# Why kill the well??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836 "2010-08-01T23:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rwjefferson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a6a055/32.png) [@rwjefferson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rwjefferson)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/1 "2010-08-01T23:44:25Z")
The well is under control. Reconnect the pipes and give the oil it produces to the people of the Gulf States. Let them use any and all profits to restore the economy and ecology of the Gulf States. Is there time to stop an even greater mistake? peace rwj ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/2 "2010-08-01T23:47:06Z")
The well pipe may be damaged in ways that they can’t detect. It’s had a lot of trauma and who knows where else it is weak or compromised. Basically, it can’t be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/3 "2010-08-02T00:17:50Z")
[Discovery of second pipe in Deepwater Horizon riser stirs debate among experts](http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/post_19.html) > [@](#): > > For the first time Friday, the Coast Guard and BP acknowledged that a mysterious second pipe, wedged next to the drill pipe in what remains of the Deepwater Horizon’s riser, is fouling up the works where the well is spewing hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. > > Two pipes are seen in this view of the riser just above the Macondo well’s blowout preventer, captured on BP video in June, just after it was cut. > > “We used a diamond saw and we got inside. We found there was actually two sets of drill pipe there,” said retired Adm. Thad Allen, the top U.S. Coast Guard official overseeing the response to America’s worst-ever oil spill. When BP off the riser to put the current cap on, one of these drill pipes disappeared. Presumably it rattled on down the well hole to an unknown depth, causing unknown damage on the way down. The well is in an undetermined and possibly precarious state. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/4 "2010-08-02T00:29:56Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > The well is in an undetermined and possibly precarious state. This. The well is toast. It can’t safely be used to extract oil at all. That doesn’t mean that we lose all the oil at that location – once the crisis is over, a new production well will be drilled to tap the existing reservoir. And that well will provide BP some of the revenue they’ll need to pay their mounting costs for the spill response, which includes paying for restoring and cleaning up the gulf. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/5 "2010-08-02T00:30:22Z")
It’s him or us!! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/6 "2010-08-02T00:46:40Z")
Where the hell did this mystery pipe come from? Thats pretty damn odd. Article give somes ideas, but still… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/7 "2010-08-02T00:47:39Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > > [@Squink](#): > > > > The well is in an undetermined and possibly precarious state. > > This. The well is toast. It can’t safely be used to extract oil at all. That doesn’t mean that we lose all the oil at that location – once the crisis is over, a new production well will be drilled to tap the existing reservoir. And that well will provide BP some of the revenue they’ll need to pay their mounting costs for the spill response, which includes paying for restoring and cleaning up the gulf. Some **other** oil company might do that. Somehow I suspect BP is going to lose its lease to drill in the Macondo Prospect. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/8 "2010-08-02T04:55:35Z")
If there are 2 relief wells and they kill it with the first well then wouldn’t the 2nd well be available to drill on down to a productive level? ---
**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:** [August 2, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/9 "2010-08-02T13:30:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If there are 2 relief wells and they kill it with the first well then wouldn’t the 2nd well be available to drill on down to a productive level? I don’t see why not. Hopefully they will install a blowout preventer on this well that actually works. I read somewhere that BP’s original plan was to complete the installation of the original well and come back to it sometime in the future for production purposes. It was a complete surprise to them that the well was so productive–ironically so, as it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/10 "2010-08-02T13:52:32Z")
My understanding of the reservoir status based on an article last week in the Houston Chronicle is that the reservoir has been determined by BP to NOT be of a size large enough to warrant the expense of developing the pipeline infrastructure required to link it to an existing network. From what I’ve read they will plug and abandon the previously blown out and relief wells, thus essentially abandoning the reservoir altogether, at least for the forseeable future. The article went on to mention that other leaseholders in the blocks next to BP’s my have a legal right to sue BP, both for the value of oil that might have escaped from that particular reservoir having migrated from their block and potentially for damage to the reservoir itself. The article further brought up the possibility that BP may be required to pay royalties on the oil that’s come from the reservoir, both that that’s escaped and that that’s been collected by skimming and the containment domes. ---
**Author:** ![rwjefferson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a6a055/32.png) [@rwjefferson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rwjefferson)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/11 "2010-08-02T21:49:17Z")
answers accepted peace rwj ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/12 "2010-08-03T01:51:47Z")
They killed the well because it’s good PR. In awhile after the next crisis takes hold BP will quitely go in and reactivate it and it will be on page 10 of the paper or a 10 second side note on the news. And if BP doesn’t do it, eventually someone else will do it. And if all goes well, it’ll be forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/13 "2010-08-03T02:09:24Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > My understanding of the reservoir status based on an article last week in the Houston Chronicle is that the reservoir has been determined by BP to NOT be of a size large enough to warrant the expense of developing the pipeline infrastructure required to link it to an existing network. From what I’ve read they will plug and abandon the previously blown out and relief wells, thus essentially abandoning the reservoir altogether, at least for the forseeable future. > > The article went on to mention that other leaseholders in the blocks next to BP’s my have a legal right to sue BP, both for the value of oil that might have escaped from that particular reservoir having migrated from their block and potentially for damage to the reservoir itself. > > The article further brought up the possibility that BP may be required to pay royalties on the oil that’s come from the reservoir, both that that’s escaped and that that’s been collected by skimming and the containment domes. If you still have a link to the article please post it. I’d like the reference. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/14 "2010-08-03T02:16:33Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > They killed the well because it’s good PR. In awhile after the next crisis takes hold BP will quitely go in and reactivate it and it will be on page 10 of the paper or a 10 second side note on the news. > > And if BP doesn’t do it, eventually someone else will do it. And how do you propose these mustache-twirling oilmen would “reactivate” a well full of cement? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/15 "2010-08-03T02:47:19Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > how do you propose these mustache-twirling oilmen would “reactivate” a well full of cement? [Thermal lance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EHK4-XVT1c), down the borehole. Melt that concrete right outta there! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/16 "2010-08-04T07:11:55Z")
Cement not concrete 😉 Looks like the well is now hydrostatically under control , at last. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/17 "2010-08-04T18:52:07Z")
Whew, I thought this would be a rant on Obamacare. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/18 "2010-08-04T22:30:53Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Cement not concrete 😉 > > Looks like the well is now hydrostatically under control , at last. All the news items say they plan to use cement. Are they misusing the technical term and reallly plan to inject concrete? Cement is actually the gray powder that gets mixed with aggregate and water to make concrete. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/19 "2010-08-05T00:43:33Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > > [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > > > Cement not concrete 😉 > > > > Looks like the well is now hydrostatically under control , at last. > > All the news items say they plan to use cement. Are they misusing the technical term and reallly plan to inject concrete? Cement is actually the gray powder that gets mixed with aggregate and water to make concrete. I think they use the cement as a binder for the drilling mud, making mudcrete. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836/20 "2010-08-05T00:53:47Z")
In related news, at the 4pm CBS radio blurb news, it was said that 3/4 of the oil from the BP spill was “gone”, by burning, cleaning up onshore, and, well, dispersal. What does “gone” mean here? I’m tying it in with this thread, wondering if it is all PR cleanup, vs real well killing and cleanup. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-well/548836.md?page=2)