Wasn't this new cap for the well supposed to just allow for more oil to be captured?

[NNN0LHI]

They discovered something during that process didn't they? They discovered that the pressure coming out of the well and the pressure outside the well a mile below the ocean was just about equalized. Didn't they? The gusher was just about getting ready to fizzle out on its own anyway. Wasn't it?

The plan was never to never actually to cap the well from the sea floor at the stack.

We got lucky didn't we?

Don

[Downtown Hound]

1. I don't understand what you're saying...

Yes, all they had ever said about this cap was that it was intended to collect more oil, and then suddenly they announced that they were going to try and seal the well with it. While I'm sure there were reasons for the change and it is probably likely that they discovered something along the way, I'm not sure how you arrive at the conclusions you post.

[NNN0LHI]

4. Discovered that the pressure from the well was just about equal to the pressure on the ocean floor

Which means the well has lost so much pressure it is no longer capable of gushing like it was months ago.

Does that explain it better?

Don

[LisaL]

7. I don't think they discovered anything of the sort.

They are doing a test right now. Quite possibly they will start collecting oil after the test is done.

[Statistical]

9. Less than 5% of the estimated reserve has been released.

It would be like shaking up a soda bottle, letting a thimble of soda out and expecting the pressure to be equalized.

The estimated amount of this well is roughly 2-3 billion barrels.

Even at 100K barrels (the upper guestimate) that would put maybe 8 million barrels released.

[NNN0LHI]

18. You have never shaken a soda bottle and removed all the carbon dioxide gas without spilling a drop?

I have. The trick is to open up that 2-litre bottle of 7-Up very slowly. Then after completely opening it up set it down for a couple of days and walla. No more carbon dioxide gas. No more pressure. Not only didn't I spill a thimble full of soda. I didn't spill one drop. Works like magic every time. Ever tried it?

Now we all know that same amount of carbon dioxide gas in that 7-Up bottle when purchased new could probably create enough pressure inside to blast just about all that pop out of the bottle if it were dropped and not opened correctly.

The gas we are dealing with here in the Gulf along with the liquid crude is methane. I would say once all or most of that methane gas has bled off as it has been doing for nearly three months now its not surprising that the situation improved considerably. Even though the amount of crude released is a small fraction in comparison to the estimates contained in the entire field this still sounds feasible.

Don

[Statistical]

19. However the amount of natural gas released is a tiny fraction of what the field holds.

Good answer on the soda bottle rhetorical though. :)

My ballpark figures. The old cap was capturing roughly 25,000 bpd of oil and 50 million cubic ft of natural gas.
Oil flow is 80K to 100K barrels per day. If we guesstimate it is capturing roughly the same % of the flow for both natural gas and oil that puts natural gas flow at around 200 million cu ft daily.
87 days we are talking in in the relm of 12 billion cubic ft. The tiber oil field contains roughly 2 trillion cubic ft of natural gas.

You would need to let that soda bottle set a very long time to deplete the gas reserve.

[NNN0LHI]

20. You gave me the idea about the soda bottle rhetorical

You get the credit for that one. :)

Don

[NNN0LHI]

23. One more question if you don't mind?

How is all this methane gas located inside of the deposit? Does it tend to all gather at the top or is is suspended in the crude in multiple methane bubbles? Kind of like the gas is suspended in a bottle of pop?

Because when you open a bottle of pop all the suspended gas doesn't come rushing out of the bottle. Most of it remains suspended in the pop. You get the initial "swoosh" of the gas that has accumulated near the top of the bottle but it doesn't all come out at once.

Is the methane gas suspended all throughout the crude in a similar fashion the gas in pop is or is all of it on top of the crude constantly exerting pressure at the well head? If you know? Because I sure don't know.

Don

[Downtown Hound]

11. I doubt it

Most of the estimates I've read about the amount of oil under that well range anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of barrels, enough to keep that thing gushing for years if not decades.

[Oregone]

12. Quantity of the oil isn't really the factor

Its pressure. Though, I doubt the premise being pushed in the OP is true.

[Statistical]

13. Pressure is related to oil volume.

Not a 1:1 relationship but there is correlation.

Virtually impossible for pressure to drop to ambient with less than 5% of reservoir depleted.

[Oregone]

15. Of course it is, though I was just clarifying

"Virtually impossible for pressure to drop to ambient with less than 5% of reservoir depleted."

Totally depends. I wouldn't hold my breath

[DURHAM D]

2. Where did you get this?

"The gusher was just about getting ready to fizzle out on its own anyway. Wasn't it?"

No - absolutely not.

The well is not truly stopped until it is plugged (via relief wells) down near its reservoir - several miles below the seabed.

