Nightmare Marketing Problem Killing Florida Dive Industry--Any Suggestions?

[mike_s]

The relief wells, at least in this case, are not going to be used like that. They are going to be used to pump heavy mud into the base of the main well until the column of mud overcomes the pressure and stops the flow. Then the well will be cemented in.
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That was my understanding as well. They were going to use the relief well to pump in mud/concrete.

Then they might come back later after new valves are installed and recover that well and drill through the mud/concrete cap.


now... with that said, I'm not sure why they just couldn't start recovering oil from the relief well, but I assume that some of it would/could still bypass and leak. (just an assumption on my part). So I'm guessing that's why they are capping first? anyone know for sure?

 

[ReefHound]

Not for sure but I think the relief well is a much smaller bore, just enough to get the mud in, not big enough for effective production. Then again, it's BP we're talking about and it would be like them to take an extra month to drill it so they could drill it big enough for production later.

 

[goonsquad]

I'd come down to FL anytime, too bad I have no funds for such a lovely state. Florida is HUGE and has plenty of places to dive, I don't think the oil has made it into all of them.

 

[chris_b]

What other country requires simultaneous relief wells to be drilled? My petro friends say that would kill the industry.

Sorry, I was incorrect about exact simultaneity, at least for Canada. The press has made it sound like simultaneous wells but the requirement in Canada is for is "a viable system that can be deployed to drill a ... relief well, in the same season as the original well": BP Sought To Ease Canada's Policy On Relief Wells : NPR

I remember reading about Brazil, Norway, and the UK as well and will look for some links for details on their policies. It would be nice if we could actually quantify risk-taking in energy extraction to have a more complete picture.

 

[ktomlinson]

I just took a trip to Venice and the Keys last week. The trip had been planned since right before the leak started, and I can tell you that I was nervous that my plans would be ruined by the oil the entire 2 months. We had a contingency vacation planned for San Diego just in case. I don't think that I subscribe to most sensationalism, but good information on where the oil would be by when is hard to come by.