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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (190916)	5/4/2010 11:00:53 AM
From: Travis_Bickle	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361814

That's why I think the containment thingy is a crock, if it was a realistic fix they would already have one that they could ship out there in sections and put in place within 48 hours.

To: koan who wrote (190916)	5/4/2010 11:03:06 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 361814

No, and no, apparently not. What do you know about sand? ericy on May 2, 2010 - 8:11am I would be interested in seeing people here comment on this story that was making the rounds yesterday.. Leaked report: Government fears Deepwater Horizon well could become unchecked gusher blog.al.com BP Plc executive Doug Suttles said Thursday the company was worried about "erosion" of the pipe at the wellhead. Sand is an integral part of the formations that hold oil under the Gulf. That sand, carried in the oil as it shoots through the piping, is blamed for the ongoing erosion described by BP. "The pipe could disintegrate. You've got sand getting into the pipe, it's eroding the pipe all the time, like a sandblaster," said Ron Gouget, a former oil spill response coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Reply \| Reply in new window \| Start new thread \| Flag as inappropriate (?) ROCKMAN on May 2, 2010 - 9:28am ericy -- it's called sand cut and is a common problem in many producing wells let alone a blow out. A very simple concept: they can cut 2 inch think steel with a water jet carrying sand just like slicing thru a load of bread. But IMHO it doesn't matter: I can't concieve of any way to deal with the blow out at the well head other than getting the BOP to work. And that seems very unlikely at this point. They well will either kill itself or be killed by the relief well. Any other expectaion is grossly optimistic IMHO. theoildrum.com == Heading Out on May 2, 2010 - 9:34am That's why I was a bit surprised by the slow flow shown in the picture, given the implication of the very high flow rates that are beginning to appear in the press. But remember that 5,000 barrels a day converts to 145 gpm. At a pressure of 10,000 psi (accepting a high estimate of roughly the pressure Fractional Flow gives) the fluid velocity would be around 1,200 ft/sec. So it would not need a very large aperture to flow the volumes discussed. At driving pressures above 3,500 psi a liquid flow containing abrasives such as the sand for the drilled rock, can erode metal of more than an inch thick at significant parts of an inch a minute traverse speed. The sand can come from the drilling process or from crushing the rock around the well bore because of the redistribution of stress. If there was a constriction in the flow at the BOP, however, which generates the resistance that builds the pressure, then as the jet moves beyond that point it would a) cut into any of the pipe ahead of it. b) disperse fairly rapidly into the broader flow that is seen coming out of the well, as the surrounding water decelerates the flow quite quickly (a matter of a couple of feet or so).