Is There a ‘Feynman Fix’ for Leaking Well?
dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com
..."
2:07 p.m. | Updated Robert L. Hengel, an oil-industry engineer working at the interface of geology and engineering, sent this reaction:
It’s all about regaining control of the well, not preserving it. As you may have already discovered in your research, control means harnessing high pressure oil and gas to flow at a regulated rate or to be shut off completely. All wells must be controlled from their conception and through their productive life until they are plugged and abandoned (P&A)Control is maintained at the wellhead, a sophisticated valve assembly, which in the case of the Deepwater Horizon is stuck open and inoperable (loss of control). Regaining control can be accomplished either by restoring functionality to the existing wellhead or by drilling a relief well to penetrate the existing well, then plugging the well.
With that said, an explosion would have to be of sufficient depth and magnitude to cause the well to cave in sufficiently to plug itself and stay plugged, or stay plugged long enough to drill the relief well. It will be interesting to see if the Department of Defense thinks they can do that.
As the crisis deepens, I have to believe that BP is open to all suggestions which will stop their growing economic loss."
=================================================================
May 2, 12:09 a.m. | Updated Michael E. Webber, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin, sent this reaction, focused on the political context:
Seafloor nuclear detonation is starting to sound surprisingly feasible and appropriate…. I never thought I would hear myself write that out loud.
The environmental disaster unfolding before our eyes (close on the heels of coal mining disasters) has important long-term impacts in negative and positive ways on energy security, decarbonizing our energy systems, producing sufficiently abundant energy sources, maintaining economically robust energy prices, and protecting the environment. It’s a complicated and slow-moving nightmare. Obama took a beating by environmentalists for pushing to open up offshore oil and gas production, and this disaster just exacerbates it; I wonder if the loss in credibility with environmentalists because of this spill is enough to substantially undermine future energy policy initiatives. At the same time, he gained credibility with oil and gas, and by not giving up on his pledges for offshore production, is increasing his industrial credibility, which might enhance his ability to enact future energy policy initiatives because he’ll get less opposition from them downstream.
This is all very fascinating. Obama looks like one of the losers in this, but in the end, I predict he’ll be a winner because industry will “owe” him one, and environmentalists will come back around to support him. And, as we worry about offshore production, increased safety regulations might increase prices, which will make renewables more competitive. At the same time, bans on mountaintop removal mining will push coal producers underground, while underground mining will have steeper safety regulations, which will push the price of coal up, too. Consequently, renewables win again, too. Natural gas is also one of the winners because people see the oil spill on the news and blame oil, but are likely to forget natural gas’ likely culpability in the original explosion, and therefore natural gas might emerge unscathed as the clean, “safe” and domestic fuel.
Regardless, swift action is better than slow, decisive action.
=============================================================
12:06 p.m. | Updated Robert Bea at the University of California, Berkeley, noted some earlier uses of explosives to stop sub-sea blowouts:
Luckily I have worked as a roughneck on several drill rigs and worked on some very large blowouts and spills (Bay Marchand, Mississippi, H2S well [large pdf], Santa Barbara, Piper Alpha, Petrobras P36) so I have some idea about what happened and is happening.
Yes, explosives have been used to stop blowouts. To my knowledge, the Russians did this first. A shallow well is drilled to intersect the blowout well. Explosives are set in the bottom of the well next to the casing of the blowout well. The explosion collapses and seals the well. When I worked for Shell, we almost used this technique to stop the Mississippi H2S well blowout. This well produced one thirds of the U.S. production of H2S per day. Three cities had to be evacuated. |
