# LiveFeed from the oil spill **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874 "2010-05-26T21:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/1 "2010-05-26T21:03:09Z")
Live Feed from the ROVs working on the “Top Kill” procedure on Deepwater Horizon. > [@](#): > > Throughout the extended top kill procedure – which may take up to two days to complete - very significant changes in the appearance of the flows at the seabed may be expected. These will not provide a reliable indicator of the overall progress, or success or failure, of the top kill operation as a whole. BP will report on the progress of the operation as appropriate and on its outcome when complete. [http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp\_internet/globalbp/globalbp\_uk\_english/homepage/STAGING/local\_assets/bp\_homepage/html/rov\_stream.html](http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/2 "2010-05-26T21:36:25Z")
I don’t really know what I’m seeing but I find the motion oddly calming. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/3 "2010-05-26T22:50:55Z")
Other sites with feed or commentary include: > **[How to watch CNN Live TV in the United States - CNN](https://www.cnn.com/specials/about-live-tv)** > > Find out how you can watch CNN TV live on any platform. [http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6511#comments\_top](http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6511#comments_top) ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/4 "2010-05-26T22:52:55Z")
There are plenty more to view - see [here](http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6511#more) for listings in the latter portion of the first ‘article’ (one has 7 different views at once) Kinda neat to see changes occurring in the riser/BOP output as things happen. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/5 "2010-05-27T03:01:43Z")
I hope the top kill works, and it appears to have temporarily slowed or stopped the release of oil and gas, but right now I can think of a few reasons it may not succeed in the long run. What follows is somewhat speculative, and is not based on any non-public knowledge of what BP is attempting here. I’ve had a look at the BP live feed. The feed seems to show mainly weighted drilling fluid (based on the fluid’s color) escaping from several points. The live caption superimposed on the image is not clear enough for me to read, but I can read the acronym “LMRP” so it’s likely that the view is of the top of the Lower Marine Riser Package (including the BOP stack) of the sunken Deepwater Horizon. I’m pretty sure the view is _not_ of the riser end, which is where the previous live feeds have mostly been located. If this is the case, what’s happening probably is this: drilling mud is being pumped at a high rate into the wellhead, via high-pressure choke and kill lines attached to the BOP stack. A large amount of the injected fluid is escaping from existing or newly created leak points in the riser just above the injection point, as this is the path of least resistance. The combination of dense fluid and high circulating pressures is pushing back against the oil and gas flowing from lower down in the well, but at this point it’s unclear whether enough back pressure can be generated, given the rather large leaks apparent in the video, to ensure that the injected fluid can push the oil and gas all the way back to the formation it is flowing from. Over time, the leak points are going to become larger as the solids in the drilling fluid erode the metal bordering the holes where the fluid is escaping. This may be a matter of hours, or a few days, but it will happen. In addition, the riser may fail completely if the back pressure within it exceeds the pressure rating of the connecting flanges of the riser sections above the wellhead, which, IIRC, may be around 500 psi, i.e. not giving much leeway for this application. It is not necessarily required, however, to push the wellbore fluids all the down the hole at this time. It’s possible that the engineers believe that if the top of the wellbore fluids can be lowered as little as a few hundred feet down from the wellhead, they could take a shot at injecting cement via the choke and/or kill lines to set a plug at the wellhead level. Even if this works, though, it would not be particularly secure, so in my estimation it will still be necessary to complete at least one of the relief wells so that cement can be injected at a lower point in the well to provide a permanent seal. The above, I believe, is a reasonable basis for why BP is saying that definitive results may not be known for 48 hours or so. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/6 "2010-05-27T03:17:05Z")
Some discussion of that here: [http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6513#more](http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6513#more) I think you are right, they are wanting to put their plug a good bit lower than they actually need to, and I don’t blame them in this situation. It’s certainly a fascinating thing to watch unfold. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/7 "2010-05-27T12:13:39Z")
OK, as of 06:45 central the live feed has changed to a different view, and the general setup is much clearer. Now I’m looking at a large ROV viewed from above, with the top of the blowout stack and part of the riser curving off to the right. The ROV in the image is where the feed was coming from earlier in the day. Looks like they are still pumping mud; they may have reduced the flow rate somewhat. There are large leaks originating at the top of the stack; could be mainly mud, could be mud and oil; bit hard to tell. If it’s mainly mud, good news. If mud and oil, bad news. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/8 "2010-05-27T14:04:14Z")
