[QUOTE=alvis;35232]Nitrogen? How does this thing work?[/QUOTE]
the nitrogen simply occupies the space inside the pipe untill they are ready for the gas and oil to flow. similar to the drilling mud in the well.
[QUOTE=CPTdrillersails;35219]
I was dubious of this contraption from the start. You can’t just set a flat rubber seal on a set of unevenly cut pipe ends and expect to create a good enough seal contain a very high pressure (9000psi? 10,000psi?) flow. You couldn’t even contain a low pressure flow with that.
I don’t understand why they didn’t fabricate a fishing tool to force thread over the riser. It could also have had gates to relieve the pressure during the installation process.[/QUOTE]
Some decisions make it seem like they were in a bit of a hurry…BUT why…? simply to disguise the views of a free flow emerging out the top of the BOP/LMRP…?
That diamond bandsaw appeared to be an elegant design…NOT sure why they didn’t remove/repair/redeploy…
OR come back in with it, like an arborist’s technique, take the branch off 6-12" from the intended final cut line, like they ultimately did with the super jaws…and [I]then[/I] make the final clean cut with the diamond bandsaw…?
Or…a similar tool to the bandsaw that would clamp to the bop/lmrp and then grind/file the pipe…
Moving Forward: How big do they make C-clamps…?
Well, Mr. Smith, since you are so into lists, here’s a list you need to take a hard look at. And while you’re at it, Tony, these guys would like their lives back, too.
[B]Dale Burkeen[/B]
[B]Donald Clark[/B]
[B]Roy Wyatt Kemp[/B]
[B]Jason Anderson[/B]
[B]Stephen Curtis[/B]
[B]Gordon Jones[/B]
[B]Karl Kleppinger[/B]
[B]Blair Manuel[/B]
[B]Dewey Revette[/B]
[B]Shane Roshto[/B]
[B]Adam Weise[/B]
[B][/B]
[B](p.s. Michael: All we want is for the Operators to put Safety ahead of profits, (which is actually the only sustainable way to maximize profits, anyway) to walk their talk, and to quit cutting corners for the sake of short-term gain. If they do that, and treat these HPHT deepwater wells as responsibly as the US Navy treats their onboard nuclear power plants, then, and only then will they achieve the proper respect and balance for the stewardship they have been given.)[/B]
Killed rig worker suspected BP was cutting corners
Would seem that, regardless of how good a seal they’ve achieved, that they would want a rigid/clamped union of the cap to riser cutoff…with any needed takeoffs happening at the top of the LMRP caps own riser tube…
…with that in mind…it would seem possible to engineer some mini-junk shots that might help seal the imperfections/leaks in the cap to cut-off riser seal…
…i dunno - maybe some quick on-offs with the surface pumping during the injections, thus allowing the junk to find those leak paths rather than going straight back up to the mothership…
Aha,
So they are working on an overshot tool after all. From the Times Picayune:
At the end of the month, BP planned to replace the current cap on the blowout preventer with a heavier, better sealing cap called an “overshot tool.” That tool is now under construction. It will feed oil from the well to a floating pipe, suspended 300 feet below the surface. That pipe will attach via flexible hose to a containment ship on the surface, but it will be built with a containment drum to collect oil so that it can be disconnected in case a storm requires the Gulf be cleared of vessels and the response effort temporarily halted.
I wonder if the image that PLCGuy posted at #2014 could be DP inside of the riser Plus rearranged choke and kill lines?
[QUOTE=CPTdrillersails;35246]Aha,
So they are working on an overshot tool after all. From the Times Picayune:[/QUOTE]
See 9:20 mark of Kent Wells’ May 31 Tech Update…[U]Overshot Tool[/U]
[QUOTE=OldHondoHand;35172]CM, are you talking about a view of inside the flexjoint, or of the riser after it was sheared? Post 2002 has an attachment that has one of the riser with the dual pipes in it. I am really trying to get my head around what/how there are two pipes inside the riser. One certainly is the DP, and the other is so similar I have to wonder if they didn’t shear the DP, then cycle the shear rams, and when they opened it up, slingshot the sheared DP up into the riser alongside the upper section. Some have suggested it is the lower production liner, but I cannot fathom several thou feet of casing going up that high in the riser. thoughts?[/QUOTE]
I’ve seen two side by side fish in a hole big enough for two bodies side by side, but here we’re talking about a hole big enough for two tool joints side by side, so the scenarios can include many possibilities, yours sounds plausible, but we may never know, depending on how much of the well bore can be investigated. 6-5/8” tool joint O.D. for standard 24.70# is 7”, special 25.20# is 8” if the pipe fell down the hole, or 5-1/2" is 6-3/8" or 7" tool joint if it stayed put. When it came loose some restriction stopped some piece(s) somewhere/somehow… just stating the obvious.
