Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks - The Macondo 252 well is now officially DEAD

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 06, 2010 13:42:43 CST

Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen

Below is a transcript from Friday's teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.
A downloadable audio file of the conference is available here.
August 6, 2010
12 p.m. EDT

Thad Allen: Thank you, Jeff, and good afternoon, folks. A couple of updates, and we?ll be glad to go to questions. As you know we completed cementing the well from the top. Over the last 24 hours, several things have occurred.

They've put a layer of fluid on top of the cement and then put more mud on top of that to press it down to help add pressure to help cure the cement. That?ll be going on for 24 hours through today. They will then start pressure testing to make sure the cement is set and is holding in the well.


At the same time, we have commenced drilling through the cement shoe that was covering the end of the casing on the relief well, and they will be proceeding forward. I?d like to give you just a little bit of an update, and again, these are approximate dates moving forward of what we can expect now that we?ve submitted in the well from the top in regards to moving ahead with the relief well and cementing the well from the bottom.


Let me state upfront, because there has been some questions about this, we are unequivocally committed to completing the relief wells, drilling into the annulus and submitting the annulus as the bottom portion of this kill, and there is no indication at all that there should be ? that we completed this with the ? with the static kill from the top, just in case there?s any confusion out there. So what will happen is, we will do a ranging run over the next 24 hours, and then we?ll drill approximately 30 feet further down into the well, and between the 8<SUP>th</SUP> of August and the 13<SUP>th</SUP> of August, there?ll be three patterns where we will drill 30 feet, do a ranging run. That?s putting the wire down the hole and sensing where the pipe is at on the Macondo well, and we expect to be somewhere around the annulus around the 13<SUP>th</SUP> of August, and the drilling portion into the annulus is expected to occur somewhere between the 14<SUP>th</SUP> and the 15<SUP>th</SUP> of August.


The company, however, is prepared to move ahead and deal with the annulus somehow if they encounter it on the way down. As I?ve told you in previous briefings, we?re starting about 4-1/2 feet away from the well horizontally, and we?ll drill down at a very, very slight angle. If for some reason they penetrate the annulus in the process of doing that, they?ll prepare ? they'll be prepared to go ahead and assess the condition of the annulus at that point and go ahead and submit the well in.


We do not believe that the second try will be needed to go into the casing pipe because the indications are from the cement that was put in from the top is that the casing has been filled with cement down at that level, but we will not be sure of that until we finish the pressure checks that I mentioned earlier. But if the ? if the pressure checks hold and we have indication the casing has been sealed off with cement, then the killing alone would require only going into the annulus. But we will not know that until the pressure checks are complete on the ? on the cementing that was done yesterday and we actually enter the annulus itself and understand what the condition is at that time.

Other operations, we are spending a considerable amount of effort right now that?s been deployed. In areas where there is no oil, we are picking up the boom, and we are decontaminating it. Whether it has oil or growth ? marine growth on it, we are getting that boom cleaned and ready to deploy. There?s some areas where boom was pushed up into marshlands because of Tropical Storm Bonnie. We continue to recover that as well. But in general, as we get to a point where boom is not needed in a certain location, we will pick that boom up, get it ready for redeployment and stage it but not deploy it unless it?s absolutely necessary. We?ll work that locally with the states and the parishes as we move forward.

And with that, I?ll be glad to take your questions.

Operator: At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, please press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad.

We?ll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Greg Bluestein with the ?Associated Press.?
Greg Bluestein: Hi, Admiral. Thanks for the call. BP indicated today it could still dig another well to tap the underground reservoir that feeds the oil spill.

Has BP sought the government?s permission to do so or indicated that they would sell the lease, and should they be allowed to do so?

Thad Allen: I?m not familiar with any other attempt to drill there. The only thing I?m aware of is the second relief well that is holding at a certain depth in case we need to use that. Regarding any future production out of that well, I?m sorry, I don't have any information on that.

Greg Bluestein: Thank you.

Thad Allen: Yes.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Anne Thompson with ?NBC News.? Ms. Thompson, your line is open. Again, at this time, if you'd like to ask a question, please press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. Again, to ask a question, please press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. You have a question from the line of
Anne Thompson with ?NBC News.?

Anne Thompson: I?m sorry, Admiral Allen. We?re having some technical difficulties here. I just wanted to follow-up on Greg?s question. What?s your reaction to BP saying they may drill into this reservoir again?

Thad Allen: I hadn?t heard that, Anne. They hadn?t brought it up ? it hadn?t come up in the course of discussions that I?ve had with BP executives. I would ? I would assume that?s a policy issue related to the management of the lease and Department of Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy, and frankly it just had not been raised to my level at this point, so I?m not sure I can comment on it.

Operator: Again, to ask a question, please press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. We?ll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster.

Thad Allen: Operator, it would appear that we?re through for the day here.

Operator: Thank you for participating in today?s conference. You may disconnect at this time.

Thad Allen: Thank you.

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/850371/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Release date: 09 August 2010

BP today provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Subsea Source Control

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The MC252 well has been shut-in since July 15; there is currently no oil flowing into the Gulf. BP continues to work with the guidance and approval of the National Incident Commander and the leadership and direction of the federal government.

Following the completion of cementing operations on the MC252 well on August 5, pressure testing was performed which indicated there is an effective cement plug in the casing. BP believes the static kill and cementing procedures have been successful.

BP continues to progress the relief well operations that commenced on May 2. The well is currently at a measured depth of 17,909 feet. Progressing towards the intersect with the MC252 well will involve drilling alternating with ranging runs to confirm proximity to the well. Depending upon weather conditions, August 15th is the current estimate of the most likely date by which the first relief well will intercept the MC252 well annulus.

