[ale] BP knew of problems 11 months before the rig blew - further OT

[Greg Clifton]

Greg,

Regarding plugging the wells with water, I think you are confusing "water
flooding" with capping an out of production well. Water flooding is where
water is injected into wells that are no longer producing oil [economically]
in order to raise the water table/pressure so that other wells higher up in
the formation can slurp up the oil. Think of an oil field as a porous
mountaintop where the oil floats to the upper reaches on top of the water.
Wells that are on the periphery of the mountain top will have a lower "oil
table" than the lucky one(s) right at the top. So when the lower wells
production drops off, water is injected in those wells to force the oil
higher up in the formation so the upper well(s) can recover it. When a well
is finished, it is permanantly plugged with cement. Otherwise, even when a
well is no longer economically viable, it would ooze oil for a loooonnnnggg
time.

GC

On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 6:11 PM, Preston Boyington
<preston.lists at gmail.com>wrote:

> Jim Kinney wrote:
> >
> >
> > What's the lifespan of an oil rig? How do they change out failed parts
> > on the head? What about those underwater?
> >
> > How is an old offshore rig shut down when it's time? How is the hole
> > permanently plugged?
>
> you have to think of (drilling) rigs as ships/barges for the most part.
>  they are constantly maintained and decommissioned as necessary over time.
>
> once a drilling rig has finished the well it is floated to a new
> location and a production rig then takes its place on site.
>
> a first hand account of the initial accident can be read on the
> rigzone.com site:
>
> Deepwater Horizon: A Firsthand Account
> http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=92765
>
> another article that is interesting:
>
> NOIA Calculates Econ Impact of Moratorium
> http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=94073
>
> 'Preliminary estimates show crippling job loss and significant economic
> impacts will result from the President's recent order to halt work on 33
> exploratory wells in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and institute a
> six-month moratorium on all drilling in water depths greater than 500 feet.
>
> "The immediate impacts of the order will be felt by the families of tens
> of thousands of offshore workers who will be unemployed," said Burt
> Adams, Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association.'
>
>
> also understand that a great deal of these offshore workers are not the
> actual people doing the rig work, but the housekeeping crews,
> contractors, food service, supply ships, etc.
>
>
> overall, most of what i've seen postulated on the internet and in
> various newsgroups about this unfortunate accident is pure FUD.
>
>
> --
>
> Arrant Drivel - really, it's just trash...
> http://www.arrantdrivel.com/
>
> Where the road takes me - a highwayman's perspective
> http://www.prestonboyington.com/
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