BP Top kill procedure - aptly named?

Top kill procedure diagram (jpg, 729KB)

The primary objective of the top kill process is to put heavy kill mud into the well so that it reduces the pressure and then the flow from the well. Once the kill mud is in the well and it’s shut down, then we follow up with cement to plug the leak.

For the top kill procedure we are designing equipment to pump the highest kill rate we can, irrespective of the flow rate of oil from the well (COMMENT: Wouldn't having an accurate estimate of the output of the well allow you to make better decisions regarding the practicality of this approach?), to force a downward flow of mud into the well. This, combined with the heavy drilling fluid is designed to eventually stop the flow. This has never been attempted at these depths. This is very complex – and involves several complex procedures coming together.

Detailed description of the procedure We have the Q4000 vessel at the surface which has a crane for lifting heavy equipment and is a central part of the surface equipment for this procedure. We also have a number of other vessels: the HOS Centerline, with Halliburton pumping equipment; the HOS Strongline; and the BJ Services Blue Dolphin and Halliburton Stim Star IV pumping boats.

A total of 50,000 barrels of mud will be on location to kill the well – far more than necessary, but we want to be prepared for anything. Pumping capacity on location is more than 30,000 hydraulic horsepower.

The mud will be pumped down the 6-5/8 inch drill pipe (pipe is connected to the Q4000), then through 3-inch hoses, which go through the manifold on the seafloor. Then the mud moves through another set of 3-inch hoses attached to the Deepwater Horizon BOP choke and kill lines.

With the manifold, we can also pump the ‘junk shot’ if necessary to stop too much of the kill mud going out through the top of the BOP rather than going down into the well to stop the flow. By switching valves in the subsea manifold, we can inject the ‘bridging material’ (the junk), which will prevent such losses and enable the top kill to continue.

We’ve been testing the junk shot on-shore, looking at different configurations of what might restrict the flow out of the Deepwater Horizon riser and what types of materials would help shut it off. Materials in a junk shot can include well-known items such as pieces of tires, golf balls, and pieces of rope.

Most of the equipment is on site and preparations continue for this operation.

This page was last updated 23 May 2010

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U.S. Needs to Cap the Well

BP needs to stop trying to salvage this well and just cap it.  Or the U.S. Government needs to do it for them if BP is too incompetent to take care of business.  While BP has an incentive to try to recoup their losses and have tried to dome it and suck it up through a straw of a pipe... ask yourself, "What have they done to cap the well and stop it from spewing more into the ocean?"

Nothing.  Haven't heard it mentioned yet.  Maybe they can't do it until they build their second relief well or maybe their shareholders demand that they salvage as much as they can to offset the losses from this disaster.  Maybe their fiduciary responsibility to their stakeholders provides a conflict of interest with all the citizens of the Gulf Region of the United States and other countries around the Gulf.

What would it take for the U.S. Government to say, "Enough is enough.  We are sending in the best and the brightest to stop this problem today." 

Let's demand action from Homeland Security to step in and protect the Homeland.  Not just with booms and dispersants, but submersibles with the capacity to stop the flow.

This is a public health and safety issue that is essential to protecting the prosperity of citizens of the United States of America.  If ever there was a time for the Department of Homeland Security to step up to the plate and demand action, it is now.

Kick BP out of there and fine them substantially for their failure to drill in a safe manner.  Raise the fine limit to something proportional to the damage caused.  $75 million is seriously inadequate to incentivize a company that nearly profits to the tune of $70 million per day.

The U.S. Government needs to step in now and kick BP out.  It is a matter of National Security.  It is a matter of protecting the Homeland.  This is more important then border patrol.  This is more important than bailouts for Greece.  This is more important than volcanoes in Iceland.  This is more important than primary elections between party-changers and teabaggers. 

This is not Obama's Katrina.  This is BP's disaster.  They need to pay for it, but can they fix it?  After the failed attempts so far and the solutions that allow them to continue to gather their precious crude are we really going to wait around for the, 'junk shot'?  Now that's just a kick in the pants.