Operations on the second relief well, which started May 16, have been suspended at a measured depth of 15,874 feet, so as not to interfere with the completion of the first relief well.

Information on the subsea operational status is updated daily on BP?s website, www.bp.com.

http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7064292

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Subsea operational update:

• The MC252 well has been shut-in since July 15; there is currently no oil flowing into the Gulf.
• The DDIII relief well is currently at 17909 ft. Based on the National Hurricane Center prediction of a 60% chance of a tropical cyclone forming in the GoM, a decision was taken to suspend drilling activity, set a storm packer and remain on location.
• We anticipate the next update will be provided by around 10am CDT on August 11, 2010.

Updated August 10 at 9:30am CDT

http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9034427&contentId=7063885

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 10, 2010 16:28:16 CST
Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen

Below is a transcript from Tuesday's teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.
A downloadable audio file of the conference is available here.
August 10, 2010
12:00 p.m. EDT

Admiral Allen: Thank you Jeff, a couple of updates, we?ve had some changes in the last 24 hours I?d like to advise you of and be glad to take your questions.

First of all we are in a position right now to drill in about the last 30 feet of the relief well, however the low pressure system off the west coast of Florida right now, and it?s intended track has made it advisable that we cease drilling operations until that weather system is passed.

What we are going to do with the Development Driller III, is they?re going to put a storm packer into the pipe casing. That?s just basically a plug, they?re going to remove the drill string and they?re going to fill the riser pipe with sea water for stability.

They will not disconnect, they will remain there until the weather passes, in other words just reverse that procedure you know be ready to go ahead and move down towards the intersection of the annulus.

This could potentially delay the final portion of the relief well from two to three days. We?ll see how the weather goes as it passes. I?d be glad to take any questions on that.

The second issue is we have a meeting going on in Houston today and the discussion is around what we believe the condition of the annulus might be, and the annulus is that area between the pipe casing and the well bore. Regarding whether or not there are hydrocarbons present, and whether those hydrocarbons have any communications or access to the reservoir below.

With the discussion being carried out as whether or not to conduct the test of the stack and the blow out preventer to see if there?s any indication of pressure in the annulus is being pushed up from the reservoir would make a better?give us more information on how we might want to proceed with the intercept.

And that is going on at the same time, but as I said, there?s going to be a delay of two to three days while we wait for the weather system to pass. So we?re in an overabundance of caution to make sure we don?t cause any further problems down there.

We continue our aggressive search for oil whether it?s onshore or in the marshes to make sure we?re being responsive to oil that does appear. As we stated before there?s little to no oil offshore at this point. So most of our effort has been at tar balls in the marsh area of Louisiana.

We are removing some boom in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi?decontaminating that and storing it for redeployment should it be needed.
And we?re coordinating that with the local officials.

We are also making preparations for a meeting that will be held in Houma on Friday which will include the local parish presidents and Governor Jindal, and we?ll focus on the three issues we discussed approximately two weeks ago in New Orleans, which are: storm preparations and how we do that, Vessels of Opportunity, and how we will transition through their various phases as we start to remove oil and get close to making a determination on how clean is clean and how we want to make that transition with the state and local governments.

And with that I?d be glad to take any questions you have for me.

...

Read more:

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/855671/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Officials wait to see if leaky well is sealed for good

by Tom Breen / Associated Press
wwltv.com
Posted on August 13, 2010 at 8:45 AM
Updated today at 8:46 AM


NEW ORLEANS -- Officials could know by early Friday if BP's broken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has been sealed for good.

An analysis of tests on the well done Thursday was scheduled to be completed within 24 hours, letting the federal government and BP PLC know if work last month that was meant to be temporary had the unexpected effect of permanently plugging the gusher.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration's point man on the oil spill, scheduled a news conference in Schriever, La. for 12:45 p.m. CDT to give an update on the operation.

On Thursday, Allen said it's possible that the long-discussed final fix, known as a "bottom kill," won't be necessary. After a temporary cap was placed on top of the well last month, heavy drilling mud and cement were pumped in from above in what's called a "static kill."

.../
http://www.wwltv.com/news/gulf-oil-...-leaky-well-is-sealed-for-good-100617879.html

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Relief well is still needed to kill BP's well, feds say

Published: Friday, August 13, 2010, 2:14 PM Updated: Friday, August 13, 2010, 2:28 PM

Excerpts:

BP's blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is not yet plugged for good, and work on what's been touted as the permanent solution will need to continue, the federal government said Friday.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the spill response, said during a news conference Friday that crews must move forward drilling the relief well even though officials were still working out the best way to finish it.
...

Officials had been testing the pressure beneath the cement seal currently in place. Steady pressure would indicate the presence of cement in the space between the inner piping and the outer casing, likely indicating a permanent seal.

But because pressure rose during the testing, the scientists concluded that space still needs to be plugged in.
...

Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/08/relief_well_is_still_needed_to.html

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 13, 2010 17:38:29 CST

Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen

Below is a transcript from Friday?s teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.
August 13, 2010
12:45 p.m. CDT

Thad Allen: Thanks. I?ve got Paul Zukunft with me who?s head of the Unified Area Command in <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1LACE w:st="on">New Orleans</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY>. It?s been a busy day, I think we?d like to cover three main topics and then go to questions.

First of all, Admiral Zukunft is going to talk about the meeting we just held with the parish presidents and Governor Jindal regarding a number of topics and I?ll let him address that.