[QUOTE=johnebe;35238]Some decisions make it seems like they were in a bit of a hurry…BUT why…? simply to disguise the views of a free flow emerging out the top of the BOP/LMRP…?
That diamond bandsaw appeared to be an elegant design…NOT sure why they didn’t remove/repair/redeploy…
OR come back in with it, like an arborist’s technique, take the branch off 6-12" from the intended final cut line, like they ultimately did with the super jaws…and [I]then[/I] make the final clean cut with the diamond bandsaw…?
Or…a similar tool to the bandsaw that would clamp to the bop/lmrp and then grind/file the pipe…
Moving Forward: How big do they make C-clamps…?[/QUOTE]
Maybe planned in the event of using shears and they went in with a hydraulically inflatable seal of a material that would stand the amount of hi-pressure blow by we’re seeing? What material would that be?
[QUOTE=pumpjack hand;35253]Maybe planned in the event of using shears and they went in with a hydraulically inflatable seal of a material that would stand the amount of hi-pressure blow by we’re seeing? What material would that be?[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure what you mean…
Deciphering the one fish/two fish condition in the riser.
PLCguy shared this pix of the shear cut made above the riser fold over crimp caused by DWH heading to the bottom. It showed one DP in the riser:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]934[/ATTACH]
Below the riser fold over and above the flex joint, two drill pipes appear to have been found in the riser: (also from PLCguy)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]935[/ATTACH]
I blew up and scaled this picture off of the GE Oil and Gas Division VetcoGray web site specification for Vetco HMF-Class H riser as specified in the TransOcean specifications for the Riser system on DWH (shown below) and scaled the left DP to 5.5" diameter, and the right one to 6.0" diameter. (Pix in a previous post of mine.)
Key parameters for Vetco HMF-Classs H Riser System:
OD 43"; ID 19.375 for 1" wall riser tube
Made up length 33.19" (not sure what this is as it is inches, I would have thought it was riser length, but thought that was ~90ft)
Weight 3901 lbs
6 Bolts, 3.87 inches in diameter
Choke/Kill lines are 6.5 inches diameter, 4.5 inch diameter boost line, and 3.5 inch diameter hydraulic line
A plausible scenario that would result in this evidence was that there was only one DP up through the flex joint when the DWH went down. That DP was captured in the fold over crimp. Subsequent cycling of the BOP could have allowed reservoir pressure to force a stub of the BOP successful sheared DP up alongside DP 1 and wedged against the foldover crimp. The reservoir pressure would be communicating through the second DP. The first DP, that was “easily” capped on the seabed would only be communicating the pressure in the riser above the flex joint and below the fold over crimp.
Diamond saw cutting DP 1 would have been according to estimate. Diamond saw cutting DP 2 would have produced a surprise of higher than anticipated flow and pressure.
I still wonder if the diamond saw cut was terminated and a crimp shear cut preferred so as to close off DP 2 as much as possible.
I sure wish I had an engineering drawing of the Vetco HMF-Class H riser and the connection to the flex joint. Then we could do some real engineering on an adapter.
Is what you oil guys call an overshot tool, what we land engineers would call a sealing expanding mandrel? I have been pulling some patents on “overshot tool” and that is the impression I get. The brochure I pulled on the Vetco riser implies that there just might be a gap where the male stub of the riser fits into the female socket in the flex joint. It may be possible to design an expanding mandrel to grab on that gap if the male stub does not bottom out. If an expanding mandrel could be designed to capture that groove and locked within the current 19.375 in diameter riser stub, and have a male H-4 stub machined on the surface end, this thing could be hardline hooked up to a H4 connector on the bottom of a new LMRP and riser system.
I’m probably thinking too much… I had 7 hours driving home yesterday from Wash, DC to ruminate on this and think…
[QUOTE=bigmoose;35259]Deciphering the one fish/two fish condition in the riser.
PLCguy shared this pix of the shear cut made above the riser fold over crimp caused by DWH heading to the bottom. It showed one DP in the riser:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]934[/ATTACH]
Below the riser fold over and above the flex joint, two drill pipes appear to have been found in the riser: (also from PLCguy)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]935[/ATTACH]
I blew up and scaled this picture off of the GE Oil and Gas Division VetcoGray web site specification for Vetco HMF-Class H riser as specified in the TransOcean specifications for the Riser system on DWH (shown below) and scaled the left DP to 5.5" diameter, and the right one to 6.0" diameter. (Pix in a previous post of mine.)
