BP: Will Seek To Siphon More Oil From Leaking Well

Source: Dow Jones Newswires via Nasdaq

By Angel Gonzalez, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- BP PLC (BP) said Monday it will seek to double the amount of oil it is siphoning from a leaking deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to minimize the environmental impact as the company works toward a permanent solution to the spill.

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said at a press conference Monday that the oil giant is managing to capture slightly more than 1,000 barrels a day of crude leaking from the deepwater Macondo well, or about a fifth of the amount currently estimated to be spilling into the Gulf. "Over the course of today we'll be trying to increase that rate," Suttles said, adding that if the company manages to capture "half" of the daily spilled amount or even "2,000 barrels a day, we'd be extraordinarily pleased."

...

Suttles said that the successful siphoning of crude, along with other offshore efforts such as the subsea injection of oil dispersant and the controlled burning of oil, was "making a big difference" in the size of the spill. After an overflight of the area affected by the incident, Suttles reported that he had seen "probably the smallest amount of oil I've seen on the surface since the effort began." The company seeks to stop the flow by injecting a mud that is heavier than crude and water into the well later this week or over the weekend, Suttles said.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said at the news conference that BP's success in mitigating the spill "will diminish the leak," but "it will not contain it completely." Favorable weather during the week is expected to help operations, however, permitting skimming operations and four controlled burns of crude on the surface. "The volume of oil in the surface is being reduced as we speak," Landry said.



Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201005171644dowjonesdjonline000363&title=bpwill-seek-to-siphon-more-oil-from-leaking-well

because this is most definitely larger than a mere 'leak'.

As oil wells go, this is a good one, but it is indeed a leak. Or you call call it an uncontrolled leak. Or an uncontrolled high rate flow. Or a very high rate uncontrolled flow of oil and gas. If they manage to gather 2000 barrels per day, that's $150,000 per day, or $4.5 million per month. I wonder if they'll be asked to pay the government its royalty for this "production". :-)

There's a world of difference between a hemorrhage and just bleeding from a cut. One is life threatening.

Both a leaks.

With blood pumping all over the Operating Room and down the hall.

which it is, technically, but it's really far more than that.

...and that's assuming the 5000 barrels estimate is correct, which most objective people - knowing about the scientific study of the flow rate - would realize is a gross underestimate.

gha

And it sounds not so scientific. When I was in school in the USA, we called that a wild arse guess. I bet BP will slowly allow more oil to enter that siphon they installed, and as it warms up they'll take more and more oil (the oil column being lighter than the water column, a lot of it should go into the siphon). So by next week we will have a surface measurement of the siphoned rates, and they will have cameras to measure what's leaking. This should pin it down.

...three scientists use three different methods and come up with about 70,000 barrels, though one guy is using pencil and paper.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126809525
One method, done by a marine geophysicist and described as "well-accepted," I heard in another report as having been around and used successfully in industry for over a decade.
The other was done by a professor of mechanical engineering.

It seems logical even to a layman if you have video of a flow it should be possible to calculate flow rate using mathematics.

What seems clear from the claims by these scientists is the flow is a lot more than 5000 barrels.

Over oil company PR people.

...i referred to in the link...???

"BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said at a press conference Monday that the oil giant is managing to capture slightly more than 1,000 barrels a day of crude leaking from the deepwater Macondo well, or about a fifth of the amount currently estimated to be spilling into the Gulf."

The scientists saying the leak is larger than 5000 barrels are independent and the flow rate estimate technique is not voodoo.

It's easy to miscommunicate, either way. I think we both agree that the situation needs transparency, and it's naive to think that BP alone can provide that. Obviously, there has been some government involvement, but more would be better, including independent third party involvement (e.g. university researchers who are experts in this and related fields).

From your link:

"'The drill pipe, from which the oil is rising, is actually a 9-inch pipe that rests within the riser,' Slavin said.

"But Wereley says that fact doesn't skew his calculation."


So he discovers the speed of particles coming out of a 20 inch pipe and calculates 70k barrels a day. When he finds out the oil is actually coming out of a 9 inch pipe, he says that doesn't change his calculation?

I don't know if they know what they're talking about :-)

You know its all bs press release written by morons when they don't even know how a siphon works.

"The company seeks to stop the flow by injecting a mud that is heavier than crude and water into the well later this week or over the weekend, Suttles said."

This should have been the first thing they tried weeks ago!

If they're capturing 2000 B/D, then that's 40 %.

Should read:

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- BP PLC (BP) said Monday it will seek to double the amount of oil it is siphoning from a leaking deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to Maximize oil profits from it's investment wile maintaining control of the well.

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said at a press conference Monday that the oil giant is managing to recover and sell slightly more than 1,000 barrels a day of crude from the deepwater Macondo well, and there is much more profit potential. "Over the course of today we'll be trying to increase our profit margine," Suttles said, adding that if the company manages to profit off of the daily spilled amount or even " sell 2,000 barrels a day of the 70,000 barrels exiting the pipe, we'd be extraordinarily pleased."

Suttles said that the successful profiteering, along with other offshore efforts such as the subsea injection of poison and the un-controlled burning of the oil rig, was "making a big difference" in the size my bonus check. After an overflight of the area affected by the incident, Suttles reported that he had seen "probably the largest amount of money I've seen on since the effort began." The company seeks to kill the planet by injecting a mud that is heavier than crude and water into the well later this week or over the weekend, Suttles said.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said at the news conference that BP's success in profiting from the spill "will diminish sea life," but "it will not kill it completely with out the use of dispersant." Favorable weather during the week is expected to help operations, however, permitting skimming operations and four controlled burns of crude on the surface. "The volume of sea life in the ocean is being reduced as we speak," Landry said.

... not only in 52 threads across DU but by any other braindead google muppet
who snips the text and thinks that it is a genuine statement ...

It would be hilarious if it wasn't so damned tragic.
:-(