I?d like to talk about subsea monitoring, specifically directed at the issue that?s been raised over the last week or so about that 26 percent in the oil budget and where we?re going at a national, state and local level regarding that and then provide an update on what?s happening out in the current ? currently happening out the well head regarding the pressure tests and the relief wells. And when we?re done we?ll be glad to take questions.

So first of all, Paul, if you want to give an update on the meeting?

Paul Zukunft: Yes. Again, I want to thank each of the parish presidents, the governor for taking time out of their schedules. As we really focus in on the oiling that is unique to each of the parishes throughout the largest oil spill in history and we had a meeting several weeks ago and this was just to reiterate that there is no one plan that fits all. We have oil that?s still in the marshes that needs to be addressed and as we look at further progress being made out at the well site, this was just to reiterate that we have a transition plan that really takes us to the long term from response to restoration and then what we?ll do as a result of today?s meeting, we?ll sit down with each parish presidents, with our branch directors at each of the parishes.

We?ll be at the table together as we build out the plan over five level series that will take this to a point in time where we can declare clean is clean. But I just want to reiterate we are not there yet, but the important thing is we are at the table, at the local level where it matters and we?re working with and through each of the parish officials. As a result of that, I found it to be a very productive meeting.

Thad Allen: Thanks, Paul. Let me just add from a personal standpoint.

This is the second time we?ve sat down with the parish presidents and Governor Jindal. I appreciate their willingness to get together and talk in a very frank, sometimes unvarnished manner, to put problems on the table and deal with them and we?ll continue to work forward and I appreciate the leadership that Paul has exhibited.

And just as a side note, as I have noted in previous press briefs, the current plan right now is we get to the conditions where we can look at making a regional approach to this rather than a national approach to this and the conditions are met that we can transition to the larger recovery organizations after Secretary Mabus has issued his report. Many of the duties I have right now will be shifting to Paul as the regional incident commander.

Let me talk a little bit about subsea monitoring and then I?ll talk about the well head itself.

I will later today sign a directive as the national incident commander that will call for a coordinated, integrated system of ocean monitoring moving forward that will take the extensive amount of work that has been done by NOAA to date on hydrocarbon sampling in and around the well head and in other places in the Gulf of Mexico. We?ll also bring in EAP ? excuse me, EPA, who has been doing oil and ? I?m sorry, water and air testing. There is a significant amount of detection operations going on in and around Louisiana to detect oil under the surface and we?ve got some charts set up here that shows you how we?ve been putting snare boom down and checking that periodically to see if any oil has been attached to it as it comes through.

What we are going to do over the next week or so is put together a plan for the next 60 days that will integrate all the monitoring that?s being done and ? including reach out to state, local, academic institutions regarding their research capabilities to integrate this into a comprehensive system that will help us detect any submerged oil that?s out there, any oil that?s remaining to be dealt with. This will serve two purposes, it will direct our efforts now that we?re very close to having the well secured and as we look at the oil marshes as Admiral Zukunft talked about and the oil beaches, to the extent that there is oil out there we need to be concerned about. We?re going to do our best to locate that, detect it and move forward. This is also laying the ground work for national resource damage assessments, which will necessarily involve testing for the presence of hydrocarbons in the gulf as well and the long term impacts on the natural resources.

This hopefully will blend into the follow on long range plan to develop a data base to support ? to resource damage assessment and moving forward in regards to that. There?ll be more information coming out there later, but I will sign a directive later on today that will start that process moving inside the federal government.

Finally, we have finished approximately 24 hour period of doing an ambient pressure test on the well head. The pressure has not changed depreciably over that time period. So the one thing we can rule out right now that it has direct communication with the reservoir. Had the pressure risen, we would have known that there were hydrocarbons being forced up from the reservoir. So we know there?s some kind of a ? something that is between the annulus and the reservoir that is not allowing the flow of hydrocarbons forward. The question is what to do about that moving forward. The science team from the federal government has been meeting with BP engineers all morning. I?ve been in personal discussions with Secretary Salazar, Secretary Chu and most recently Bob Dudley, the CEO of BP before I came out to do this press briefing.

I?d like to be able to give you a definitive answer right now but it remains a work in progress. We?re trying to assess the options we have.

Everybody is in agreement. We need to proceed with the relief well. The question is how to do that that mitigates risk of introducing cement and mud into the annulus at this time and the implications of increased pressure up the annulus through the seals at the top of the well into the legacy BOP from the deep water horizon.

Between the BOP of the deepwater horizon and a capping stack, if you?ll remember, we installed something called a spooling tool where we unbolted the phalange from the riser pipe. We put that piece in and then we connected the new capping stack to it. The threshold of pressure that that can stand is 7500 psi. So that is the weak link in the mechanical chain that connects the legacy blow out preventer to the capping stack.

So we to understand the implications of pumping mud and cement into the annulus to kill it from the bottom and the implications for potential damage to that one particular weak link if you will between the blow out preventer and the capping stack. We are talking about options and how to mitigate that risk because everybody is committed to killing this well and the question is we want to do it right, we don?t want to introduce more risk moving forward. Those discussions will continue throughout today and when we reach a decision we will be making an announcement and I will issue a final orders as the National Incident Commander on the way forward.

I?m sorry I don?t have any more information on it right now but it truly remains a work in progress. And with that, we?d be glad to take your questions.

...

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/860539/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 14, 2010 18:36:25 CST
Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen

Below is a transcript from Saturday?s teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.
A downloadable audio file of the conference is available here.
August 14, 2010
2 p.m. EDT

Thad Allen: Thank you, Jeff. The purpose of the briefing today is just to update you on the announcements that I made yesterday out of Houma, La., regarding the current status of the relief well and our plans to move forward.

