion of gushing oil being collected is based on the government's contention that the containment cap is collecting 466,200 gallons of oil of the roughly 604,800 to 1,260,000 it believes is coming out daily.

Cutting the riser likely increased the flow of oil by 20 percent from the 504,000 to 1,050,000 gallons the government contends was coming out previously, Wine said.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the oil spill response, provided the updated oil-collection figure during a news conference earlier Monday at the White House.

Comments

[cubenet]

09:05 AM on 06/09/2010

the riser pipe that fell to ocean floor is attached by hex bolts to a mating flange at the top of the BOP – this could be replaced by a new riser and flange – needs a fitted shim bushing to help guide into receiving flange on BOP against wake of oil and gas escaping

[alvdh1]

12:30 PM on 06/08/2010

Well, this is good news because this one isn't working worth a damn now that the kink in the pipe has been removed and the flow rate has increassed by 20 percent. Good job BP!!!! It has been your mission all along to keep oil flowing from the well rather than sealing it off no matter how much leaks into the Gulf.

[sealdadeal4me]

10:14 AM on 06/08/2010

Since it doesnt seem that BP can collect the oil why not let Exxon and Shell or even other countries let them send in their crews and let it be a free for all. If they collect they can have it. At 500,000 a day am sure it would be very profitable for them. We are waiting on BP to do something that is "too big to fail" and it has so we need to deploy all the help we can now.

[captcct]

08:31 AM on 06/08/2010

PART TWO:
Here's a suggestion: Get several oil tankers / ships placed either side of the Gulf Stream (do you need the GPS / or sextant co-ordinates!?) and place a boom that rises at least 3 feet above the sea / Gulf stream supported by buoys stretching a hundred miles wide and with its curtain hanging down x factor of feet - with the ships / tankers siphoning the oil through industrial water / oil separators (like what yachts and ships do on their diesel engines to remove water from the diesel oil to ensure the engines function) and bring in more ships / tankers as they fill up. Not only do you clean up the mess that arrogant b*s*a*d*s from BP caused... but they can still make a killing in the production of turning that collected oil into the precious gasoline that everyone uses to drive around in their fancy cars. Also, this method will stop the nasty odor of that oil spreading across the air we breathe and allow all the locals and tourists to relax on what are some of the world's most beautiful beaches. Just saying: captcct © If they (whomever) want some real expertise, real knowledge, real results, and not figment of the imagination like Disney or CGI Avatar then I am available for some mega bucks to give, show, and prove: captcct @ me. com

[captcct]

08:31 AM on 06/08/2010

PART ONE:
OK. So 50 days have gone by and the band of experts (from BP to whomever) can not figure out how to quench this oil drip! into the aquatic resources of the Gulf that will exponentially and eventually head its way into the Gull Stream and flow East around the Florida Keys and then North up the Hawks channel and outside of it between the South East of Florida and the Bahamas and extend its environmental and ecological disaster across the pond (Atlantic) all the way to the Western shores of Ireland and the West coast of Scotland where the Gulf Stream ends. We now have a CGI expert, hollywood director, James Cameron, giving his rhetoric on how to handle this. This is not an 'Avatar' movie set - the Pandora's box that BP opened is factual and real - that makes people gasp.

This disaster is something that requires skill, knowledge and actual knowhow to cusp the real possibility of an ecological and environmental disaster that can / could affect many for the next several years. Be it fishermen who trawl the Gulf to supply the "Red Lobster" / etc., restaurants, the Publix, etc. and the wonderful folks who have their establishments along the beaches from Louisiana to Florida and beyond who rely on tourist folks from in-state, out-of-state, or from abroad. Some real expertise is required, and it has nothing to do with President Obama showing up wherever and lamenting / yacking about it.

[TWW0108]

08:26 AM on 06/08/2010

"BP believes the bigger cap will fit over more of the outflow pipe than the current cap, Wine said, but the change will allow the oil now being collected to again spew out into the Gulf during the changeover."


What's difference if it spews during the changeover whether they do it now or next month? If the one they are replacing it with will be more effective, why wait till next month to replace it and why not just do it now?

[jake1492]

10:38 AM on 06/08/2010

Because the new better one is being manufactured. These things usually take years, or months if pushed hard. In this emergency they are doing it in a couple of weeks.

[Harpseal60]

11:18 AM on 06/08/2010

I agree. In this day and age I can't believe they can't get a larger cap made faster than that. Where do they get the materials for it, the moon?

[mrjames1]

08:23 AM on 06/08/2010

here is a credible 95,000 bblday estimate

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/19/94489/gulf-oil-spill-may-be-19-times.html

[mamacat]

08:07 AM on 06/08/2010

There has been a lot to be horrified over, but this, at least, is encouraging.
It was looking as if nothing at all could be done to slow the oil leak until the relief wells were successfully completed, but this new idea is at least a step in a better direction.

[Dr Juan]

07:36 AM on 06/08/2010

It is not the cap that needs to be bigger it is the collection pipe running to the surface.
They will never be able to collect the flow gushing under great pressure from a 21 inch riser using that scrawny drill string. They need to connect their cap to a replacement 21 full diameter riser and there is no excuse why this has not been done. Hayward and Obama failed to use the smart engineers and advisors available to them. This whole episode has been run by blundering inept corporate, Coastguard and government politicians

Note that with an actual riser in place, even connected to BOP with an improvised cap, they can make some attempts at reworking and killing the well. And there are several paths from mud killing to mechanical blockage with a tapered stinger. The fastest and surest way to stop the gusher is by rework through a full size or over size riser, not the relief well. The relief well is the ultimate back-up however.