[napi21]

3. Your assumptions are too early. They don't know yet what the pressure is at

the well head. They are right now measuring some kind of resistance bunot the oil pressure. That will be done sometime in the nex6 hours. I've not heard anywhere that this well was aboufizzel out. Where did you hear that?

Yes I think we got lucky...so far. They are still going to intercept the oil pocket with the alternate drilling site(s) and that should be what really stops the excaping oil for sure.

[LisaL]

5. I don't think there is any indications this was about to fizzle out.

Supposedly if not stopped the well has enough oil to come out for years and years.

[jobycom]

6. I don't know. I thought...

The plan was to stop as much oil as they could with the cap, and siphon off the rest. I don't think they expected the cap to stop it, they just thought it would seal better so they could siphon off more. I doubt it's really cost effective to siphon it off for production. They'd probably rather just plug the well and collect it through the other rigs.

But who knows with all the parties involved?

[Statistical]

8. No there is nothing about your post that is correct.

The cap was designed for two purposes:
Primary -> to provide a temporary seal to the well. No idea how long this will hold.
Backup -> If well began leaking through casing the cap could be used instead for more effective (hopefully approaching 100%) capture

The pressure is not gone from the well and there is no guarantee this won't start leaking again next month, or week, or hours. It is simply a temporary hold. In either case (cap or capture) the only permanent solution is the relief wells.

[jobycom]

10. Keep in mind, too, that all you've heard is what the media thinks they were trying.

This is the same media that keeps pushing people like George Bush and Sara Palin on us, and couldn't tell more than a tenth of a story if you made them.

So even if BP bothered explaining the whole purpose of the cap to them, they'd only hear a few key words and write what they want, anyway. "Cap? Got it. Siphon. Okay, we're done, here's the story." The MSM is a terrible source to base conclusions on.

[randr]

14. Remember the relief holes?

Haven't heard about them for a while have we?
The new cap is a way to recover the oil without losing the well!

[Statistical]

16. and the conspiracy theories never stop they just change.

Before the cap the theory was that BP was intentionally NOT capping it so they could capture all that profitable oil.
Of course that was equally ludicrous when one looks at how much that oil was costing BP in expenditures.

When BP uses the relief well to cap the main well in 3-4 weeks what will the conspiracy be then.

[Regret My New Name]

17. I don't think the well even exists.

They are up to something.

[MineralMan]

21. I've been hearing about them all day...the relief wells.

Must be because I'm listening to the news. This well will be sealed via the relief wells. That is still the plan. Maybe you should listen to some other sources than the ones you're listening to.

[MineralMan]

22. Where do your strange ideas come from? They're wrong, you know.

What sources are you using for your news about this disaster? I suggest a change.

[NNN0LHI]

24. You thought the plan for today was to stop the flow? You read that?

Here is what I have been reading about the current attempt. Doesn't say anything about stopping the flow of crude. It talks about catching more of it. If you have been reading something different was going to happen such as completely stopping the flow like what actually happened today would you mind pointing me to your sources where you read that from before today?

Thanks in advance.

Don

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.ajc.com/business/feds-say-new-cap-567235.html

.Atlanta Business News 2:29 a.m. Saturday, July 10, 2010

Decrease Increase Feds say new cap could contain Gulf leak by Monday

NEW ORLEANS — The BP oil leak could be completely contained as early as Monday if a new, tighter cap can be fitted over the blown-out well, the government official in charge of the crisis said Friday in some of the most encouraging news to come out of the Gulf in the 2½ months since the disaster struck.

If the project planned to begin this weekend is successful, it would simply mean no more oil would escape to foul the Gulf of Mexico. The well would still be busted and leaking — workers would just funnel what comes out of it to tankers at the surface. The hope for a permanent solution remains with two relief wells intended to plug it completely far beneath the seafloor. snip

The government estimates 1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons of oil a day are spewing from the well, and the existing cap is collecting about 1 million gallons of that. With the new cap and the new containment vessel, the system will be capable of capturing 2.5 million to 3.4 million gallons — essentially all the leaking oil, officials said.

The plan had originally been to hook up the Helix Producer and install the new cap separately, but the favorable weather convinced officials the time was right for both operations.

[MineralMan]

25. Multiple sources...

What happened today is part of a planned test. By shutting off the flow, it's possible to measure the pressure of the well. If the pressure remains high, the well is intact and the cap can continue to shut off the flow. If the pressure is lower than expected, it may mean that the well bore and casing are compromised. In that case, opening the valves and capturing the escaping oil will prevent oil from escaping from the damaged bore.

In either case, the relief wells and a permanent plugging of the bore is the next step.

The testing absolutely required that the flow be cut off with this device. This is that test. What happens next depends on the results.