I indicated at that time that we were taking a look at any of the risks associated with pressurizing the annulus, that area outside the pipe casing but inside the well bore and any concerns we might have regarding pressure in the annulus as we finish the relief well.

To make everything clear up front, we have advised BP and I will be issuing a directive that will tell them to proceed with the relief well in the bottom kill, if you will. Prior to that, though, I will issue an order to BP this afternoon. I've already communicated with their senior leadership, that required them to do some tests ahead of the time so we can make sure that we've accounted for any potential risk associated with the bottom kill.

We're going to continue the ? what we call the near ambient pressure test, that is testing the pressure currently in the blowout preventer and the capping stack and we're going to continue to take pressure readings off of that. We've also asked BP to provide us an analysis of the risks associated with the annulus and any risk associated that might cause communication between the reservoir and the annulus.

We've also asked them for options on how we could conduct some kind of a pressure relief procedure ? relief valve or something like that on the capping stack, should pressure start to build up, we could relieve it as we were doing the relief well, putting in the mud and the cement. At the same time, we directed them to maintain full readiness of the relief well, that's Development Driller III.

Right now, the drill bit is at 3-1/2 feet away from the Macondo well and about 50 feet above the intercept point and they will be ready to go as soon as we give the order. In the meantime, we're going to conduct this ambient pressure test and analysis of the stability of the well to make sure that as we move forward we know exactly what we can expect and we have the best conversation we can have between the federal science team and the BP engineers.

And we've also indicated that before the BOP stack is removed, we want to make sure that BP has provided us a plan for the annulus as not representing any potential pathway for hydrocarbon flow and the conditions under which it could flow and if they think that's going to happen, how we would manage those risks.

Everything having to do with the events of the last 24 to 36 hours is trying to exclude any low probability, high consequence events, account for any issues that may arise, and I would advise everybody, we're still dealing with part of the well that we can't see and only know from pressure readings and external indications what the condition is and we will not know until we actually intercept the well. With that, I'd be glad to take any questions you have for me.

...


Gary Taylor: Hi, yes, I just wanted to make sure, are we ? we still only talking about a maximum release of just the 1,000 barrels that you said was caught in the annulus? Is that what we're talking about here?

Thad Allen: Right now we know there is 1,000 barrels of essentially stagnate oil in the annulus and what we really need to understand is, the pressure readings would tell us that it's static in there and there is no communication with the reservoir. What we're trying to figure out right now is, what is the ? what are the implications of whatever is between the annulus and the reservoir in regards to the volume and the pressure that we created by putting the mud and the cement into the annulus. But right now, what would appear to be at risk right now is the thousand barrels.

What we don't know and never want to even get close to would be a worst case scenario where we think there'd be some kind of possibility in the process of doing this that we would create some kind of a communication that we had not expected. But at this point, a realistic risk right now is the thousand barrels and BP will have directions to mitigate that, so we will take care of that before we do any bottom kill.

Full text:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/861603/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 14, 2010 15:50:04 CST

Admiral Thad Allen Issues Directive to BP on Procedures Required Prior to Completion of Relief Well and Bottom Kill


WASHINGTON - Today National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen issued a directive to BP to ensure that the proper protocols are in place before the final authorization for completion of the relief well and bottom kill. The directive can be viewed here.

For more information about response efforts, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com or www.restorethegulf.gov.


http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/861455/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 16, 2010 18:16:12 CST
Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen




Below is a transcript from Monday?s teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O></O>
August 16, 2010<O></O>
11:30 a.m. CDT <O></O>

Thad Allen: Thank you Jeff. Good day everybody. I'm going to give you an update on what's going on with the relief well. As I briefed last week and over the weekend, we are in the process right now of developing courses of action that would inform our decision when to execute the directive to BP due to the final intercept of the relief well which we will do. <O></O>

We are currently working with BP engineers and our science team to look at test results and do investigations to lead us to the best way to mitigate any risk of intercepting the annulus and increasing the pressure in the annulus. <O></O>

Just to summarize for those who have not been on the last couple of briefings, we believe there is some amount of cement that came down the casing as part of the static kill and has placed itself between the reservoir and the annulus thereby blocking oil into the annulus. <O></O>

There is a seal at the top of the annulus that connects to the blowout preventer. When we do the intercept well and commence pumping mud and cement into the annulus it will create pressure in the annulus. <O></O>

We want to make sure before I give the order and direct BP to do that, that we know the implications of that pressure, and how we will deal with it. There're basically two courses of action that are being looked at right now and at the same time we are continuing to do what we call a near ambient pressure test on the blow out preventer. <O></O>

Let me talk about the near near ambient pressure test first and I'll talk about the two options. What we have done is we've taken the pressure in the blowout preventer down to a point where it's just above the pressure outside in the ocean. <O></O>

And that's what we would call the ambient hydrostatic pressure of the weight of the water at 5,000 feet. We have created the pressure inside the BOP that's slightly above that, right around 25 to100 PSI. <O></O>

And this allows us to test for the performance of the well and the integrity of the well with the cement in it. There's no significant drop in pressure. That tells us that we have achieved integrity inside the well with the static kill and we have a stable situation moving forward. <O></O>

We are seeing very, very small drops in pressure from the near ambient pressure test and that is attributed to a gas that is in the current well column that's coming out around the flanges and forms a bubble which we could actually see and test acoustically with the ROV. <O></O>

So, with that provision it appears that the near ambient pressure test is indicating to us that we have integrity with the static kill that was done on the well. While we are assessing that, we are looking at two potential options to deal with pressure in the annulus. <O></O>

One will be to develop a relief mechanism in the current deepwater rising BOP and capping stack that will allow us to release pressure as it was built up in the annulus so there wouldn't be any threat to the BOP. <O></O>

The current system we have right now as you remember is the deepwater blowout preventer. There is a spooling tool that connects the blowout preventer to the capping stack. That is the aggregation of three different devices and as much integrity as a complete blowout preventer that was put on for that purpose would have.<O></O>

So we're exploring and have asked BP to provide us options on how they would come up with a pressure relief method for that capping stack and the blowout preventer.

