Now that the BP well seems to be under control, there are three different approaches that are being floated…
#1) Resume the oil flow – this seems to be the idea that the litigation lawyers and government bureaucrats favor. To be able to resume gathering oil, first the pressure has to be let out of the well – which would mean three days of oil spill, then metering the amount of oil produced. The reason is to put an “accurate” number on the actual amount of oil leaked by the well to put the largest $$$ on it – ignoring that there was 2200 psi of hydrostatic pressure, the oil flow was obstructed by the drill string being bent and the flow was non-uniform…
#2) The Relief well strategy – the 1st relief well is within a couple feet of the “bad” well – the plan is to intersect it at a 2 degree angle – basically wedge in and “take over” the original hole from the side – and then pump in mud and cement once the well pressure is stable
#3) This one is now being floated from unnamed sources, but makes the most sense if risk aversion is the goal. Now that the flow is stopped, turn the original BOP choke and kill lines back to their original purpose. Don’t risk the integrity of the well – just pump in the mud using the standard process to kill and cement the well. With the top sealed, the mud won’t spurt out the top. It may however run out of the bottom, in which case things get more problematic and #1 may be the only option until most of the pressure has been drained from the reservoir…. or #2 used to set a “seal” below the mud to prevent it from leaking out….
Two things I learned recently – the Deepwater Horizon did not start this well. Another rig had originally done some of the drilling, and had to be taken off because of hurricane damage last year. The Deepwater Horizon came in later to “finish” doing the drilling. That could explain some of the issues with not being aware of the status of the BOP.
Another little detail was that at some point, testing equipment got stuck in the well and they couldn’t get it out…. so they had to back up and angle the well away from where it was blocked…..
