What is the best way the stop the broken BP oil well from spilling more oil?

Answer 1

2010, May 4: BP announces beginning of work to start drilling relief wells.

May 5: BP plugs one of the 3 oil rigs. This does not significantly reduce the flow of the oil, but reduces the complexity of the problem.

May 8: BP attempts to place a containment dome over the oil spill but fails.

May 16: Work begins on 2nd relief well.

May 17: Riser insertion tube tool (RITT) is put into place. This collects about 2000 barrels of oil a day, a fraction of the oil being spilled.

As of May 29th, BP announced that 3 consecutive attempts at a 'top kill' had failed. The 'top kill' process involves pumping heavy fluids into the blowout preventer to restrict oil flow, and then permanently sealing it with cement.

June 3: Deployment of the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap containment system. This plan involves cutting a part off the blow out preventer to leave a cleanly cut pipe which can then be capped. This effort is expected to take 4 days. They proceded with this method on June 3rd, and so far it is helping. However a jagged edge on the pipe might make the cap fall off. BP's next plan is to pump warm water down from the surface of the water, to prevent the cap from forming ice crystals like one of their previous operations. They will also plan to siphon the oil from pipes from the surface of the water.

June 5: LMRP is functional. About 10,000 barrels of oil are collected, though much continues to spill.

About 15,000 barrels of oil are collect per day. Approximately 30 million cubic feet of natural gas is being burned or 'flared' per day.

Other long term efforts include drilling side 'relief wells' into the original borehole. Once the relief wells are in place, they will pump drilling mud into the hole to try and stop the flow. Also, they might replace the blowout preventer with a new one. However, this will take upwards of three months.

Please see links.

As of June 8, BP is:

1) Drilling two relief wells, which each take 3 months to drill. Approximately 90 million dollars will be sent to this effort.

2) A drillship is over the well, collecting more oil each day through a lower marine riser and cap. Rates of over 10,000 barrels per day have been reported. Drillships cost more than 15 million dollars per month, so the cost here will exceed 50 million easily.

3) Setting containment booms to slow the progress of spill. Protective barriers (berms) are being constructed and deployed.

4) Setting controlled burns of the oil where there is sufficient oil to burn (more proximal to the spill).

5) Using dispersants subsea and spraying over spill, to the extent allowed by EPA.

6) Paying contractors to pick up oil patties that are washing up on beaches and netting them where possible in marches.

7) Over 400 boats are now skimming the oil spill.

Cost to BP right now on cleanup is close or over one billion dollars.

See related links.

As of 2010 July 15, BP had replaced the LMRP cap with a 150,000 pound (68000 kg), 5.8 m cap which had completely contained the flow of oil from the main leak. It's stability is currently being tested, but it is hoped that this cap will be able to help siphon 80,000 barrels of oil per day to ships above.

Unfortunately, oil began seeping from the ocean floor elsewhere, leading to the conclusion that the main oil pipe has been damaged.

It was announced on 2010 August 4 that something called "Static Kill" is working and they are almost done with the problem.

Answer 2

The well bore did not break. What is wrong is that the formation's hydrocarbons are not sealed off from the well, so the well permits the oil to come to the surface. Ultimately, the only way to kill a well is to introduce enough heavy mud or kill fluid to overcome the pressure of the oil as it rises in the well. Kill fluid is followed by cement to make sure this well can never let the formation fluids come to the surface.

The current set up with the marine riser and cap was never intended to be the final fix. It just makes the spill less harmful by capturing some of the oil.

BP has stated that they are trying all conventional means of killing the well (Methods 1 and 3) and an unconventional method (Method 2) since the relief wells take three months to drill.

Two ways have been tried and failed to plug and abandon the Macondo well:

1) Actuate the blow out preventers manually using ROV's

- Quickest way to shut in a well permanently.

- For some reason, this failed. Possible that there a pipe coupling in the BOP preventing the ram to work. No further attempts will be made.

2) Kill the well from top using mud

- Required fabrication of a manifold, cutting pipes and making a long series of connections underwater. Took about one month to get ready.

- Had only a fair chance of success.

- Failed. Unable to bridge hole.

3) Drill relief wells to bottom of blown out wells, and inject heavy mud into blown out well.

- Ongoing. Has nearly 100% chance of success

- Requires 3 months of drilling, will not be completed until August.

Answer 3

they made multiple tanks to get the oil out of the water, after a faulty underwater cement job. They are now filling the tanks with oil while looking for other solutions