BP New System to Capture More Oil
July 10, 2010
BP New System to Capture More Oil – [Washington Post] – BP will begin removing the cap collecting oil from the leaking well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico Saturday afternoon and expects to replace it with a system to capture all of the oil coming out in the next week, a BP official said Saturday.
But before any permanent capping can occur, the uncapped well will once again spew its contents into the gulf in greatly increased amounts for about a day. By then, officials said, an additional ship on the surface should raise the amount of oil collected. Within four to seven days, the new “total sealing cap” should be in place and directing the oil to ships waiting on the surface.
Kent Wells, a BP senior vice president, said after taking off the cap, the company would remove a flange on the top of the well in order to attach its new cap, a set of heavy pieces of equipment made of several sections totaling more than 20 feet tall. The flange is currently held with six bolts and the company will use a special tool to disconnect it.
Wells said BP will be able to collect up to 80,000 barrels of oil a day with the new cap and the addition of a third vessel, the Helix Producer I. Currently the company has been collecting about 25,000 barrels a day with an unknown amount flowing into the gulf.
“The intent is to have the ability to take all of the flow over time,” Wells said in a technical briefing for the press.
Once the flange is removed, BP will guide the new cap over drill pipes sticking out of the well using an angled pipe on the bottom of the device called a “mule shoe.” Then the six bolts would be replaced to hold it in place atop the well.
The new cap has several connections for pipes going up to the ships collecting oil on the water’s surface.The new cap would also have the ability to measure the flow of oil accurately for the first time.
The Helix Producer will be connected to a riser pipe going from the surface to the ocean floor. The riser is then connected to a manifold on the bottom of the ocean hooked up to the kill line on the well. Officials hope the ship would be collecting oil by Sunday afternoon.With the extra collection capacity it provides, the company would no longer need to burn off oil using a flaring ship.
National Incident Commander Thad Allen announced late Friday that he has approved a detailed timeline, submitted by BP, for the delicate maneuvers required to make the switches.
The document, with extensive backup plans and explanations of how and when key decisions will be made, was required by the administration before BP began work on removing the cap.
“I validated this plan because the capacity for oil containment when these installations are complete will be far greater than the capabilities we have achieved using current systems. In addition, favorable weather expected over the coming days will provide the working conditions necessary for these transitions to be successfully completed without delays,” Allen said in a statement. “The transition to this new containment infrastructure could begin in the next days but will take seven to 10 days to complete.”
Uncapping the leak will release a heavy flow of oil and gas, but the effects should be reduced by the simultaneous connecting of a new collecting vessel to a different section of the damaged wellhead, Allen said. The process of hooking up the Helix Producer began Friday and is expected to be completed Sunday, allowing it to then begin collecting some, or perhaps all, of the additional oil being released.
If successfully attached, the new firm cap has the potential to vastly decrease the amount of oil leakage. The well, however, will be considered under control only when a relief well reaches the site and can push tons of mud and later cement into the borehole to “kill” and seal it.
During a visit to California, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that the administration will release a newly crafted moratorium on offshore drilling in the next few days. The administration wants to keep the moratorium in place while it investigates the cause of the explosion that triggered the blowout, but it lost an initial court challenge, and on Thursday the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the earlier ruling.
The administration said it did not consider the ruling a major setback because it allows the Interior Department to move in court against any operators who attempt to start deepwater drilling in the gulf. “Our view on the moratorium is that it was right when it was issued and it’s right today,” Salazar said.
Many oil and gas exploration companies view the ban as overly broad and an intrusion into their businesses. The drilling industry and some members of Congress have warned that the policy could lead to an exodus of rigs from the gulf, and with them thousands of jobs.
On Friday, one exploration company — Diamond Offshore Drilling — said it was moving its Ocean Endeavor rig from the gulf to Egypt.
