# BP says the well is capped and no oil is leaking in the Gulf. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822 "2010-07-15T19:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/21 "2010-07-15T23:12:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I realize this is not really a debate. If it doesn’t develop into one, I may move the thread to another forum. Move it to GQ. It seems to be about water hammer and toilets. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/22 "2010-07-15T23:16:32Z")
“There is no cannibalism in the Gulf of Mexico. Absolutely none, and when I say none, I mean that there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/23 "2010-07-15T23:58:38Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Yes it’s what you’re hearing, and :(:(☹ yes that means the plumbing was improperly built. Water hammer will damage stuff over time. Worry. ☹ It’s not excessive pressure they’re worried about, it’s the lack thereof. Low pressure means it’s leaking below. They were expecting something between 5 and 8,000 psi and they’re getting 6,700 (PBS news info). It’s kind of an ambiguous number. If they think it’s leaking then they will move the oil to the surface to take the pressure off the well pipe. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/24 "2010-07-16T00:20:52Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > You know what would be hilarious? If this cap works, but they continue with the relief well, just to be safe, but then somebody fucks up and there is an uncontrolled gusher from the relief well instead. If by hilarious you mean soul crushing, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/25 "2010-07-16T00:27:37Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > There is a thing called “water hammer” effect. See also the “blue balls” effect. > [@Magiver](#): > > Yup, it only took them 3 months to install an object that should have been pre-planned in the first place. All they did was unbolt the flange and bolt on a new device. Would have been ever so nice if the new device was sitting in a warehouse gathering dust along with a boom system that could have isolated the oil at the source instead of chasing it around the planet on what amounts to a cat-herding expedition. Here’s a debate. What is the basis for your “should”? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/26 "2010-07-16T00:33:54Z")
> [@Ruminator](#): > > Wow I learned something new. Every once in a while, my toilet tank makes a series of banging noises after shutting off. I guess “water hammer” was what I was hearing. Fascinating. Makes me wonder if the plumbing in the house was improperly built. Yes. You will want to put in a little water hammer arrestor dealio on affected pipes to fix this problem. Basically, you need to trap air in the pipe to act as a shock absorber. Water hammer can knock out valves and can burst pipes. It’s not a good thing. Should be a pretty easy fix for a plumber or you can do it yourself if you’re feeling brave. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/27 "2010-07-16T01:04:19Z")
Just drill a relief toilet. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/28 "2010-07-16T01:16:51Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > They were expecting something between 5 and 8,000 psi and they’re getting 6,700 (PBS news info). It’s kind of an ambiguous number. 6,700 psi is a lot lower than the 8,000 to 9,000 they were looking for in top kill. [Reportedly](http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6731), it matches what they managed to raise the pressure to in that operation. But in top kill, the oil and mud had a free exit through the riser to mitigate the pressure. Unless there’s a leak, or the formation has depleted, the pressure _should_ be higher than that now. I guess we’ll see, but 6,700 psi is not at all a comforting initial reading. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/29 "2010-07-16T02:07:17Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > See also the “blue balls” effect. > Here’s a debate. What is the basis for your “should”? The basis is the ability to deal with damage to a riser which is a very real possibility. They shouldn’t be expected to prepare for astroids or space aliens attacking but dealing with the problems directly associated with the drilling/pumping process is their responsibility. Otherwise we would be picking up the tab. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/30 "2010-07-16T02:10:57Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > 6,700 psi is a lot lower than the 8,000 to 9,000 they were looking for in top kill. [Reportedly](http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6731), it matches what they managed to raise the pressure to in that operation. But in top kill, the oil and mud had a free exit through the riser to mitigate the pressure. Unless there’s a leak, or the formation has depleted, the pressure _should_ be higher than that now. > I guess we’ll see, but 6,700 psi is not at all a comforting initial reading. If I understand it correctly they can connect the new valve to 4 ships so they could relieve the pressure in the well pipe by pulling the oil out. It has someplace to go now that they have a tightly sealed manifold valve. There should be no problems with frozen methane sludge gumming up the works. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/31 "2010-07-16T02:22:59Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If I understand it correctly they can connect the new valve to 4 ships so they could relieve the pressure in the well pipe by pulling the oil out. It has someplace to go now that they have a tightly sealed manifold valve. There should be no problems with frozen methane sludge gumming up the works. Sure, but in the best of all worlds they could just leave all valves closed and not worry about having to collect anymore. Too bad the pressure numbers look like there _might_ be a breach somewhere underground. If that continues to be the case, the sane thing to do will have to be exactly what you suggest. I think we’d all prefer a slam-dunk shutdown of the wellhead at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/32 "2010-07-16T03:03:38Z")
