may joblessness… »
« capped…
capped, the day after…

Posted on Friday 4 June 2010

Capping the oil gushing from the floor of the Gulf was a pretty impressive technical feat, but the oil continues to gush, so it’s hard to beak out into applause. The top cap sits atop the BOP [Blow Out Preventor] held in place by its own weight.

    

Right now, the oil is coming from the crack between the BOP and the LMRP [Cap] and from four of the six stacks on top. The plan is to pump the oil up the white pipe on top to the surface and close the four stacks with valves [built in]. I don’t know when they are planning to start pumping [or if they’ve already begun].

 

This shot shows the extent of the flow between the BOP and the LMRP. At first, I wondered if the problem they had cutting away the pipe was interfering with the seal, but in some of the pictures [bottom image last post], the seal is visible and it looks fairly tight. My best guess is that it’s just coming out under a lot of pressure. I don’t know if they’re pumping or if they’ve closed the valves. The plan is here.

They have one other option. This graphic is from "top kill," the failed attempt to dribble drilling mud into the well:

They could pump oil out through the kill and choke lines, something they mentioned in one or the other briefings yesterday.

Obviously, I’ve spent the better part of the last three days focusing on the undersea operation and marveling at the technology. But I think it’s more an escape from what one can see on the surface – the wetlands, the birds, the angry distraught people. This oil spill is a monster, in some ways more devastating than Katrina or maybe even 9/11 because it will be there forever in one way or another. I can’t help but see it as the natural outcome that began with Cheney’s energy conference two weeks after his inauguration. I wish ranting and blaming gave me [us] some relief, but it doesn’t – at least not in my case. It just adds to the weight of that eight years when America lost its bearings. I did feel some good old fashioned rage when I caught a clip of Sarah Palin raving that if we’d listened to her ["Drill Baby, Drill"], we’d have drilled in safer places and prevented this from happening. That’s not just "spin," it’s profane.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.