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ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Plug the damn hole!!! (5/28/2010 9:59:59 AM)
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And meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, the "top kill" operation is not working (in case anyone still reading this thread about stopping the oil spill really cares about the subject of stopping the oil spill). It hasn't failed yet. but it hasn't worked either, and they're running out of ideas on how to tweak it.
The problem is that, in basic terms, a top kill is a simple "brute force" technique, and they can't apply enough immovable object to overcome the irresistible force of the outflow. The basic theory is that they take a thick, viscous solution called "mud" and try to fill the borehole faster than the oil can flush the mud away. The mud weighs around 14.8 pounds per gallon (roughly twice what the oil weighs), and if they can get pump it in faster than the oil can wash it out, they'll eventually reach a point where the column of mud in the top of the borehole will be so heavy it will force the oil down to a point of equilibrium, and if they can maintain that equilibrium for a few hours, they may be able to pump in some cement on top of the mud to make a permanent plug. That's how it's supposed to work, but it all depends on getting the mud in faster than the oil can wash it away, and they're just not able to get enough of it in to reach that turning point.
Everything went fine for the first few hours, but by late Wednesday evening they realized they just weren't gaining on the problem. The oil is under a pressure of approximately 10,000 pounds per square inch, and it was washing away the mud almost as fast as they could pump it in. The problem is that apparently, there are too many leaks, they can't pump fast enough to overcome both the pressure of the rising oil and the leaks. So they suspended operations to try a couple of tweaks. One thing they're doing is adding another line, so they can pump the mud in through two hoses instead of one, and as far as I know they may have already gotten that second line going. The other thing they tried was a modified "junk shot," where they injected crap like ropes, golf balls, pieces of rubber, and stuff like that into the borehole hoping it would plug up (or at least slow down) some of those leaks. That apparently has not worked, because now that they're pumping mud again, the pressure readings show no indication that the leaks have been diminished.
So that's where it is. The media apparently haven't figured it out yet, but it's not looking good at this point. Bottom line is, they just can't figure out how to apply enough force, and at 5,000 feet below sea level they don't have a lot of options to monkey with it. From what I'm getting, it's very unlikely they're going to get it solved, but BP is understandably determined to work it as hard as they can until they run out of mud, which is completely understandable. This is make or break for them, because if this one doesn't work, it's pretty much board up the windows and disconnect the phones for 2 or 3 months while they drill the relief wells.
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