So you’re saying that at 6700psi, the oil is slowly working its way through rock in the seabed? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/33 "2010-07-16T03:21:45Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > So you’re saying that at 6700psi, the oil is slowly working its way through rock in the seabed? Nope. However, if the formation is still pressurized to 8700 psi, the extra 2,000 psi has got to be going somewhere. Probably out around a poorly cemented casing, but that’s just speculation. OTOH, the lower pressure could simply be the result of 87 days of unrestricted flow on the reservoir. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/34 "2010-07-16T03:57:09Z")
I doubt the reservoir got that tapped out after 87 days through a .6 square inch hole. Or, I agree the extra psi must be going somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/35 "2010-07-16T04:00:21Z")
High flow could have caused blockage of the pores through which the hydrocarbons enter the well pipe. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/36 "2010-07-16T04:04:43Z")
That’s a good one. What do you think are the odds that is the case? How high would the flow really seem at the reservoir? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/37 "2010-07-16T05:08:19Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Nope. However, if the formation is still pressurized to 8700 psi, the extra 2,000 psi has got to be going somewhere. Probably out around a poorly cemented casing, but that’s just speculation. > OTOH, the lower pressure could simply be the result of 87 days of unrestricted flow on the reservoir. I would think it more likely that the case split closer to the surface and 8,000 psi of pressure is driving it through the ocean floor which is nothing but limestone. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/38 "2010-07-16T07:33:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > > [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > > > Yes it’s what you’re hearing, and :(:(☹ yes that means the plumbing was improperly built. Water hammer will damage stuff over time. Worry. ☹ > > It’s not excessive pressure they’re worried about, it’s the lack thereof. Low pressure means it’s leaking below. They were expecting something between 5 and 8,000 psi and they’re getting 6,700 (PBS news info). It’s kind of an ambiguous number. If they think it’s leaking then they will move the oil to the surface to take the pressure off the well pipe. Notice I was responding to this post: > [@Ruminator](#): > > Wow I learned something new. Every once in a while, my toilet tank makes a series of banging noises after shutting off. I guess “water hammer” was what I was hearing. Fascinating. Makes me wonder if the plumbing in the house was improperly built. I was talking about **Ruminator** ’s toilet. Just before the banging noises, it makes a _ **Woooshhhh** _ sound. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/39 "2010-07-16T07:52:14Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Yup, it only took them 3 months to install an object that should have been pre-planned in the first place. All they did was unbolt the flange and bolt on a new device. Would have been ever so nice if the new device was sitting in a warehouse gathering dust along with a boom system that could have isolated the oil at the source instead of chasing it around the planet on what amounts to a cat-herding expedition. That’s government’s job. Industry doesn’t pre-plan unless it has to, it’s job is to make profits for it’s shareholders. Government oversight through the mechanisms of regulation and criminal corporate liability is what failed here, and that was because government allows industry to buy the level of regulation it desires, as well as the exposure of senior exec’s to criminal charges. Deflecting this onto the company is like blaming the banks for being casino capitalists - it kind of goes with the territory. If gov was less easy to buy, this shit would happen less. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822/40 "2010-07-16T08:34:14Z")
Hey you know what? I used to play a well completions engineer in real life, ( I also know a bit about formations and reservoir behaviour, as well as topside production operations) If the reservoir closed in pressure is 8000psi, and that is measured at the bottom of the hole. That could easily equate to 6700psi topsides dependant on the height of the column of oil it is supporting. I dont know how deep the well is or in fact how deep the ocean is at that point. ( apart from very and probably very) But 8700psi bottom hole would not equal 8700psi at the sea bed. It would be considerably lower. Hydraulic hammer is not too much of a problem in wells. Downhole safety valves typically ‘slam shut’ on activation. The well fluids may consist of gas, condensate, oil and water. As the well flows through a break or rupture or other orifice the tubing flowing pressure will reduce. This will permit gas to evolve in the tubing and then the well will flow to the maximum through that orifice with respect only to frictional resistanec of the two phase flow in the pipe. (This gas in the tubing also prevents hydraulic hammer on sudden closure of valves) The pressure in the reservoir local to the well perforations ( the holes in the pipe which permits the reservoir fluids to migrate into the well) depletes also along a gradient, as the well flows, and is determined by the porosity of the formation, or if the reservoir is not particularly porous, determined by the permeability caused by reservoir fractures or other structures. Reservoirs may not have the uniform pressure profile that you would expect. One of the dangers (for BP) is that an uncontrolled flow from the well may deplete the pressure in a local area near the well tubing. If there is an adjacent higher pressure water zone in the reservoir then a higher diferrential pressure may cause that water zone to fracture the reservoir and ‘finger’ through to the low pressure area near the tubing. This means that they wont recover as much oil and start producing water. Not only will they need pay for the clean up but they may totally screw the well. I have some excellent introductory training materials (PPT etc) that describes well technology and reservoir management which I can upload to a publicly accessible server if anyone wants to get a little bit deeper insight. I delivered this training materials to graduate engineers overseas. The language is clear enough for people for whom english is not their first language and the content is for smart guys who don’t have a lot of experience. Am sure it wouldn’t present a challenge to SDMB readers. Just let me check its not copywrited. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bp-says-the-well-is-capped-and-no-oil-is-leaking-in-the-gulf/546822.md?page=3)