Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

I estimate the value of the oil being lost at about 78 million dollars a day.

If 50 percent is recovered that is 39 million dollars a day.

If it is plugged the the value of the recovered oil = 0

The Sum Tort Liability is 75 million dollars by law.

Where is the incentive to stop the leak instead of recovering some percentage of it?

Gavilan

A slightly smaller diameter pipe is inserted into the drill pipe. This insertion pipe has barbed strips of titanium running the length of the pipe on the outside wall.

This insertion pipe is open on the upstream end. It has a tapered down stream inside diameter that allows the oil to pass through during insertion to allow for less insertion force. It has an internal plug with ribbing that is so shaped and designed that it allows the oil to pass through until the plug is released at which time the oil pressure will drive the plug into the tapered down stream end. This will cause the ribbing to collapse and seal while forcing the down stream end of the pipe to expand against the drill pipe. This will cause the barbed strips of titanium to dig into the inside wall of the drill pipe holding the plug pipe in place.

After the internal plug is released and the internal pressure begins to build the insertion pipe material yield stress will allow it to expand against the drill pipe driving more titanium barbs into the drill pipe and sealing the insertion pipe/ drill pipe interface.

I made a major error in the value of the oil loss. I multiplied the gallons spilled by the barrel value. Woops.

I admit and repent.

As we speak there continues the ongoing environmental disaster taking place in the Gulf of Mexico.

Because BP has shown little interest in plugging the leak and continues to focus on oil recovery; The United States of America is requesting white paper proposals on 5 related issues – The most interesting and what I believe to be the most critical issue is – "Oil Head Control and Submerged Oil Response."

The submission website can be found here –

http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/oil_spill/oil_spill_prop_form.jsp linked from http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=45436&dcn=e_gvet

I share this with you in hopes that you would take a few moments to consider my proposed method of plugging the drill pipe which I believe is the source of the oil flow; develop your own method by modifying this proposal or creating an entirely new one.

Although BP has been very stingy in sharing technical data with the public I believe it is possible that the following conditions exist.

The (Reservoir Pressure) – (Hydrostatic Pressure) –(Ambient Pressure) at the BOP is about 9500 psi. The true extend of the leak can be simply determined by knowing the area of the pipe and the speed of the flow. It is area X speed. It is inconceivable that BP does not have an accurate measurement of the flow rate.

The total force across the face of an 8 inch drill pipe at 9500 psi would be approximately 1.9 million pounds. This makes plugging the pipe quite problematic but I don't believe it makes it impossible.

I wish to suggest the following Porcupine Plug Pipe Assembly.

A slightly smaller diameter pipe is inserted into the drill pipe. This insertion pipe has barbed quills of titanium (or other more suitable material) encased in and running the length on the outside wall of the insertion pipe.

This insertion pipe is open on the upstream end. It has a tapered downstream inside diameter that allows the oil to pass through during insertion. The oil is allowed to pass through the insertion pipe in order to reduce the amount of force required to insert the pipe and plug assembly. Insertion could be accomplished through the use of a suspended reaction block and a specially designed hydraulic ram.

The insertion pipe has an internal plug sub-assembly that is so shaped and designed that it allows the oil to pass through until the plug is released at which time the oil pressure will drive the plug into the tapered downstream end. This will cause the plug to collapse and seal the downstream end of the pipe while forcing that end of the insertion pipe to expand against the drill pipe. This will cause the quilled strips to dig into the inside wall of the drill pipe holding the plug pipe in place long enough for the internal pressure to build up inside the insertion pipe. At this point the oil will no longer be flowing through the insertion pipe. The pressure will build up inside the insertion pipe exceeding the specifically designed material yield stress of the insertion pipe which will allow it to expand against the drill pipe driving more barbs into the drill pipe and sealing the insertion pipe/ drill pipe interface.

The challenge for the this design is to minimize the insertion force so as not to fracture the drill pipe and to develop a friction or holding force that will significantly exceed the (pressure) X (area) of the leaking pipe. The quill strips must be so designed as to allow for insertion while resisting the tendency of the oil pressure to drive the pipe back out. This can be accomplished by designing the quill strips so that the quills will flex downward during inserting and then rebound to an optimal angle relative to the quill base so that the shear stress is minimized by maximizing longitudinal compression on the quills. This is accomplished by minimizing the angle of the quills relative to the insertion pipe.

The required number of quills required to hold the pipe will be defined by the strength of the material in compression and shear. Roughly calculated as N= where N is the number of required quills, P = to the pipe pressure, Area = area of the pipe face, and F is the limiting force each quill can withstand in compression or shear.

Designing the Porcupine Pipe Plug Assembly so that the barbs can withstand the required force will define the needed length of the Assembly. The longer the assembly the more problematic insertion will be.

The release mechanism for the internal plug assembly must be extremely reliable. A mechanical locking and release method with an activation lanyard may be the best approach. A small explosive method could be carefully considered but must not create a hydraulic impulse that could possibly fracture the drill pipe.

Given a good lab machine shop and the people who work in it such a device and the device used to insert it could be built in a reasonably short time.

You have or have access to the expertise to stop this thing. My suggestion may not be a workable solution – in the end it matters not to me. My goal is to try to get credentialed people who have the training and understanding of Physics, Engineering and Material Science to have enough faith in their own knowledge and understanding to make some proposals.

If you have the technical expertise to do the Engineering then give it a try – the stakes are enormous. The absolute worst case scenario is that you get a bit of refreshment in basic engineering/physics principles.

Don't sit back and just watch as BP turns our gulf states into another Nigerian Environmental Wasteland.

Gavilan

It might seem that way, but don't let your emotions take the upper hand.

BP is preserving the well for other reasons: what the (main) reason is, we will find out also.

I have a strong feeling that by tapping the oil with the riser pipe, and opening the hole after cutting the old one, the environment is in more danger than will be told. The annulus is probably leaking a lot.

That is why they "pump" pressure out with the second set of pipes now.

To let the well flow with as less resistance as possible. The reservoir has extreme high pressure: at the bottom of the drill pipe IMO minimal 14.000 psi.

Eroding the annulus with that pressure will go faster than someone can think of. Massive rocks can fall into the reservoir. Pipes can fall down and if that happens, try to plug a hole in a bunch of rocks.

Smoothly containing as much of the flow without compromising the well is what they do within their time frame and how bad it sounds. It is IMO the best they can do for now. Knowing more details, even if it were possible to plug the pipe nobody human being with sense will do it. If there is one that wants that well stopped and killed, it is BP in the first place. There is also the open question: maybe BP is covering up for someone too?

We are in a too early stage to draw conclusions. I try to keep up with reality, in spite of the big media show.

couldn't the fisherman and the net makers (and others), come up with a way to round up the oil like they would do schools of fish.? with the new techniques they develop, it could be used in the future. Also they could deploy enough barges with dredges to start to bring back the outer banks. Man made water ways have done more damage than the oil, but they have to start to bring the wetlands back, now.