Can you help? 2 Kiwis know how to cap the Gulf pipe

[trikikiwi]

I just watched our evening news - it's 24 June, Thursday 7 pm'ish here.

Two very bright Kiwis explained and proved how they have the most brilliant idea to STOP - I mean STOP, the flow from that pipe.

They were near to tears saying they know (as I now know), they have the answer but have to convince BP
and that is a whole lot of 'follow this procedure'.

Does anyone reading this post have any influence within any organisation involved in the disaster?
If so, contact me and I can find out a contact for the guys with THE SOLUTION.
Which is so brilliantly simple - if anyone watching that news item and having the influence then will be surely, already in touch with the 'powers that be'.

WHEN their idea is used - remember, you heard it here first

Mike

 

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[WishfulThinker]

That's the problem .. they DO NOT WANT TO STOP THE FLOW .. there is too much of a possibility that other flow streams will open up or possibly the entire area of the wellhead will give way ... that is why they carefully balanced the pressure down into the well and tried to pump in the mud initially. But all of it just blew out.

Caps over the well head have not worked beecause of the tremendous pressures and gas concentrations within the oil stream. These guys are in uncharted territory, and if you think this is bad now with a drill stem hole and blowout preventer, just imagine a thirty of forty foot crack opening up on the sea floor, and dumping that entire contained dome of oil into the Gulf in a week or so.

Now they are drilling two relief wells into the main well. Hopefully, they will be able to direct the flow to them, and get the entire mess under control.
Only thing for certain, BP is going to be raked over the coals for what those guys did when they were finishing off that well.

 

[WindHarvester]

This may help.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,324662.0.html

 

[Iron Patch]

That's the problem .. they DO NOT WANT TO STOP THE FLOW .. there is too much of a possibility that other flow streams will open up or possibly the entire area of the wellhead will give way ... that is why they carefully balanced the pressure down into the well and tried to pump in the mud initially. But all of it just blew out.

Caps over the well head have not worked beecause of the tremendous pressures and gas concentrations within the oil stream. These guys are in uncharted territory, and if you think this is bad now with a drill stem hole and blowout preventer, just imagine a thirty of forty foot crack opening up on the sea floor, and dumping that entire contained dome of oil into the Gulf in a week or so.

Now they are drilling two relief wells into the main well. Hopefully, they will be able to direct the flow to them, and get the entire mess under control.
Only thing for certain, BP is going to be raked over the coals for what those guys did when they were finishing off that well.

Yep, totally agree.... you have to either kill it from below, or deal with it the best you can from above without risking catastrophic failure. I've seen lots of clever ideas but none had any answer to what if their method failed and was made worse. So looks like it will be the relief wells, and by rare chance they both fail, they'll go nuclear.

 

[packerbacker]

Do some googling. There is at least 1 website out there where BP is taking thousands of suggestions on how to stop it and they are reading and considering every suggestion.

 

[trikikiwi]

I agree with all the above comments.

I didn't want to go into TOO much detail but, the system these Kiwis are proposing will allow a controlled flow AND/OR a complete shut-off.

As far as the BP suggestions site goes - that's the problem - the proposed method will join the line of thousands. How long will it take them to process those ideas?

These guys have a solution which could likely be engineered and implemented within days.
It is so technically sound and simple - it will just add to the tragedy if it is not considered.

Mike

 

[Iron Patch]

I agree with all the above comments.

I didn't want to go into TOO much detail but, the system these Kiwis are proposing will allow a controlled flow AND/OR a complete shut-off.

As far as the BP suggestions site goes - that's the problem - the proposed method will join the line of thousands. How long will it take them to process those ideas?

These guys have a solution which could likely be engineered and implemented within days.
It is so technically sound and simple - it will just add to the tragedy if it is not considered.

Mike

If it's simple..... what is it?

 

[stefen]

Does the solution include using Obuddy as a cork?

 

[Iron Patch]

By the way... wasn't there a recent Spill just off the coast of Australia that took many months to stop? Why did they not fix that one? These two fellows I mean.

 

[trikikiwi]

By the way... wasn't there a recent Spill just off the coast of Australia that took many months to stop? Why did they not fix that one? These two fellows I mean.

Is this the one you mean??

Some of Australia's most pristine and popular beaches were declared a disaster zone today after tons of oil that leaked from a stricken cargo ship rolled ashore as black sludge.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/13/australia-beaches-oil-disaster

Not quite the same is it.

