Cap on BP's ruptured oil well to be removed

[sabrina 1]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Crews are expected to try to remove the blowout preventer on BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, said Thad Allen, the government's point man on the oil disaster.

But first, crews must pull a capping stack on top of the ruptured well, which was used to help seal it. The cap is expected to be off Thursday afternoon.

Officials plan to detach the blowout preventer from the well and replace it with a new one, a procedure aimed at paving the way for a final fix. But the effort to permanently seal the ruptured oil well has stalled because of turbulent seas.

"We've run into a weather window that's got us in a hold," Allen said. "If we can get to the blowout preventer sooner rather than later, we will do that."


Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/09/02/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn#fbid=lg8wpAbzL8W&wom=false

[Earth_First]

1. Sounds to me like an effort to ensure future viability of BP's investment...

:shrug:

[sabrina 1]

2. Could be or it could be because the pressure from the cap

is causing leaks elsewhere. I just saw an article stating that there is a leak further away from the main site. I have not read it yet, but it is linked on the left side of the CNN article. I will read it later to see if it is related. But there was concern orignally that that might happen.

[groundloop]

3. They need the blowout preventer for criminal investigation

I heard a news story, believe it was on NPR, indicating that the federal government needs to recover the blowout preventer to gather evidence in anticipation of criminal charges. If nothing else, they need to learn exactly what happened to possibly prevent future problems.

[dipsydoodle]

4. From one respect at least

there's little doubt as to what happened. The BOP was rated at 20.000 lbs/sq" max. and the blowout far exceeded that.

[bherrera]

7. All your comments are wrong

The well is to be abandoned, will not be used to produce oil. The blow out did not exceed 20,000 psi. The equipment being removed is to be taken to be analysed by experts to determine why it failed to close the well. If you have interest in this subject, do what I did, and read the government website called deephorizon response.

[superconnected]

5. Risks Remain With Gulf Well Cap Coming Off, Govt. Offers No Promises Oil Won't Gush

Source: Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- The cap that ended BP's three-month oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico was set to come off Thursday as a prelude to raising a massive, failed piece of equipment and preparing for a final seal on the broken seafloor well.

The cap is an elongated metal cylinder that was placed on top of the failed blowout preventer to finally stop the flow of oil and gas July 15. With the cap gone, the old blowout preventer can be removed and a new one put in place before engineers try to seal the well for good deep underground.

Once the cap and blowout preventer are removed, a lot will be riding on the stability of a plug that was created when mud and cement were pumped down into the well from the top. Essentially, the pressure exerted downward served to counter the pressure coming up.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/09/02-2

[sakabatou]

6. To be the pessimist, I think we're screwed.

[bherrera]

8. Why?

The equipment recovery seems to be going well. They will have it available to study what happened. This of course can be used to carry out the investigation, which may result in the criminal cases against those who are guilty of the deaths of the oil rig workers, as well as the enormous oil spill. Are you one of the guilty parties who prefers the evidence remain at the bottom of the sea?

[sakabatou]

9. No. I want it investigated. I want it cleaned up

How many more incidents like this must happen before we actually get the message?