Things are looking up. > [@](#): > > Reporting from Houma, La. --Engineers have stopped the flow of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico from a gushing BP well, the federal government’s top oil spill commander, U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said Thursday morning. > > The “top kill” effort, launched Wednesday afternoon by industry and government engineers, has pumped enough drilling fluid to block all oil and gas from the well, Allen said. The pressure from the well is very low, but persists, he said. > > [For the record, 6:39 a.m.: An earlier version of this story termed the effort “successful.” Officials clarified that neither government nor BP officials had declared the effort a success yet. They caution that only after the cementing is complete and the well is sealed can the top kill be called successful.] > Once engineers have reduced the well pressure to zero, they will begin to pump cement into the hole to entomb the well. To help that effort, he said, engineers are also pumping some debris into the blowout preventer at the top of the well. From [here](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-top-kill-works-20100528,0,4282960.story). ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/9 "2010-05-27T14:41:04Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Things are looking up. Yes, the holes in the stack don’t seem to have gotten much larger overnight. It is beginning to look as if this might work. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/10 "2010-05-27T14:52:08Z")
I am seeing reports they were successful! [Top kill’ plugs gulf oil leak, official says](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-top-kill-20100528,0,5782115.story). I sure hope so. It looks like it worked from the feed… ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/11 "2010-05-27T15:06:50Z")
I am cautiously optimistic. I don’t think we will really know until the cement plug has had time to set, probably another 24 to 36 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/12 "2010-05-27T15:39:08Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I don’t think we will really know until the cement plug has had time to set, probably another 24 to 36 hours. Halliburton could do that job in twelve hours! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/13 "2010-05-27T16:50:57Z")
What are the downsides to this method? i.e. why was it not the first choice and acted upon immediately? Does it close the well forever making the remaining oil unpbtainable? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/14 "2010-05-27T17:45:33Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > What are the downsides to this method? i.e. why was it not the first choice and acted upon immediately? Does it close the well forever making the remaining oil unpbtainable? First off, nobody (outside of BP) cares whether or not this particular well is usable in the future or not. In fact, BP is taking steps to ensure that this well is permanently sealed forever, efforts that will continue even if this “top kill” method seems to be working. The downside of the “top kill” effort is that there is a chance of making the spill worse. The high pressure drilling fluid could actually increase the size of the leaks. Also, this method was thought to have a relatively low chance of working. The most optimistic estimates of success have only been something like 60-70%. BP’s efforts to date have been focused on attempting to manually shut the blowout preventer, and putting two different collection devices on top of the well head. All of these methods were thought to have a higher chance of success, but ended up failing. BP has also been drilling relief wells in an effort to intercept and sever the original wellbore, but this takes months. From [here](http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062283): > [@](#): > > Drilling of the first relief well, which began on May 2 continues as does drilling of a second relief well, begun on May 16. Each of these wells is estimated to take some three months to complete from the commencement of drilling. Also, from [here](http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=93363&hmpn=1): > [@](#): > > BP is drilling the relief wells to intercept the original wellbore above the oil reservoir at approximately 16,000 feet. Once the wells reach their intended target, the plan is to pump heavy fluid into the well to stop the flow of oil from the reservoir. Next, cement will be pumped down to permanently seal the well. To obtain the remaining oil in the formation only takes the installation of another well, hopefully one with a functioning blowout preventer this time. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/15 "2010-05-27T17:58:35Z")
I’m confused. The live feed still shows oil spewing from a broken pipe. Why are we saying the top-kill has worked, again? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/16 "2010-05-27T18:01:58Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > I’m confused. The live feed still shows oil spewing from a broken pipe. Why are we saying the top-kill has worked, again? Post 5 addresses this. If you’re still confused after re-reading it, let me know and I’ll try to explain further. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/17 "2010-05-27T18:04:47Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Post 5 addresses this. If you’re still confused after re-reading it, let me know and I’ll try to explain further. Aaaah. I see. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/18 "2010-05-27T21:06:46Z")
Damn, not working - too much mud coming back out. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/livefeed-from-the-oil-spill/540874/19 "2010-05-27T21:09:25Z")
Seems they’ve temporarily stopped the operation. > [@](#): > > A technician at the BP command center said that pumping of the fluid had to be stopped temporarily while engineers were revising their plans, and that the company hoped to resume pumping by midnight, if federal officials approved [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28spill.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28spill.html)