According to the news this morning, BP is now looking at these guy's proposal (along with another Kiwi idea).
The proposal is based around the use of a Helical Spring - commonly known as the Slinky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slinky

Just how they would/will put it to use is ingenious. Produce a slinky with close tolerances to the ID of the wayward pipe, attach whatever fittings (hose, pipe, valves) to one end, robotically insert slinky in pipe, release - and the slinky expands under the exiting pressure and binds with the internal pipe wall.
This overcomes what I understand to be the critical problem of the jagged broken end of the pipe.

They demonstrated using an approximately 1and half inch diameter plastic Slinky up a PVC pipe and attached to a rope which terminated in a footstep. A man put all his weight on the footstep and bounced. The slinky did not budge.
Try it at home sometime. It's quite a phenomenon.

Mike

 

[RPG]

I agree with all the above comments.

I didn't want to go into TOO much detail but, the system these Kiwis are proposing will allow a controlled flow AND/OR a complete shut-off.

As far as the BP suggestions site goes - that's the problem - the proposed method will join the line of thousands. How long will it take them to process those ideas?

These guys have a solution which could likely be engineered and implemented within days.
It is so technically sound and simple - it will just add to the tragedy if it is not considered.

Mike

If it's simple..... what is it?

Stuff Barak Obama's A$$ in the pipe as a plug. Two birds, one stone. 8)

 

[Frankn]

The idea sounds like a reverse of the old Chinese handcuff/ fingercuff! Ever try to get those off? you had to push instead of pull.
comment to topic #10

​

 

[RPG]

The idea sounds like a reverse of the old Chinese handcuff/ fingercuff! Ever try to get those off? you had to push instead of pull.
comment to topic #10

​

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI: Remember, we are dealing with 60 - 80,000 psi. A bit awkward, no? A simple comparison, your automobile engine works at 150 psi, a Diesel about 500 psi.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Iron Patch]

HI: Remember, we are dealing with 60 - 80,000 psi. A bit awkward, no? A simple comparison, your automobile engine works at 150 psi, a Diesel about 500 psi.

Don Jose de La Mancha

But it's a wonderful wonderful toy!


Disclaimer.... may or may not work on catastrophic oil leaks.

 

[traderoftreasures]

MY idea to stop the flow was to put in a large screw shaped item with a valve through the center. screw the 21 inch screw in tight and then close the valve it's that simple.

 

[trikikiwi]

HI: Remember, we are dealing with 60 - 80,000 psi. A bit awkward, no? A simple comparison, your automobile engine works at 150 psi, a Diesel about 500 psi.

Don Jose de La Mancha

With respect Don Jose, could you please cite your reference for the oil well pressure?

I have found only a reference to an estimate of 13,000 psi
The forces involved are vast. The pressure in the well is believed to be as much as 13,000 PSI.
http://boards.core77.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=152155

Mike

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Good evening Kiwi: You asked where I received my psi information, it was from a Petroleum Engr. PM. Here are other references -->

4. Under Pressure
Typical oil pressures (pounds per square inch aka psi) are in the area of 1,000 psi. BP had reached such a depth that they were seeing anywhere from 20,000-70,000 psi from this oil well. Some geologists predict that the psi at such depths would actually be in the range of 80,000-100,000 psi.


Because of the depth of the well, the pressure in the bottom of the well was in the 30-40,000 psi range

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6421

So what ever it actually is, it is still fantastic. Merely plugging the pipe or tube is incidental since it is leaking around the pipe / tube also.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[trikikiwi]

Good evening Don Jose
Thank you for that information and the link.
There certainly are a lot of 'ifs and buts' involved in the oil extraction business!

By the way... wasn't there a recent Spill just off the coast of Australia that took many months to stop? Why did they not fix that one? These two fellows I mean.

and IP - Don Jose's link threw up this information which I suspect is what you were talking about
http://anz.theoildrum.com/node/6628

I apologise for mistaking disasters, previously

I think this excerpt from the article explains why we Kiwis didn't solve the crisis.
Given how much outrage the BP spill has caused in the United States, it's remarkable that after the first few days, the Montara oil spill was largely ignored by everyone in Australia and was probably never heard of in most parts of the world.

What else don't we know about?

Mike

 

[traderoftreasures]

MY idea to stop the flow was to put in a large screw shaped item with a valve through the center. screw the 21 inch screw in tight and then close the valve it's that simple.

Your idea may hold merit but it would have to have a hole in it to allow the oil to flow out as it was screwed in....then maybe a valve of some sort to shut down the final flow....have you ever tried to screw something on a garden hose without shutting the water off....approx 60 pounds of pressure.

yes thats what i was thinking.... a hole through the screw (which would contain a valve), after the screw was tight in place, then the valve could be closed
when i screw a nozzle on a hose i open the nozzle first and then screw it on