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Top kill question.
Posted on 5/23/10 at 10:16 pm
Posted on 5/23/10 at 10:16 pm
If the top kill is a success,does this close the well forever or can It be reopened. If it can not be opened again,might be a reason BP is going slow on this. Maybe the only way BP wants to stop it,is with the relief well. What is your take on this?
1
Posted on 5/23/10 at 10:22 pm to TIGER2
this well is likely damaged beyond repair, if there actually was a massive casing failure very shallow - like at the casing hanger or just below the BOP stack. that's pretty much impossible to fix in order to yield a producable well.
if they are able to kill it from surface by putting away heavy mud, that would just get the well under control, it still has to be permanently abandoned w/ cement plugs throughout. so think of it as just the beginning of the abandonment process, not the end.
if they are able to kill it from surface by putting away heavy mud, that would just get the well under control, it still has to be permanently abandoned w/ cement plugs throughout. so think of it as just the beginning of the abandonment process, not the end.
Posted on 5/23/10 at 11:12 pm to oilfieldtiger
So the relief well can`t be used as a permanent way to get oil from this well.
Posted on 5/23/10 at 11:13 pm to TIGER2
Yes it will be used for that. But the original well will be abandoned.
Posted on 5/23/10 at 11:22 pm to MoreOrLes
Thanks All.
This post was edited on 5/23/10 at 11:23 pm
Posted on 5/24/10 at 7:01 am to MoreOrLes
quote:
Yes it will be used for that.
i don't think anyone can say at this point whether the relief well will be suitable for production.
If for nothing else, this has to do w/ the nature of how you drill a relief well. the relief well could possibly TD in the old wellbore, which would make it unsuitable for production. if the relief well did not enter the old wellbore, but rather just got very close in the formation, it still likely wouldn't be usable. when you drill a relief well, you run a string a casing immediately prior to enterring the old wellbore or formation, and in this case that would be a string of 7" casing -- just like on the blowout well. now you would be left w/ a very small completion to try and produce though -- something like 5" casing on bottom. in short, the hole you're drilling at TD would be too small to effectively produce a prolific zone like this.
Posted on 5/24/10 at 8:57 am to oilfieldtiger
how is the "top kill" supposed to work? any mud pumped into the wellbore is just going to blow right out of the hole into the sea
are they planning on running an injection line into the well bore and try to pump mud into the bottom hole?
are they planning on running an injection line into the well bore and try to pump mud into the bottom hole?
Posted on 5/24/10 at 9:53 am to supatigah
based on the graphics i have seen, they plan to gain access to the wellbore via the choke and kill lines on the BOP stack.
The BOP has two lines (called the choke and kill) that are 15,000 psi lines that run from the BOP stack to the rig on the side of the riser. in the event you have to deal w/ high pressure, you shut in the well w/ the BOP, and take the high pressure fluids to surface using one of these 2 lines -- as the riser is not designed to handle this kind of pressure. each choke/kill line has 2 points of entry to the BOP stack at staggered intervals relative to the BOP rams. this ensure that whatever ram you have to close, you have a choke or kill line available beneath it to deal w/ the pressure.
the problem is the choke/kill lines are permanent piping and they are pretty much integratl to the riser joints -- so it's not like they'r readily accessible to an ROV or some external connection on the seafloor (as opposed to the hot stabs discussed earlier). To tie into them would require making some kind of modification at depth, then figuring out a way to make a high pressure connection at that point.
how they plan to direct the flow within the BOP stack, i haven't a clue.
The BOP has two lines (called the choke and kill) that are 15,000 psi lines that run from the BOP stack to the rig on the side of the riser. in the event you have to deal w/ high pressure, you shut in the well w/ the BOP, and take the high pressure fluids to surface using one of these 2 lines -- as the riser is not designed to handle this kind of pressure. each choke/kill line has 2 points of entry to the BOP stack at staggered intervals relative to the BOP rams. this ensure that whatever ram you have to close, you have a choke or kill line available beneath it to deal w/ the pressure.
the problem is the choke/kill lines are permanent piping and they are pretty much integratl to the riser joints -- so it's not like they'r readily accessible to an ROV or some external connection on the seafloor (as opposed to the hot stabs discussed earlier). To tie into them would require making some kind of modification at depth, then figuring out a way to make a high pressure connection at that point.
how they plan to direct the flow within the BOP stack, i haven't a clue.
Posted on 5/24/10 at 9:59 am to oilfieldtiger
quote:
how they plan to direct the flow within the BOP stack,
This is a big part of the problem with the plan. The BOP was modified with no schematics to show what is the actual configuration. There are major disagreements from all parties on which way the top kill should be routed. There have been a number of simulated tests that have been tried that were successful. However, due to disagreements on the configuration some involved think that it could make the situation worse if an attempt is made and the configuration is wrong.
Posted on 5/24/10 at 12:46 pm to oilfieldtiger
quote:
how they plan to direct the flow within the BOP stack, i haven't a clue.
+1
This post was edited on 5/25/10 at 10:30 am
Posted on 5/24/10 at 2:12 pm to Sid in Lakeshore
LINK to video of ROV modifying the choke and kill line
The video takes a few minutes to load. If anyone want a perspective of what it takes to do a simple task at 5000 feet below the surface watch the video.
The video takes a few minutes to load. If anyone want a perspective of what it takes to do a simple task at 5000 feet below the surface watch the video.
Posted on 5/24/10 at 3:31 pm to TigerFred
Posted on 5/24/10 at 4:35 pm to TigerFred
Thanks for the excellent links Fred. 
Very informative.
Very informative.
Posted on 5/24/10 at 9:52 pm to oilfieldtiger
quote:
don't think anyone can say at this point whether the relief well will be suitable for production.
Like he said, it's way to early to tell because any future possibilities depend on near term decisions. And those near term decisions depend on information that may or may not be available yet.
This post was edited on 5/25/10 at 9:01 am
Posted on 5/25/10 at 9:47 am to mhasen1
LINK to a technical presentation by BP on the Top Kill procedure and other options
The video is roughly 13 minutes long. It is extremely informative with regard to the actual process that is going to take place.
The video is roughly 13 minutes long. It is extremely informative with regard to the actual process that is going to take place.
This post was edited on 5/25/10 at 10:18 am
Posted on 5/25/10 at 10:21 am to TigerFred
Thanks Fred. Very informative for a lay person like myself.
Posted on 5/25/10 at 11:00 am to COTiger
Thank you Fred
Just watched the 13 min video and feel a little bit better about the situation. Sort of gives an outline of what they have been doing and there line of thinking. Little less pissed at BP, really was starting to think something was up with the whole process. Hopefully they can stop it tomorrow
Just watched the 13 min video and feel a little bit better about the situation. Sort of gives an outline of what they have been doing and there line of thinking. Little less pissed at BP, really was starting to think something was up with the whole process. Hopefully they can stop it tomorrow
Posted on 5/25/10 at 11:25 am to GREENHEAD22
I asked my neighbor the same question last night.. He runs a Generation III rig and he feels the Top Kill will work. IF they can get the correct inlet to the pipe.
I guess that's what it comes down to.
I guess that's what it comes down to.
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