BP begins 'top kill' attempt in Gulf of Mexico

[maddezmom]

Source: MarketWatch

BP begins 'top kill' attempt in Gulf of MexicoExplore related topics

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BP Plc /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 42.82, +0.26, +0.61%) said Wednesday it started the "top kill" operations to attempt to stop the flow of oil from the Maconda well that's been leaking oil for more than a month. "The procedure is intended to stem the flow of oil and gas and ultimately kill the well by injecting heavy drilling fluids through the blow out preventer on the seabed, down into the well," BP said. BP said it began the procedure at 1 p.m. Central time.


Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bp-begins-top-kill-attempt-in-gulf-of-mexico-2010-05-26

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Fingers crossed.

[highplainsdem]

2. Breaking News on CNN now, too.

[NYC_SKP]

3. K and R. The whole world is watching. It may be 12 hours or more before we know...

...if this is working or not.

:grouphug:

Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/search?q=%23topkill

An operations insider's Tweets: http://twitter.com/jgrindal

:patriot:

[Giant Robot]

4. Not to be the downer of the group

But why do I have the feeling we are watching Wiley Coyote playing with an Acme rocket right now?

[HughMoran]

6. Because the chance of failure is high?

at least we know this will likely fail too.

[CoffeeCat]

13. From what they're saying on CNN...

...the mud that they're flowing into this blow-out preventer could clog
up, build pressure/gases and blow up.

Um, ok, so instead of an oil volcano, we would have a gigantic hole in the
ocean that would be releasing much more oil than is being released now.

I can even begin to imagine the consequences of that.

[TroglodyteScholar]

30. I'd say it's more like dehydrated boulders...

[HughMoran]

5. Got the flow full screen on my 50" plasma

I'm obsessing...

[Petrushka]

7. NYT link --->

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/us/27spill.html?hp

[bdamomma]

8. this better work.

[joanmj]

19. this damn well better work!

[NYC_SKP]

9. The outflow from the BOP seems to be of a decidedly different color right now...

more reddish, I wonder what color the kill mud is.

This link changes cameras, now it's on the riser, not on the BOP, but could change back any moment.

http://www.livestream.com/oilspill

[maddezmom]

10. thanks for the link

:hi:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

14. Hey, cool!

The BP link is showing a robotic arm working on something now. I couldn't see the flow at their link at them moment.

Thanks for the link. :)

[Lucky 13]

16. I don't think those cams are live...

... check the date stamp.

[Hosnon]

18. Looks like May 16th to me...

Edit: It switched. Now says May 8th.

[Ex Lurker]

21. the CNN feed is showing the lines going into the BOP right now

they're clearly shaking back and forth, I guess from the mud going through them.

[happygoluckytoyou]

11. IN A RELATED STORY background of FOX news coverage changed to loony-tune theme music

AND THE THREE WORDS BP USES TO KICK OF EVERY GREAT UNDERTAKING ARE HEARD FROM SEA TO OILY SEA...... H E R E G O E S N O T H I N G ! ! !

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. K&R...in hope of a successful outcome. nt

[snagglepuss]

15. Are they saying how long it will be before they know whether the operation is

a success?

[maddezmom]

17. I heard earlier could be a day or more

:)

[florida08]

20. live feed

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

not much happening..says it will take 2 days to finish

[Barrett808]

22. Live-blogging thread at The Oil Drum:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6511

[profgoose]

25. the darker it is, the worse it is....

...because there's more oil, correct?

[Barrett808]

26. That would be my assumption...

For the moment, the mud appears to be winning.

[Barrett808]

23. Currently, mud is gushing from the BOP

No sign of oil. From a knowledgeable observer at TOD (Heading Out):

There was a definite change in color, and shortly after that an increase in the speed of the flow out of the leaks, and while I recognize that there is a lot of color change due to location, lenses etc, it is reasonable to assume that what you are now seeing is mud. (And has been for over an hour... See More). That it is coming out without much change in pattern shows that the BOP is holding under the pressure, and what they are now doing is filling the well with mud. Probably won't see much change now for an hour or two, and then the well should be full, and we'll see what they intend doing next.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6511

[riskpeace]

24. Pretty Please!

This needs to work! Think positive thoughts!

[Barrett808]

27. Oh hell, looks like a breach

Suddenly drilling mud everywhere...

[Barrett808]

28. Hopefully just mud cascading down from the riser leaks... eom

[The Stranger]

29. Unless the leak can withstand more pressure than the oil in the reservoir, isn't this going to make

it worse? If the pressure it takes to cut off the flow of oil from the reservoir is more than the leak on the other side can take, the leak is going to expand, and all of this is going to become much worse.

Please tell me some engineer somewhere already thought of this and debunked it.

[Barrett808]

31. You'll see drilling mud spraying out of the leaking riser with even greater force than the oil was

But ultimately, the weight of the mud will overcome the reservoir pressure. I think you're correct to say that the BOP will have to be able to take increased pressure until the mud fills the well.

[The Stranger]

32. I see. What if the drilling mud spraying out of the leaking riser expands the leak?

And what if the leak continues to expand as more pressure is placed on the mud to try to cut off the flow from the ground coming from the other side?

Sorry, I don't know how to do a diagram here.

I guess it all depends upon the blow out preventer. If it can take the pressure, eventually the well hole will be shut off, notwithstanding what happens further down the line to the riser.

There is a lot riding on that one piece of equipment, yet again. Maybe it can succeed here where it apparently failed before.

[Barrett808]

33. Yes, at those pressures, it seems likely that the holes would expand

So better to plug it sooner than later, for sure.