[QUOTE=Alf;38299]Don’t get those suicide pills out just yet!. The well control experts on the relief wells and assisting bp are experts in their field. They do it for a living, we don’t. They see it every day so to speak, we only see it perhaps a few times in our lifetimes.
have a look at the web links for an idea of what these guys do…
http://www.bootsandcoots.com/
http://www.wildwell.com/index.php?page=about-us
http://www.jwco.com/
You’ve seen them in action before in Kuwait and Irag amongst other places. They have lot’s of expertise and ideas. I would definately want them on my team.[/QUOTE]
Like you, I have also sealed a few flowing wells before. Even if only water wells, it ain’t easy. Here’s an ineresting tale: I remember working to seal an 80 year old 24" diameter water supply well in fractured limestone that had been blasted with dynamite multiple times and had over 100 yards of material bailed out over decades. It was in the basement of an old skyscraper and we had to remove a couple of hundred feet of pump and 18" drop pipe and line-shaft turbine pump with only chain tongs and block and tackle. The sealing effort had for several days over 30 cement trucks lined up, pouring hundreds of yards of concrete into the well, the casing of which we had perforated with shaped charges. Water pumps throughout the city needed to be shut off during concrete pumping lest they draw concrete into the local reservoir and into their pumping systems. FYI, these are up to 3000 gpm systems right around 100,000 bbl/day equivalent.
Like a few others, I actually am optimistic about the relief wells killing this well. Even if there are loss zones, as long as they can somewhat seal the surface, I’m confident they can kill this well. Of course having a direct connection to upper loss zones (depending on how deep they are) will have an effect, but ultimately the mud (if properly designed) will clog up the permeability of the loss zones and even the reservoir itself and effectively cut off the pressures from the original blown well.
Oh, and don’t feed the trolls.