We're also looking at the feasibility of actually going ahead and removing the capping stack and the blowout preventer because we have integrity in the well and actually bringing in a new blowout preventer and putting that on in advance of the bottom kill.<O></O>

If we were to do that, any pressure would be generated in the annulus and any forcing up of product through that seal into the blowout preventer could be easily handled within a blowout preventer which is rated much higher and at much higher pressure levels than would be produced in the annulus. <O></O>

This is a subject of ongoing conversation. The science team will meet later on today and then they will brief Secretary Chu and Secretary Salazar. And the science team and Secretary Chu will make a recommendation on how to proceed. <O></O>

In the meantime we are continuing an over abundance of caution to make sure we have mitigated risks at each point prior to directing the intercept of the well and we will continue to do that. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have for me.

.../
<O>http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/864119/</O>

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

August 18, 2010 8:20:40 AM CDT

Ambient Pressure Test Results from PT_3K_2 Transmitter

There is a near-ambient pressure test being conducted on the well to continually measure the pressure in the blowout preventer and the capping stack as responders prepare for the final stages of the relief well.

Sensors measure the pressure in the well bore above the cement plug, as monitored at the capping stack. The differential drop in pressure on the morning of Aug. 14 was planned and expected ? necessary for a scientific testing subset as part of the ongoing pressure tests.

BP plans and expects an increase in the ambient pressure of the well head to climb to approximately ~ 2500 psi this afternoon (Aug 17).

If you have questions, please contact the BP representative at the UAC Joint Information Center: (713) 323-1670.

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12-Aug-10 21:00:00 2737.5


http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/861755/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 18, 2010 4:43:43 PM CDT

Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen with Dr. Jane Lubchenco

Below is a transcript from Wednesday?s teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill with Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator.
A downloadable audio file of the conference is available here.
August 18, 2010
11:15 a.m. CDT


Excerpt:

We continue to assess the condition of the well. The science team continues to meet with the BP engineers. There are a couple of things we are doing to reduce the timeline for what will occur after decisions are made. One is the direction I provided, to take the blowout preventer from Development Driller II, the second relief well, and make preparations to bring that to the scene. Whether we put a new blowout preventer before or after the bottom kill will be needed, so this is an effort that will have to be expended anyway.

In addition to that, we are bringing the Discoverer Enterprise in over the well. And over the next day, we will use the Q4000 and the Discoverer Enterprise to actually circulate any extraneous materials and liquids that are in the blowout preventer, the area of the well above the cement plug, and the capping stack to purge that system completely. And when we are done, we will fill it with seawater, and then we will do an ambient pressure test with the same type of liquid that's inside the blowout preventer that is outside the blowout preventer to ascertain if there are any issues regarding well integrity with the annulus and any types of leakage.

As you know, we've dropped the pressure in the capping stack down significantly. We see slight pressure drops throughout the day. We attribute that to gas that is coming up from residual product that's in the well and escaping through those leaks that are in the flanges, the blowout preventer and the capping stack. Our intent is to flush that entire system, fill it with seawater, equalize the type of material that's inside and outside, and do an ambient pressure test.

This will be one of the final vital signs that we will need in order to make a determination on how to go forward and whether or not to proceed with the bottom kill through the annulus with some kind of a pressure control on the existing capping stack and blowout preventer or actually bring in a blowout preventer from the DDII and put that on before we do the bottom kill...

Read more:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/872525/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 19, 2010 10:45:31 AM CDT

Admiral Thad Allen Issues Directive to BP Providing Authorization and Conditions for BOP Replacement Prior to Completion of the Relief Well


WASHINGTON - Today, National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen issued a directive to BP providing authorization to replace the BOP on the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo 252 well, including the specific conditions required for the replacement to take place. If conditions are satisfied, this action will occur before Admiral Allen provides final authorization to complete the relief well and bottom kill. The directive can be viewed here.


http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/874015/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 19, 2010 7:17:29 PM CDT

Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen

Below is a transcript from Thursday's teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

August 19, 2010

12 p.m. EDT

Thad Allen: Thanks, Jeff. Good afternoon. I'd like to update you on the current planning and the future intentions regarding the ? a bottom kill of the well.​

Let me start with a couple of contextual remarks.​

Over the last week or so that we've had intense negotiations and discussions between the government science team headed by Secretary Steven Chu and the BP engineers in Houston. The central point of discussion has revolved around the likelihood of pressure building in the annulus between the well and well bore at the time of intersection.​

And just to refresh you all, the drill bit right now on the relief well from Development Driller III sits about 3-1/2 feet from the well itself, and about 50 feet above the intersection point. It's been held there pending a decision based on the consultations between the science team and the BP engineers regarding whether or not we should handle ? how we should handle the pressure related to the intersection when the mud goes into the annulus.​