Key parameters for Vetco HMF-Classs H Riser System:
OD 43"; ID 19.375 for 1" wall riser tube
Made up length 33.19" (not sure what this is as it is inches, I would have thought it was riser length, but thought that was ~90ft)
Weight 3901 lbs
6 Bolts, 3.87 inches in diameter
Choke/Kill lines are 6.5 inches diameter, 4.5 inch diameter boost line, and 3.5 inch diameter hydraulic line
A plausible scenario that would result in this evidence was that there was only one DP up through the flex joint when the DWH went down. That DP was captured in the fold over crimp. Subsequent cycling of the BOP could have allowed reservoir pressure to force a stub of the BOP successful sheared DP up alongside DP 1 and wedged against the foldover crimp. The reservoir pressure would be communicating through the second DP. The first DP, that was “easily” capped on the seabed would only be communicating the pressure in the riser above the flex joint and below the fold over crimp.
Diamond saw cutting DP 1 would have been according to estimate. Diamond saw cutting DP 2 would have produced a surprise of higher than anticipated flow and pressure.
I still wonder if the diamond saw cut was terminated and a crimp shear cut preferred so as to close off DP 2 as much as possible.
I sure wish I had an engineering drawing of the Vetco HMF-Class H riser and the connection to the flex joint. Then we could do some real engineering on an adapter.
Is what you oil guys call an overshot tool, what we land engineers would call a sealing expanding mandrel? I have been pulling some patents on “overshot tool” and that is the impression I get. The brochure I pulled on the Vetco riser implies that there just might be a gap where the male stub of the riser fits into the female socket in the flex joint. It may be possible to design an expanding mandrel to grab on that gap if the male stub does not bottom out. If an expanding mandrel could be designed to capture that groove and locked within the current 19.375 in diameter riser stub, and have a male H-4 stub machined on the surface end, this thing could be hardline hooked up to a H4 connector on the bottom of a new LMRP and riser system.
I’m probably thinking too much… I had 7 hours driving home yesterday from Wash, DC to ruminate on this and think…[/QUOTE]
An overshot tool is a type of “fishing” tool. It is usually purpose-built. It might use all sorts of different methods to affix to whatever they are trying to grab, but the common denominator is they fit over the object (the “fish”) you want to grab rather than going inside it.
[QUOTE=MichaelWSmith;35205]It seems you are quite a reservoir of venom – ready to “blow out” into an uncontrolled spill of hatred – at anyone who refuses to toe-the-line and leap onto your “lynch-BP-now!” bandwagon.[/QUOTE]
I merely stated that since it is your position that Corexit is safe then you should put a dog in the hunt. YOu don’t have to drink a pint, just… let’s say wash your clothes in it, take showers for a week in it, & wash your dishes in it for a week & let us know how safe it is. Since it is harmless detergent I am sure you will have no adverse affects. Otherwise, get off your high horse about how it is totally harmless. There are a lot of people who have no choice but to come into direct contact & have long term exposure to this chemical compliments of… you guessed it, TOny & the boys. So who pays if it is found out that Corexit causes irreperable damge to the respiratory systems & cancer to thousands of workers who had no choice because of BP ? Will you ? I doubt it. So post your proof of non toxicity or STFU !
I’m just folowing along here trying to understand what happened and learning about all this stuff. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the men lost. I’m rooting for all the people at work to shut in this well, and have developed a real fondness for the industry, oddly enough.
Perhaps the difference in the apparent size of pipe in the riser cut is attributable to the location of each as they are sheared in the riser? One deforms differently than the other during the shear. Or, does DP thickness change near or at a joint? If these are DP, and one is near a joint, could that account for the difference in size? If these are both DP, then this is a possible scenario. Jason actrivated the EDS, the shears cut the DP and shut in the well, but hydrolic pressure is being lost out the leaks. Hydraulic pressure begins to decrease before the locks are fully activated, the shears open again, and the battery runs dead from the pump trying to keep up. I think I saw them bringing that section of riser up to the surface, so it should be possible to identify what those two pipes are.
That first image is definitely Kermit the Frog on crack.
[QUOTE=bigmoose;35259]Deciphering the one fish/two fish condition in the riser.
