- NOAA estimates that flow rate could be up to 5000 BOPD. Comment: The technical basis for this and other flow estimates should be provided.
- First in situ burn conducted successfully. Comment: No surprise. In situ burning is neither new nor unproven. This is the best means of removing large volumes of oil from the water quickly and completely. Kudos to the in situ burning pioneers – Ed Tennyson, Dave Evans, Al Allen, and Merv Fingas. Kudos to the folks at Ohmsett where slick burning and fire booms were tested extensively in a tank. Kudos to Canada and Norway for having the foresight to allow this capability to be tested in experimental offshore spills. Unfortunately, these small, controlled research spills are virtually impossible to conduct in US waters.
- Department of Defense being contacted for suggestions. Comment: Appropriate step, but don’t expect any ideas that have not been previously considered.
- BOP actuation and cementing operations (also a major point of discussion during the Montara hearings in Australia) are receiving press attention. Comment: These issues will be a major focus of the investigation. The findings will be discussed and applied internationally.
- A third oil release point has been identified near the base of the riser.
Posts Tagged ‘Deepwater Horizon’
Macondo Overnight Update – 29 April
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, in situ burning, macondo, offshore, offshore oil, ohmsett, oil spill, safety, well control on April 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Macondo – Day 9 Update
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on April 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »
No major new developments were mentioned at today’s Unified Command Briefing (1500 CDT). Summary:
- Still unable to secure the source by actuating BOPE with the ROV. New intervention options are being designed.
- The in situ burn program was scheduled to begin today, but a report is not yet available.
- Subsurface containment and collection system will be ready in 2-4 weeks
- Development Driller III will spud relief well by Friday
- 100,000 feet of boom deployed for coastal protection purposes
- No apparent change in well flow rate.
Deepwater Horizon Just Before Sinking
Macondo: Unprecedented Response
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on April 28, 2010| 1 Comment »
Cleanup: Santa Barbara Blowout, 1969
During the 1969 Santa Barbara blowout, dedicated volunteers did their best with straw, wooden booms, detergents, rakes, and their own ingenuity. Fast forward to the Macondo response: stockpiles of tested dispersants and plans for applying them most effectively, fire boom and research data to support burning oil in situ, an armada of skimming vessels, boom deployed by trained personnel, a scientific support team, and a pioneering subsea collection system. Without a doubt, every effort is being made to minimize the damage associated with this spill.
There are 2 suggested improvements that I have alluded to previously. These relate to information that is being provided to the public.
- The data on the volume of oil/water mixture that is being collected would be more useful if we knew the oil fraction. Without this information, the effectiveness of the response and the potential for environmental impacts are difficult to assess. Based on the collection figures provided to date, weather conditions, the seafloor release point for the oil, and the estimated flow rate, I would assume that the mixture is mostly water. If no chemical analyses are available, perhaps an estimate (range) of the oil percentage could be provided.
- Very little specific information is being provided on the important subsea intervention operations. A weekly summary of these operations would be helpful. For each attempt, the procedure and outcome could be provided.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on April 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Macondo Blowout – Day 7 Update – 1530 CDT
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on April 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Unified Command News Conference update:
- Efforts to actuate the BOPE continue, but no details were provided. In my opinion, the Unified Command could be more transparent about the BOP actuation program and results. This is a critical aspect of the response. At a minimum, a brief summary of the work that has been performed and the outcomes should be provided.
- Preparations for drilling 2 relief wells continue. The decision to initiate 2 wells is applauded, and increases the likelihood of a timely and favorable outcome.
- To date, there have been no shoreline impacts from the spill.
- 3 whales were observed in the area.
- The Ocean Endeavor has been evacuated for precautionary reasons (see below).
Macondo – Day 6: Coast Guard Images
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on April 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Macondo – Day 5 News Conference – 24 APR, 1700 EDT
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control on April 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Per Admiral Landry: The well is still flowing
- The estimated flow rate is 1000 BOPD. This is a very rough estimate.
- Apparently the flow never stopped and oil is leaking from the end of the riser which is strewn just above the seafloor. The flow was detected during an ROV search over the length of the riser.
- The Deepwater Horizon is on the seafloor 1300 feet NW of the well site.
- The oil is relatively light which should facilitate natural evaporation and dispersion.
Thoughts: Given the absence of confirmation that BOPE have been actuated, yesterday’s “no flow” announcement was more surprising than today’s “still flowing” announcement. While the new flow rate figure is a very rough estimate, the Admiral seems confident that flow is substantially reduced. This could be attributable to the head (about 0.465 psi/fit) imposed by 5000′ of seawater and the crimping of the riser pipe. Also, given the apparent uncertainty about the BOPE, it is also possible that a BOP ram has been actuated but the well bore has not been completely sealed.
Macondo Flow is stopped!!!!
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, ma, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control on April 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Per the Coast Guard, there is no flow from the well as of this morning. (more to follow)
Macondo Blowout – Day 4
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control on April 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »
-Per the Houston Chronicle, the missing include 9 Transocean employees and 2 from the mud contractor M-I SWACO.
-According to AP and others, the fire was extinguished when the rig sank. I have seen no information on the condition or location of the riser, or the release point (depth) for the oil. This needs to be clarified.
-The worst-case pollution scenario is thus emerging. In addition to booms and skimmers, will the responders deploy fire boom and attempt to burn oil on the water surface? When and how will dispersants be used? Will new thickness sensors and aerial slick mapping technology be employed? This spill will be the ultimate challenge (and opportunity) for responders.
-Very few clues have been provided about what caused the blowout. At the first news conference, Transocean reported that production casing was being set, implying an influx during or just after cementing operations (a common contributing factor for well control incidents). A cement plug was to be set as a barrier in the well, which was to have been suspended (temporarily abandoned). No information has been provided on the flow path for the hydrocarbons, attempted use of BOPE, and other issues of great interest. The high flow rate would seem to imply a flow path directly up the production casing, but this is just speculation.
-According to Upstream, Transocean’s newest semisubmersible, the Development Driller III, will drill the relief well.
-I haven’t given up hope on actuating BOPE with the ROV. They should be able to function rams in that manner. No information has been provided on the problems that have been experienced with this operation.
Macondo Blowout – Day 3 Summary
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, maconda, offshore oil, safety, well control on April 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
-11 crew members are still missing. Chances of finding survivors are very slim.
-The inevitable happened – the Deepwater Horizon sank.
-In light of the rig sinking, I’m now using the prospect name – Macondo – for this incident.
-The Coast Guard reports (NBC news clip) that the well is not leaking at the seafloor and that all flow is through the riser. A high percentage of that oil is burning at the surface. This is the optimal scenario from a pollution standpoint, but how long will the riser hold up?
-Comment: The official website updates need to be improved. Most of us can’t attend the news conferences (or dial-in). There is no information about the ongoing attempts to actuate the BOPE with the ROV (what problems have emerged?, next steps?), relief well planning (rig identified? estimated spud date?), spill response equipment, trajectory analyses, and other important aspects of the response.
-Rating the evening news coverage:
- NBC – Decent job; no major mistakes; good clip on the absence of seafloor leakage
- ABC – About what you expect from network news; not entirely accurate, but in the ballpark
- CBS – What event were they talking about? Who prepared the rig, well diagram?
Funnel Cloud?
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 