From: cuhulin on
Rule change helped BP on Gulf.
http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=12433585

I saw an article today, something about transforming disused offshore
oil rigs into luxury hotels.
I think it was at http://www.telegraph.co.uk
where I saw that article.
cuhulin

From: Scott Dorsey on
Pete C. <aux3.DOH.4(a)snet.net> wrote:
>
>Considering the low cost of data recorders, perhaps a CVR of sorts
>should become standard on oil rigs. The instrumentation is there for the
>tapping and recording, and a few cameras can also record the relevant
>areas. What would this cost to add, perhaps $25k on a $350M rig?

I know that a lot of that instrumentation is already tapped and recorded.
What I don't know is what the survivability odds on those recordings are.
I think we'll find out a lot more soon once the thing is stabilized and
capped and they can get to doing a proper postmortem.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
From: hls on

"chuckcar" <chuck(a)nil.car> wrote in message
>>
> Nonsence. Planes *have* redundancy due to regulation of them. If the
> engines stop working, the plane glides and a competent pilot can land
> it. Any time there's a crash there's a long properly run investigation
> and changes are made that stop it from being repeated. That's *exactly*
> why it *is* safe and why oil rigs aren't.
>

I can sense from your posts that you really dont know a heck of a lot
about oil drilling.

The following is the best information I have heard to this point, and
there can be errors or variations in the actual situation.

There ARE redundant systems, and there ARE monitoring devices.
The platforms I have been on also relay the data back onshore and it is
available for study.

This "pipe" you keep babbling about is most likely the riser system.
When the platform burned and sank, there was nothing that could be
done with this.The riser fell freely to the bottom and coiled up like a
sick snake.

ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) indicated that the riser was leaking
oil in three places (best intelligence at that time).

Before this incident, several things were happening:
(1) Apparently casing had been set and
(2) Cement run
(3) There was an attempt to set a hydraulic packer. AFAIK, they tried
this several times and were not able to deploy it.

These are critical times in drilling...times when an incident can cause you
the most damage.

From the description of the next events (loud explosions, bumps, fire)
it appears that the well blew out. This means that uncontrolled high
pressure
gas andor oil from the producing formation began to flow up to the drilling
rig.

As is usually the case when this happens, a spark or ignition source
somewhere ignited the hydrocarbon flowback. If a well spits back the drill
pipe at you,
there WILL normally be a spark somewhere.

Drilling fluid ("mud")weight is normally the prime controller of downhole
pressure. The density of the mud and the depth of the column can offset
and even overbalance the pressure of the fluids in the formation.

The blowout preventors (BOP) are there in case the drilling fluid gets
gas cut or you take a bubble, or you lose circulation or the static head,
or the mud otherwise cannot perform its job.

These are primary and secondary operating and safety controls.

In this case, the BOP did not function. A BOP is a hydraulic tool, set
at the ocean floor wellhead in this case, which has rams that can squeeze
off the well tubing, seal it off, even cut the tubing to attain control.
Repeated
attempts to shut it off failed.

Now, this was a case that is similar to the catastrophic failure of an
airliner. It shouldnt have happened, but it DID. Something failed
somewhere.
Auxiliaries did not work either. This came as suddenly and as unannounced
as the fuel tank explosions of certain aircraft in the not too distant past.

There is nothing to be done right now but to see if this jury-rigged "bell"
will allow the leaking oil to be pumped up and removed. Once this
acute problem is remedied, they will probably drill another hole
near this leaking one and try to shut it off.

You ought to send one of your academics offshore and see if he can
actually do something, or whether he will sit and drink coffee and theorize.
I am sure they could have used him when the firefighting started.




From: hls on

"chuckcar" <chuck(a)nil.car> wrote in message
news:Xns9D6FA5C22294Fchuck(a)127.0.0.1...
> "hls" <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote in
>
>>
>> Viewing stupidity in hindsight is a well known human foible.
>>
> Hardly. It's how things don't repeat themselves. Those that don't learn
> from history are condemmed to repeat it. Those that don't learn history
> are incompetent.

They do that from studies, not from people like yourself grousing
about others' stupidity.

From: cuhulin on
On the web,
Mississippi Islands

Some news reports say Chandeleur Islands,Louisiana.I think the
Chandeleur Islands are actually off the Coast of Mississippi.Unless part
of the Chandeleur Islands are off the Coast of Louisiana.

Some of that oil has reached the Chandeleur Islands since yesterday.

Of course, the biggest main thing now is to get that oil leak
Stopped/under control.
cuhulin