BP slows flow

Gov.’s wife joins effort to build Gray Habitat home
May 18, 2010
Thursday, May 20
May 20, 2010
Gov.’s wife joins effort to build Gray Habitat home
May 18, 2010
Thursday, May 20
May 20, 2010

After weeks of trial and error, BP engineers were finally able to curb the flow of crude into the Gulf of Mexico by inserting a mile-long tube into the well’s leaking riser.

Efforts were tense Sunday when the tube became dislodged during a test run. Technicians, however, were able to inspect the system and reinsert the tube some time later.


When fully functional, the device is able to capture oil and gas from the well, which sits nearly 5,000 feet below the surface. The oil is now being stored on the Discoverer Enterprise drill ship, while natural gas is being burned via a flare system, according to reports from the Joint Information Center. Recovered oil will eventually be offloaded.


The amount of oil and gas that is being captured by the tube is still unknown, but officials pride it for being an important step in mitigating the amount of crude flowing into the Gulf.

On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon exploded about 52 miles southeast of Venice, La. after a blowout preventer failed to activate, causing millions of barrels of oil to seep into the surrounding waters. Some experts gauge the flow at more than 200,000 gallons per day, but many have said it could be more. BP, while maintaining that those numbers are just estimates, have stood by the calculations.


Previous attempts to stop the spill were unsuccessful, including the failed deployment of a 100-ton containment dome on the ocean’s floor that aimed to seal the leak and funnel oil to a vessel on the surface.


It took about two weeks for workers to build the box-like structure at a holding station in Port Fourchon, but ice crystals and depths of nearly a mile were too much for the would-be encasing to handle. Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, later said that a second containment dome could be an option.

From that excursion, engineers opted to pour methanol onto the well’s riser when attaching the tube to prevent the formation of gas crystals, or hydrates. Some have deemed the method a temporary success.


Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a statement Sunday, warning that although the tube may contain some of the leaking oil, it’s not an adequate solution. “We will not rest until BP permanently seals the wellhead, the spill is cleaned up, and the communities and natural resources of the Gulf Coast are restored and made whole.”


A relief well, which could put an end to BP’s dilemma, is still more than two months away.

Engineers are also tinkering with the idea of shooting heavy mud into what is left of the well’s blowout preventer. If successful, the leak could be clogged.


More than 19,000 people are currently responding to the spill, with about 650 vessels on site – including skimmers, tugs, barges and other recovery efforts, according to the Joint Information Center.


Boom, which officials have urged is in short supply, has also been deployed in large numbers, with more than 1.25 million feet of containment boom and 440,000 feet of absorbent boom littering the coastlines of multiple states.

Officials from BP reported Sunday that nearly 6.3 million gallons of an oil-water mix had been recovered.


With the flurry of relief activities slated to continue, researchers will be keeping a close eye on projections issued by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, an organization that determines which way crude is likely to flow based on ocean and wind currents.


William Hogarth, dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science, told the Associated Press that one computer model shows oil has already leaked into the loop current, which runs swiftly into the Atlantic Ocean. A second model puts the crude about three miles away. Those predictions have not been confirmed.

If the oil makes it to the east coast, it could devastate the Florida Keys and wreak havoc on nearby beaches.


OUR BACKYARD


With oil grazing the barrier islands on the outskirts of Terrebonne Parish last week, officials are counting on the U.S. Coast Guard and BP to provide protection against the insurgence. Both agencies have adamantly demanded that city officials let them handle the dirty work, meaning boom placement is hands-off.

Area leaders have also acknowledged that oil could still hit land beyond the outer reaches of the parish. “We expect, off and on, that’s a possibility now, until this event runs its course,” said Terrebonne’s Public Safety Director Ralph Mitchell.

He noted that oil along the barrier islands is being cleaned up and “…there is no public safety threat. The water supply is safe.”

Smaller amounts of oil also washed up on parts of Whiskey Island and Fourchon Beach last week. Louisiana now has about 29 miles of oiled shoreline, said Gov. Bobby Jindal in a news release.

During a press conference with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday, Jindal reiterated the fact that boom was in short supply.

“Booming is one option – but we know we cannot only count on boom to protect our coast, especially as the supply of boom continues to fall short of what is needed to protect many areas,” he said. “We continue to push the Coast Guard and BP to get more boom to sensitive areas, but we are also aggressively pursuing alternatives to boom that would help protect the coast.”

The governor is working with policymakers throughout south Louisiana to install dredging plans, which would call on the use of sand booms – barriers made of sand – to help protect damage-prone sites like the Chandeleur Islands, Barataria Bay and Timbalier Bay.

Officials must first wait for the corps to grant an emergency permit before that work can begin.

“This ‘sand booming’ plan we are asking the corps to approve will strengthen our barrier islands and help protect our coast and critical wildlife areas,” said Jindal in the release.

Nos. to Know

• To submit a claim with BP for damages: (800) 440-0858

• Info on types of damages eligible for compensation, and how to seek that compensation: ww.uscg.mil/npfc

• To file an unemployment claim: (866) 783-5567 or www.laworks.net

• To apply for disaster food stamps: snap.dss.state.la.us/ CustomerPortal/CPLogon/jsp

• To report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: (866) 448-5816

• To submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511

• To submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: (281) 366-5511

• To report oiled wildlife: (866) 557-1401

Members of Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) survey Raccoon Island for oil debris on the shoreline last Wednesday. * Photo by PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS JONATHEN E. DAVIS / U.S. Navy

MC2(AW/SW) Jonathen E. Davis