There are two potential scenarios. Do we have a problem? I'm sorry. I'm seeing a lot of non-verbals in the room here.​

Female: No, sir we just don?t want any flash photography (inaudible).​

Thad Allen: OK, thank you. Thank you. The consultations thus far revolved around two potential scenarios. One involves going ahead and intersecting the annulus with the current blow out preventer and the capping stack in place.​

The other one is to replace the current blow out preventer and capping stack with a new blow out preventer prior to conducting the intersect. As we were taking part in these discussions, we directed that they prepare the blow out preventer on Development Driller II ? that's the one that's associated with the second relief well for use as a blow out preventer, should we need that.​

We also directed BP to flush out the current blow out preventer and capping stack, clean it out and fill it with sea water in anticipation of an ambient test where we have sea water in the BOP that is the same liquid that we have outside the BOP to allow us to do a more accurate pressure test.​

All that has been completed and last night we agreed to proceed to remove the current blow out preventer and capping stack, replace it with a new blow preventer in advance of the well kill subject to conditions.​

The conditions are that we'll conduct an ambient pressure test. That is a test conducted with sea water inside the blow out preventer, the same type of liquid that is outside the blow out preventer.​

And the course of that test over 48 hours, which began this morning,that we find no anomalies and there are no hydrocarbons present. The second condition is that we will, upon completion of the ambient pressure test, conduct what we call a fishing experiment. And that's exactly what it is.​

We are going to actually put a drill bit down in the blow out preventer and attempt to extract the drill pipe. The reason we want to try and extract the drill pipe that reduces the risk that when we remove the blow out preventer and put the new one on, there won't be an (off score) or some kind of a bar to having a seal with the new blow out preventer.​

And we have told BP you need to do the ambient test, conduct the fishing experiment, come back to us with the results and then we will proceed after that to give them following ? discussions as a follow on.​

All of this has been done over an overabundance of caution related to minimizing risk associated with the intersection of the well. We are very, very close to the end. This gets to be a very, very complex evolution and there are no black and white choices here and this has required a significant amount of discussion.​

In addition, when we remove the blow out preventer from the deep water horizon and we start dealing with pipe ? drill pipe associated with the well, we necessarily have consultations with the joint investigation team and the Department of Justice regarding materiality of this material is it relates to ongoing investigations.​

So any process that we talk about moving forward necessarily involves the science team and the BP engineers, but it also involves understanding what the disposition of the equipment will be once it's removed in relation to the ongoing investigations.​

At the press brief yesterday someone asked about a timeline, I said there was no timeline at the present and that was true. There remains a sequence of events that will be carried out. They are conditions based. When we take one step and we are successful, we will move to the next step.​

Should all these steps prove successful and we move towards the eventual intersection of the well, that could take place sometime the week after Labor Day. That's as specific of a timeline that I'm prepared to give you at this point because there are a lot of intervening steps that have to be taken.​

And I don?t want to create the expectation we'll meet a certain date when we need to know the results of the pressure test and the fishing experiment will take place. And that's the brief for today and I'll be glad to take your questions.​

.../
Read more:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/875243/​

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 20, 2010 8:17:57 AM CDT

Ambient Pressure Test Results from PT_3K_2 Transmitter

There is a near-ambient pressure test being conducted on the well to continually measure the pressure in the blowout preventer and the capping stack as responders prepare for the final stages of the relief well.

Sensors measure the pressure in the well bore above the cement plug, as monitored at the capping stack. The differential drop in pressure on the morning of Aug. 14 was planned and expected ? necessary for a scientific testing subset as part of the ongoing pressure tests.

If you have questions, please contact the BP representative at the UAC
Joint Information Center: (713) 323-1670.

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15-Aug-10 05:00:00 2493.7
15-Aug-10 03:00:00 2498.6
15-Aug-10 01:00:00 2498.6
14-Aug-10 23:00:00 2503.1
14-Aug-10 21:00:00 2508.0
14-Aug-10 19:18:00 2512.5
14-Aug-10 15:00:00 2521.9
14-Aug-10 13:00:00 2526.7
14-Aug-10 11:00:00 2526.8
14-Aug-10 09:00:00 2728.1
14-Aug-10 07:00:00 2733.0
14-Aug-10 05:00:00 2737.5
14-Aug-10 03:00:00 2737.5
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13-Aug-10 23:00:00 2742.4
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12-Aug-10 23:00:00 2742.4
12-Aug-10 21:00:00 2737.5

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/861755/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Subsea operational update:

• The MC252 well has been shut-in since July 15; there is currently no oil flowing into the Gulf.
• The 48 hour Ambient Pressure Test that started yesterday at approximately 6:40am is continuing.
• As directed by the NIC, the DDII is preparing its BOP for further use on the Macondo well. In doing so, the storm packer has been set and the riser is being displaced with seawater prior to unlatching from the well.
• The DDIII is on standby but maintaining full readiness to proceed when directed.
• We anticipate the next update will be provided by around 10am CDT on August 21, 2010.

Updated August 20 at 9:00am CDT

http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9034427&contentId=7063885

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 21, 2010 9:59:57 AM CDT

Admiral Allen Issues Directive to BP Authorizing the BOP Fishing Procedure

WASHINGTON - National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen late last night issued a directive to BP authorizing the BOP fishing procedure ? a preparation procedure for the removal and replacement of the current BOP on the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo 252 well -provided that certain specific steps are taken to preserve forensic evidence, including the development of a timeline and plan to remove and replace the current BOP stack and full cooperation with the Joint Investigation Team and the Department of Justice. The letter directs BP to submit for review and approval a procedure for the BOP salvage operation, and it sets out a series of conditions related to execution of that procedure designed to ensure that the BOP salvage is performed in a way that doesn?t compromise the investigation. The letter also directs BP to ensure live ROV feeds are in place prior to the removal and recovery process to document those activities. The directive can be viewed here.