For the idiots running this fiasco I point out that the drill pipe needed for reworking and reaching a permanent fix will not fit down the little tube they mistakenly chose to connect to their "cap".

[jake1492]

10:45 AM on 06/08/2010

The "little pipe" is probably what was available. The inept part was allowing the oil to escape in the first place. This larger equipment you refer to doesn't magically appear, it has to be made. It seems likely that BP and the bought, paid for, and politically manipulated regulator failed miserably at their basic job of keeping the oil contained in the first place, but they have been doing amazing things to get the oil better and better contained as this thing has gone along. Even at that, the damage is already done, but would get much worse without the high capacity containment system they plan to install.

[Dr Juan]

10:54 AM on 06/08/2010

They have two other platform ships over there drilling relief wells complete with sea-bed casing, BOP's and a mile of riser each.

Riser is available - and they could be revamping what is left of the old one. They could recover at lease a half mile off the seabed.

[pinkylee23]

06:59 AM on 06/08/2010

Dirge for the age:
DUMP BOILING OIL down haywards gullet and sew his mouth shut!
DUMP BOILING OIL on 'adolf' svanberg and suttles too!
Dump oil on all BP workers!
Dump oil on all lobbyists and regulators!
Jail all regulators for life
Jail all BP workers for life
Strip all BP workers of their assets and use them for the clean up
Dismantle BP as a warning to other 'oilistas'
Fire salazar
Fire chu
Remove obama from the B(ack) P(ocket)
Remove obama from the B(ack) P(ocket)
SOS! Save Other Species!!!! Stop the human greed!!!
SOS! Save Other Species!!!! Stop the human greed!!!
SOS! Save Other Species!!!! Stop the human greed!!!
SOS! Save Other Species!!!! Stop the human greed!!!

[rougebaisers]

06:18 AM on 06/08/2010

CRUCIFY THESE B*****DS.

[Carolab]

05:12 AM on 06/08/2010

Next MONTH? Meanwhile, as Stephen Colbert calculated, MORE oil is leaking than before!

[rougebaisers]

06:18 AM on 06/08/2010

Yep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uECXu2aML6U

[mrjames1]

08:06 AM on 06/08/2010

Common sense to counter the BP and media li/es:

Ever swim in an AG pool? Here’s a link for a 1.5inch pool pump, the kind that is used for an above ground small pool, pumps 6800gph, or 3900barrels a day. It’s the kind of outlet that an 8year old can cover with his hand pressure and stop. Does the BP leak look 1.5inch pool pump size?

http://www.waterpumpsdirect.com/Wayne-WIP150/p4384.html seems like BPs estimate of 1000b/d and then 5000 is preposterous.

Or a 4inch pump: http://www.waterpumpsdirect.com/quick_search.php
(go to the biggest one) pumps 30,000gph, or 17000bbl/day. Are we getting close yet? Not even close!!. Because even the low ball lying pressure number that BP gave and the media parroted blo/ws this pump away.

Here’s a few dozen pages from some amazing scientists, using conservative estimates, with crazy awesome math and details as far as the orthogonal view of the camera and how it affects an estimate. Page 31/43 – 72179bbl/day, page 35/43 83000bbl/day Scientists report
http://media.mcclatchydc.com/smedia/2010/06/07/15/Plume_Team_Report.source.prod_affiliate.91.pdf
general site http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/07/95467/bp-well-may-be-spewing.html#ixzz0qEOmMkXa

the jo/ke and fra/ud are just beginning

[SeriousBlack]

04:32 AM on 06/08/2010

"the current one collecting roughly one-third to three-fourths of the oil"

1/3 to 3/4 of it? Yeah, it really looks like that on the video feed. NOT.

This is getting truly ridiculous. Not that the high-end estimates are true, but let's just think about the magnitude of this disaster if they ARE true.

The high estimate is 100,000 barrels a day. There are 42 gallons per barrel. Now class, how many gallons/day is that? FOUR MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND GALLONS PER DAY.

And at that rate, how many gallons would that be every 10 days? FORTY-TWO MILLION GALLONS EVERY TEN DAYS.

So we're coming up on the 50 day mark. Grand total? 210 MILLION GALLONS. SO FAR.

So far. It's becoming accepted that even if they succeed on the first try (which is not guaranteed) of the relief well, it will be August. Let's be charitable and say that (1) The relief well is done on August 1st, (2) It succeeds on the first try, and (3) It immediately shuts down all oil. (None of which are actually likely to be the case, certainly not #3 as there are OTHER leaks down there - did y'all forget about them?) BUT - let's say all three happen AND BP is in fact catching 3/4 of the 100,000 barrels/day. Otay - so 60 more days of over a MILLION gallons/day. 270 MILLION GALLONS TOTAL.

Ya think THAT'S enough to penetrate conservatives' thick skulls?

[DrBlunt]

03:41 AM on 06/08/2010

"containment cap is collecting:

------------ > 466,200 gallons of oil of the roughly 604,800 to 1,260,000"


I wonder if BP still has its estimates at 5000 gallons/day?

[Randy Shepherd]

02:50 AM on 06/08/2010

new cap next month? yeah, ok, it's summer we get it, a lot of people want to go on vacation, so no problem BP. give your people time to rest, take your time, we're in no rush, get to it when you can.
if you can put a mile long pipe into the ocean floor, then way can;t the rig put another down that is a little wider, and only sits on top of the oil floor (no drilling). am i missing some thing?