On 17/06/2010 5:45 AM, thunder wrote:
On Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:18:45 -0500, Jim wrote:


4. Deep offshore drilling can be made safe with correct procedures. One
way is to require an initial 100' cemented caisson with double failsafe
shutoffs instead of a single blowout preventer on the seabed. Drilling
then proceeds through the caisson. Oh, that adds $20-40 million to the
well cost? Big deal.

Standard procedure when spudding in a new hole. IIRC, you drill several
hundred feet, set casing, and cement it in. That "single blowout
preventer" is a bit of a misnomer. The BOP has three rams, a shear, an
annular, and another ram I forget the name of. BOPs, properly sized and
maintained, work. They are not meant for abandonment of the hole, but in
a pinch ... There real purpose is be able to seal the whole, while
weighting up the mud, circulating on choke, and regaining control of the
well.

Apparently, true or not there is some question if a standard BOP was used.

I think you will find when the investigation is complete, BP made some
decisions based on economics, that were rather short sighted. One, they
continued operation with a damaged annular ram. Two, switching the mud
for seawater, was, I believe, the direct cause. 5,000 feet of properly
weighted mud may have kept the gas incursion from ever happening. Using
seawater was reckless.

Amatures... You never pump water down a well to those depths unless you
want some extra pressure.

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