PLCguy shared this pix of the shear cut made above the riser fold over crimp caused by DWH heading to the bottom. It showed one DP in the riser:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]934[/ATTACH]
Below the riser fold over and above the flex joint, two drill pipes appear to have been found in the riser: (also from PLCguy)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]935[/ATTACH]
I blew up and scaled this picture off of the GE Oil and Gas Division VetcoGray web site specification for Vetco HMF-Class H riser as specified in the TransOcean specifications for the Riser system on DWH (shown below) and scaled the left DP to 5.5" diameter, and the right one to 6.0" diameter. (Pix in a previous post of mine.)
Key parameters for Vetco HMF-Classs H Riser System:
OD 43"; ID 19.375 for 1" wall riser tube
Made up length 33.19" (not sure what this is as it is inches, I would have thought it was riser length, but thought that was ~90ft)
Weight 3901 lbs
6 Bolts, 3.87 inches in diameter
Choke/Kill lines are 6.5 inches diameter, 4.5 inch diameter boost line, and 3.5 inch diameter hydraulic line
A plausible scenario that would result in this evidence was that there was only one DP up through the flex joint when the DWH went down. That DP was captured in the fold over crimp. Subsequent cycling of the BOP could have allowed reservoir pressure to force a stub of the BOP successful sheared DP up alongside DP 1 and wedged against the foldover crimp. The reservoir pressure would be communicating through the second DP. The first DP, that was “easily” capped on the seabed would only be communicating the pressure in the riser above the flex joint and below the fold over crimp.
Diamond saw cutting DP 1 would have been according to estimate. Diamond saw cutting DP 2 would have produced a surprise of higher than anticipated flow and pressure.
I still wonder if the diamond saw cut was terminated and a crimp shear cut preferred so as to close off DP 2 as much as possible.
I sure wish I had an engineering drawing of the Vetco HMF-Class H riser and the connection to the flex joint. Then we could do some real engineering on an adapter.
Is what you oil guys call an overshot tool, what we land engineers would call a sealing expanding mandrel? I have been pulling some patents on “overshot tool” and that is the impression I get. The brochure I pulled on the Vetco riser implies that there just might be a gap where the male stub of the riser fits into the female socket in the flex joint. It may be possible to design an expanding mandrel to grab on that gap if the male stub does not bottom out. If an expanding mandrel could be designed to capture that groove and locked within the current 19.375 in diameter riser stub, and have a male H-4 stub machined on the surface end, this thing could be hardline hooked up to a H4 connector on the bottom of a new LMRP and riser system.
I’m probably thinking too much… I had 7 hours driving home yesterday from Wash, DC to ruminate on this and think…[/QUOTE]
I hate to bust everyone’s bubble. You guys are great & have been doing a lot of good thinking, but there was only one joint of pipe in the riser cut by the shears. In an earlier post I explained that a shear cut would badly deform a piece of pipe. The surest way to settle this in your minds that what you saw is not what you think you are looking at is this.
The circumference of a 21" riser is 21 X3.14 = 65.94" divide by 2 since the riser was smashed in two halves. 65.94/2 = 32.97" or 33" the work string was 6 5/8" diameter 6.625 x 3.14 = 20.8"/2 = 10.4".
33 /10.5 =3.14 the larger riser when smashed into two halves is 3 times as wide as the drill pipe. Looking at the picture the riser is 3 times as wide as the object in it. The upper riser shows evidence that the work string washed out during the time it was laid over due to the high flow rate. that is why it only looks like half of it is there. That provides a somewhat plausible explanation for the continuing expande flow rates.
You guys know I’m not a BP apologist & had they been frothright from the beginning, they would have gotten help from guys like me, but there is no mystery here. The two pipes are actually one deformed piece of pipe. I called my buddy with the shears this afternoon & he is on Toledo Bend. When he gets in Monday, he will see about emailing some pics of sheared pipe. He confirmed to me that there was only one joint in the riser & since he has sheared thousands of joints of pipe I will take his word until I get further confirmation to post. It is interesting & enlightening to hear everyone’s opinion & see the tremendous amount of thought & care you all have for this situation. Thank you very much.
Further study of the sheared riser tells another story also. The way the pipe is centered in the riser cut tells me the BOPs are definiteley closed around the the work string.
Edit: the washed away pipe in the downstream bend of the riser also says the choking whch caused the " methane hydrates" better known as ice came from the bend in the riser acting as a choke. This is also why the flow in the end of the riser went down as the the riser cut out at the bend during the top kill attempts.
Should be 5-1/2" in the cut if same as BP well schematic. I didn’t see it live, the picture of the cut we are talking about was presented here.