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/876239/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 23, 2010 6:34:48 PM CDT
Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen

Below is a transcript from Monday?s teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.
A downloadable audio file of the conference is available here.
August 23, 2010
12:30 p.m. EDT

Thad Allen: Thank you, Jeff.

Good afternoon. I'd like to provide you an update regarding our operations at the wellhead. Just to bring you up to speed on what transpired over the weekend, as of Saturday morning, we finished the 48-hour ambient pressure test.

There were no anomalies detected, and it was considered a successful test, which means there was no indication that we have an integrity issue with the cement plug that was put in during the static kill, and there were no other pressure changes inside the blowout preventer, which was filled with seawater, to have the same type of a density of a liquid in the blowout preventer and the capping stack that we had on the outside to conduct the ambient pressure test.

Starting on Saturday and through the day, we are conducting what we call fishing. As the name alludes to, it is technically and actually putting a line down the BOP, first a camera to ascertain piping that might be in there, and then ascertaining its condition, and making preparations and doing diagnostics inside the blowout preventer, the best way to remove the pipe. Our desire would be to remove those pipes before we proceed with the blowout preventer removal.

To tell you what we found there, there are basically three sections of pipe. There was a section of pipe that is suspended in the middle on the center line that we believe goes down below the blowout preventer into the well some distance. There is a shorter piece of pipe that is sitting beside that pipe in the blowout preventer that was broken or cut about the length of the blowout preventer itself. And then there's a very small piece of pipe laying crosswise.

We believe these pipes are where they're at as a result of the diamond wire cut that we attempted on the riser pipe and then the final shear cut that we did. And we know which cuts were where, because one pipe has a very clean cut, indicating that ? that was cut by the diamond wire saw. And the other one is compressed and cut, which would indicate that was cut by the shears that we used.

So we have a good idea of where the pipes are at and where they're located. We're now conducting diagnostics inside the BOP and the capping stack to ascertain the best way to remove the pipes.

I also over the weekend ? I provided direction to BP to provide us several procedures, and we are reviewing those at this time. One is a procedure for removing the capping stack and retrieving it. And the second one is the procedure to recover the lower marine riser package and the blowout preventer with the Q4000 and then to replace that with the blowout preventer that has been pulled up on Development Driller 2 from the second relief well.

As part of the direction to BP, we have made sure that they have coordinated with Transocean, Cameron, other parties to ensure that the procedures reflect their understanding of what we require, what the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management requires, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice.

And then we've also directed them and they have acknowledged that they will preserve any evidentiary value, the BOP stack, the capping stack, and any other equipment or material that'll be removed or recovered from this operation and that they will comply with the physical evidence collection directives that were issued by the joint investigation team.

And we also directed them and they have acknowledged to maintain readiness to enable capture and removal of oil in the event of a release during any of these procedures.

We are also having them prepare a contingency procedure in case we need to recover the blowout preventer with the drill pipe inside it. As I said, we're doing diagnostics right now, but we have asked them to give us a plan by tomorrow on how we would move ahead if for some reason we cannot remove the pipe from the blowout preventer.

And we will ? we have provided them direction and they understand that there will be a custody team that will take custody of all materials when they're removed and they'll be given direction by the joint investigation team and the Department of Justice.

And we have directed them to acknowledge ? and they have ? that anybody involved in this has unfettered access to observe and record your entire removal and recovery process, commencing with the preparation for detachment of the blowout preventer stack and the capping stack.

And we've also required them ? and they have acknowledged ? that they need to have continuous live ROV feeds during this process, from removal and recovery and federal government ? federal personnel both onshore and on-scene need to confirm that the permanent recordings ? that there are permanent recordings that will be taken throughout and that the live feed has enough redundancies to maintain continuous visual contact to actually capture the entire removal, replacement and recovery process. And we will also be adding requirements for photography throughout the process.

So that's where we're at right now. We'd like to finish the fishing experiment, remove the pipe if we can, and we either remove the pipe through the fishing process or the removal of blowout preventer to go ahead and proceed with moving the blowout preventer, subject to our approval of the plans that BP has submitted.

With that, I'd be glad to take any questions you have for me.

.../
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/880787/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

DATE: August 25, 2010 5:28:55 PM CDT

Transcript ? Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen


Below is a transcript from Wednesday?s teleconference press briefing by Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.
A downloadable audio file of the conference is available here.
August 25, 2010
12 p.m. EDT

<HR>The additions that are italicized below are being included at the request of Adm. Allen to further clarify and respond to questions raised during the teleconference.

Q. What chemicals were used in the recent flush to remove hydrates?​

A. BP used a methanol soak as the predominant medium for melting the hydrates. They also circulated MEG water - methyl ethylene glycol (antifreeze) - to help improve visibility conditions.​

Q. Will there be ROV feeds available to observe the pipe removal?​

A. BP will have the regular suite of ROV's on scene for the operation and the pipe extraction should be visible through the Enterprise ROV camera.​

<HR>Thad Allen: Thank you. I'd like to give you an update on what's going on with our attempt to remove the blow out preventer and first conduct diagnostics related to that. As you know we did an ambient pressure test.

That successfully concluded last Saturday and we did I believe what's called a fishing experiment since then looking to ascertain the condition of the capping stack, lower marine riser package and blow out preventer.

