What's the pressure in the hole?

 "Some experts are beginning to worry about whether BP, or any company, has enough strength to pay the eventual price for one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history — a tab that may continue to run for two or three decades.

"One of the problems is that we don't even know if $20 billion will be enough. This is all on an unprecedented scale," said Joe Hahn, a professor at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management who formerly worked as an engineer in the oil industry.

Hahn said the company might face the additional problem of severe fines from its decisions before and after the oil rig exploded.

"Initially, I thought they would be able to survive this, but they are in serious financial trouble. Their future is very questionable right now," Hahn said."  LA Times

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This article mentions 20 billion in  BP assets that have been "set aside" as a "kind of collateral" for payment of the "trenches"of the $20 billion dollar fund. What assets are these?  How well are they secured from the possibility of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy or dissolution of the BP Group elements within the reach of US law?  

Hayward's performance yesterday made me think that he was "buying time" for BP, buying time for them to come to grips with whatever they decide is the best course of action for their stockholders.

Dylan Ratigan yesterday interviewed one Matthew Simmons on the subject of the actual condition of the hole that BP is trying to plug.  Simmons, evidently a leader of the "Peak Oil" people, insists that the down hole pressure is not 11,000 PSI as Hayward said to Congress.  Simmons maintains that the pressure is really more like 60,000 PSI.  If that is the case then it would seem that both the present leak and the relief wells may be ineffective.  What do you all know of this?

Simmons also says that USGS scientists in the Gulf have determined that there is no casing (metal pipe) left in the bore hole.  He says that the pipe has been blown out by the extreme pressure.

His solution?  A small yield nuclear explosive in the bore hole.  Opinions?  pl

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil-spill-bp-20100617,0,2351140.story

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

I should have stated that BP was kicked out of the JIC on June 4th, 2010. Draw your own conclusions.

[different clue]

MRW, you could be correct.
Maybe the massive tar sand surface mining under way can be played out to the very end and then the land restored to its former condition, just like the law says it should. Time will tell.

Certainly the experiment will be tried.

Jane, you could be right about how adding oxygen in any form to the oil flow could be hazardous. I was hoping that the oil is erupting so fast that added oxygen will be drawn into the mix and fellow-travel with the oil as it spreads out, thereby being right on hand to help oxidize it. I was conceptually hoping that
no added oxygen could creep upstream against the furious oil current back towards the pipe. Maybe the idea will spur thinking anyway.

I expect the Midwest and Great Lakes will be somewhat affected when volatile hydrocarbons escaping into the steamy Gulf air are drawn north with the air currents to fall back out in the rain all over the Midwest and the Great Lakes. So we really will be feeling some small measure of the Gulf's pain.

[Walrus]

As expected, the BP presentation blames the drilling crew.

There will be a gradual sacrifice of involved middle management by BP.

The trick is of course that if Two layers of management (ie. subordinate and his boss) can be "taken out" ie : Dead or confess to negligence, then those further up the chain are in the clear.

Think of Jack Ruby.

http://energycommerce.house.gov/documents/20100527/BP.Presentation.pdf

["Mad" Mike Adams]

"His solution? A small yield nuclear explosive in the bore hole. Opinions? pl"

Sure. Go for it... What could possibly go wrong?

MDA

[ISL]

Mini nuke would be a very bad idea. Methane bubble very unlikely.

[Jake]

Emma

Your only looking at depth from surface to ocean floor. That is just the one of the associated problems.

The IXTOC I Well was being drilled to "3 KM or 1.9 miles" in depth. The blowout occurred at a depth of approximately 11,800 feet below the sea floor when it blew.

That Emma is a deep well.

Its just not about the depth from the surface to the floor bed. Its a total pressure dynamics problem at these drilling depths. You must add the depth from the surface to the depth of where the blow out occurred to really appreciate the pressure dynamics adventure.

Now realize that this incident even 160ft (man diving depths)below sea level happened between June 3rd 1979 and was closed on or around March 23rd 1980. Almost a year...

Now also realize that this is NOT the only well leaking in the Gulf presently. Taylor Oil had 24 wells lost during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and some of these wells are still leaking though all capped but small amounts of oil are still leaking into the Gulf on a daily basis.

[Jake]

William Cummings "I should have stated that BP was kicked out of the JIC on June 4th, 2010. Draw your own conclusions."

You bet BP was kicked out and the Unified Area Command was moved to New Orleans on the 14th. The cat fight continues.

Add to this the Governors of the States of LA, Miss, Al and Fla all having a bad case of cranial rectal inversion and finger pointing blame while doing very little themselves.

Leading the pack of State stupidity is the Governor of Louisiana and he blamed the last Governor for her stupidity during Katrina.

I had Louisiana's spill recovery plan passed to me. The agency who put this so-called oil spill plan together should not be in charge of coastal restorations. They should be the Court Jesters. Its not a plan its a bunch of bull-sheet-rock.

If this is how we handle national disasters now and since Katrina. Boy are we "foxtrotted".....

[Jake]

The latest remote sensing reports are not good either....

"• Flow Rate Technical Group raised the
estimate of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico
to 35,000-60,000 barrels per day. Estimated
containment capacity of 40,000 - 53,000
barrels per day by 30 June, and 60,000 -
80,000 barrels per day by mid July. (SLB)

• Oil and gas recovered from TOP HAT over the
last 24 hour period: 16,026 barrels of oil and
33.3 million cubic ft of gas. (SLB)

• 9,269 barrels of oil and 17 million cubic feet of
gas flared in the last 24 hour period; rates
adjusted since meters were calibrated.
Reviewing heat dispersion modeling to see if
production rate can be increased. (SLB)

• Land encroachment in Alabama/Florida coast
obscured by thunderstorm. (CSTARS)

• Oil continues to move eastward, approaching
the Florida Panhandle. (CSTARS)

[Watch Online]

I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be very helpful to me and I am sure to all the comment here! It's always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! I'm sure you had fun writing this article.I have boon looking everywhere to find the information bout this you know.

[yeast infection]

I had Louisiana's spill recovery plan passed to me. The agency who put this so-called oil spill plan together should not be in charge of coastal restorations. They should be the Court Jesters. Its not a plan its a bunch of bull-sheet-rock.

[William R. Cumming]

Note and approved by the cognizant federal agency.