Repairs and modifications to the blowout preventer, the five-story stack of valves that failed to prevent the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, have restored control of five valves that may be used to inject drilling fluid, Wells said during the call with reporters.
Over the next few hours, engineers will test the pressure at each opening, aiming to design a pumping procedure that will “outrun” the flow of oil and gas, forcing it back down into the petroleum reservoir.
Slicing the Riser
Should pressure from the well outrun the drilling fluids, engineers may inject heavy fluid mixed with rubber scraps through valves above the mud flow to hold it in the well, Wells said.
Should the top kill fail, BP intends a few days later to slice off the riser, the pipe that once led from the blowout preventer to the Deepwater Horizon and was kinked, cracked and severed when the rig sank. It would then attach a rubber-sealed cap to the top of the blowout preventer, diverting more oil to the surface than it’s been able to manage with a small pipe inserted in the broken riser on May 16, Wells said today.
Cutting the riser poses the risk of a 5 percent to 15 percent increase in the spill rate, Wells said. Installation of the rubber-sealed cap would be an interim solution, with plans already in the works to install a second blowout preventer atop the first if needed, Wells said.
Over the next few hours, engineers will test the pressure at each opening, aiming to design a pumping procedure that will “outrun” the flow of oil and gas, forcing it back down into the petroleum reservoir.
Slicing the Riser
Should pressure from the well outrun the drilling fluids, engineers may inject heavy fluid mixed with rubber scraps through valves above the mud flow to hold it in the well, Wells said.
Should the top kill fail, BP intends a few days later to slice off the riser, the pipe that once led from the blowout preventer to the Deepwater Horizon and was kinked, cracked and severed when the rig sank. It would then attach a rubber-sealed cap to the top of the blowout preventer, diverting more oil to the surface than it’s been able to manage with a small pipe inserted in the broken riser on May 16, Wells said today.
Cutting the riser poses the risk of a 5 percent to 15 percent increase in the spill rate, Wells said. Installation of the rubber-sealed cap would be an interim solution, with plans already in the works to install a second blowout preventer atop the first if needed, Wells said.