Over the last 48 hours we have done diagnostics inside the capping stack and we found out that there were some issues with opening and closing the rams related to the buildup of hydrates inside the capping stack that were prohibiting us from deploying the camera and the pipe to recover ? the drill to recover the pipe.

In the last 24 hours we have flushed the capping stack and the blow out preventer with methanol that actually opened and closed those rams so they are functionally properly right now as a result. At this time we are moving forward to lower the drill bit down with a latching device to start looking at the three pieces of pipe that we had talked about earlier.

Now I'd like to make one correction to the statement I made last week. I estimated the pipe and I had not talked to BP, of being about 40 feet in length. It is about 13 feet in length. There's another piece of pipe laying horizontally that?s about 18 inches and the third piece of pipe extends down into the blowout preventer and we do not know how far that goes down below the blowout preventer. That will be the next step in the diagnostics as we move forward.

Our steps right now will be to remove the two pieces of pipe that we know are just laying there disconnected. And then following that ascertain the condition of the remaining pipe that goes to the blowout preventer and once we have diagnosed the condition of that pipe, we'll make a decision whether or not to remove the pipe itself or remove the blowout preventer with the pipe attached.

A lot of this will have to do with some of the things we will learn once we get down there and actually get a good picture of the pipe and are able to (inaudible) the diagnostics associated with it. And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Operator: And ladies and gentlemen if you would like to ask a question at this time please press star then the number one on your telephone keypad. Our first question comes from Kristen Hayes of Reuters.

Kristen Hays: Yes hello Admiral. Are you still planning on possibly removing the blowout preventer tomorrow or have the diagnostics taken a little bit longer and maybe that will come later?

Thad Allen: It will probably take, this current effort will probably take anywhere between 24 and 36 hours. If we can remove the pipe without having to remove the blowout preventer with the pipe, we would rather do that. We were delayed because of the obstructions we found in the capping stack and the condition of the rams and the hydrates, so we fixed that and the rams are functioning once again.

So I'd say we probably took about a 24 or 36 hour hit on the timeline. Or we could ? we could buy that back based on the condition of the pipes and what we find out moving forward today. But I would say probably a 24 to 36 hour delay at this point to be determined later on today when we actually get the results of the further diagnostics.

Kristen Hays: OK, thank you.

Operator: Your next question comes from Harry Weber of the Associated Press.

Harry Weber: Hi Admiral. Can you give us a step-by-step timeline if you can with regard to removing the blowout preventer? Are you now saying that it's likely to be removed from the seabed on Friday? And then can you take us forward from there right up to the bottom kill, just so we have an idea of when you expect things to happen and what you expect to happen.

Thad Allen: I will give you a sequence of steps and I'll attach the approximate times I think it'll take to do it. It will depend on the conditions.
So no hard and fast time, I think we're still looking, trying to do this the week following Labor Day, but let me take you through the steps.

Where we are at right now, we have completely ? we completely understand now the condition of the capping stack and the condition of the rams and removed all hydrates. That will allow us to proceed with the cameras and the fishing tools if you will down into the lower marine riser package where there are three pieces of pipe.

We believe we can easily remove two of those pieces of pipe because they're standing free inside lower marine riser package. After that, we will have to determine the condition of the pipe extending down into the blowout preventer, if it goes below that down into the well, if the pipe somehow might have been cut and is suspended there and it was cut below the blowout preventer, there's no pipe we do not know any of that right now because we cannot see down there.

We are creating alternatives that will allow us to either remove the pipe if it's removable. And if it is not, plans to how we were remove the blowout preventer with the pipe attached and bring that to the surface and cut the pipe at some point. Our science team and BP engineers continue to work with all those alternatives as we move forward. We are hoping however to remove the two pieces of pipe and have a better idea today or tomorrow about the remaining piece of pipe.

That necessarily moves the removal of the blowout preventer to when we finish all of that. And the removal of the blowout preventer will be dependent on the condition of the pipe and whether or not we can remove it or have to remove the blowout preventer with the pipe attached.

At that point, the development driller two, which has a relief blowout preventer has completely filled it's riser with seawater and is standing by to unlatch the blowout preventer and proceed over. We're not going to have them do that until we're actually ready to make the switch. Once we ascertain the condition the pipe and are ready to remove the blowout preventer, the first thing we will do is remove the capping stack and the transition spooling tool we used to connect to the lower marine riser package.

Once those are removed and brought to the surface, they will then remove the blowout preventer, how we will remove the blowout preventer will be dependent upon whether or not there's a pipe in it or not, which is yet to be determined. Once that has happened, we will then move the new blowout preventer in place and after testing and latch up and making sure all the pressures are tested, we will be able to at that point to be prepared to proceed with the completion of the intersection well and the bottom kill.

That is the sequence of events and again I am hesitant to attach a timeline to it because we do not know the condition of the pipe which would indicate how we would go in removing the deepwater riser and blowout preventer.

Harry Weber: Thank you.

...

Read more:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/885111/

 

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Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

Re: Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster- Update on BP's attempt to stop the oil leaks

BP exec avoids question on relief well completion

by Associated Press
wwltv.com
Posted on August 26, 2010 at 10:33 AM

HOUSTON -- A senior BP executive is again avoiding committing the oil giant to using relief wells to seal to the Gulf of Mexico well that blew out in April.

The comments by Senior Vice President Kent Wells on Thursday indicated there may still be disagreement between BP and Retired Coast Guard Adm Thad Allen ...

http://www.wwltv.com/news/gulf-oil-...tion-on-relief-well-completion-101564993.html