Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE)

While the tragic loss of life cannot be reversed, the responders appear to be making every effort to secure the well and minimize environmental damage.  Plans are moving ahead on several fronts as highlighted below:

1. ROVs are being deployed to actuate BOP rams and halt the flow.  For the spill is to be stopped quickly, this plan must be successful.  This picture indicates that there is drill pipe in the well and some flow inside the drill pipe.  The drill pipe will have to be cut with a shear ram to fully seal the well.  One or more other rams may be closed around the drill pipe.   I am sure the top subsea engineers in the world are working on this plan.  Unless there is damage to the BOP stack or other complications that haven’t been reported, I like their chances.
2. The Deepwater Driller 3 will be on location on Monday to prepare to drill a relief well.
3. Of great interest to scientists and engineers is the plan to install a collection dome on the seafloor and transport the oil and gas to the surface where it could be burned.  This would be an extraordinary feat given the water depth and flow rates.  One of the first such collection systems was Brown and Root’s famous “Sombrero” that was deployed during the Ixtoc blowout in 1981.  The Sombrero was considered a failure, but important lessons were learned.  A good MMS study of deepwater containment systems is linked.