Stopping the Oil Leak - Ideas

[FetaFrosch]

CHUCK NORRIS

 

[RMcD94]

Why don't they just build another pipe?

So all the oil is forced into a new pipe and ends up where it's meant to go anyway.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

The cause and solution are one and the same:

Why does it seem like the answer to all problems or the punch line to a bad joke is always Cthulu?

I blame Scribblenauts.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/969-Scribblenauts

 

[Malkavian]

Maybe we could build some kind of facility, filtrating the water and cleaning up the oil... We could call it... Hmmm... Well, this is just off the top of my mind: Big Shell. Sounds catchy.

 

[Voodoomancer]

Divide by Zero. It is our only hope.

1/0

...

...

...

Oh crap, it didn't work!

 

[Voodoomancer]

The cause and solution are one and the same:

Oil executives?

 

[crimson5pheonix]

There's only one product that can fix this leak.

Billy Mays from beyond the grave to save the world?

 

[Eldarion]

Nuke it from orbit, only way to be sure.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

But in all seriousness, Soviet Russia has stopped oil leaks before with nuclear blasts. As it's worked before, I think it should definitely by considered an option as it could theoretically fix the problem in a matter of days.

But that has the drawback of "we just nuked the water that we get food out of".

 

[Pyro Paul]

uuh.. I think they have already clogged it u and now they are waiting for the pressure to decrease (how?) to seal it up completely.
The balloon idea is quite retarded, given the massive pressure of the leak.

You have any idea what pressure a carbon fibre or kevlar balloon can take? Plus, if you paused to thing about it properly instead of firing off your assumption that I'm an idiot you'd realise that the pressure equations are completely different than trying to plug a garden hose. The natural oil is escaping from an underground pocket. As it escapes the pocked it sucking water to replace the escaping oil. This is because nature abhors a vacuum. Slip a balloon to the side of the oil leak and allow the natural flow to drag it in, then inflate it in the flow, thus slowing and eventually totally cutting off the inflow of water and the outflow of oil. Pressure isn't such a huge issue since instead of dealing with a liquid in motion if you slow the flow you'll be dealing with static pressure. Naturally this wouldn't be one balloon, but rather several and wouldn't be the instant fix most people are aiming for, but it's a far more reliable solution and has one big advantage over what they're trying right now... which is that it would work.

You may now apologise.

pauses to think about it properly.
... yep...

still a retarded idea.

the ambient pressure that kevlar can withstand at that depth is about 1500-2000 psi.
the pressure of the oil escaping the main head pushes into the 4000+ psi range.


there is a reason why they haven't done what you've suggested.

 

[ryo02]

well ... couldnt they do something further back along the pipe? away from the leak and block it there somehow?

 

[crimson5pheonix]

well ... couldnt they something further back along the pipe? away from the leak and block it there somehow?

Couldn't they what further back along the pipe? Stop it up? That's their long term plan, they're trying to drill into somewhere lower in the pipe and plug it.

 

[Tharwen]

You know what's interesting? BP's shares are falling like a... thing with high mass and low friction in a strong gravitational field? You get the idea. Basically, the shareholders are all pulling out before the people who run BP get arrested and have to pay an enormous fine. BP is an absolutely massive company, which could be very bad news for the stock market in general.

 

[CNKFan]

I like Russias idea of nuking it. That sounds awesome and there will be a chance for some mutants.

 

[Pyro Paul]

this is a plausable solution... if it wasn't retardedly overkill.
simply said, the idea is right, but we don't exactly need a nuke to seal the hole. we could very well simply drill several hundred tons of high explosives into key areas around the hole and detonate them. it provides the same effect that a single nuke will, as it shifts the ground and collapses the drill hole, but doesn't irradiate the surrounding area for the next several hundred years.

the problem with this solution is that it is something of a last resort. doing this automatically removes the capability for you to try and achieve other solutions that preserve the wellhead. and if it doesn't exactly work, the only other solution you have is to use a nuclear warhead which will vaporize, melt, and fuse the surrounding strata to create a perminent blockage which is the ultimate last resort.

 

[Pyro Paul]

well ... couldnt they do something further back along the pipe? away from the leak and block it there somehow?

they are doing just that.
the are drilling a relief well as we speak.

this relief well is drilled at an angle and is intended to intercept at a lower point of the damaged well and relieve the pressure. the problem with this is that it takes 90 days to drill this hole... and you have to be spot on in your drilling. screwing up by a fraction of a mm can mean you miss the pipeline by 20 feet.

 

[Plurralbles]

You can actually send in your ideas onBP's site.

Anyway, I sent in asking them what would happen if they brought a few molten metal pumps and pumped metal quickly into the hole. I suggested Lead because it would get down pretty deep because of its density and the pumps' pressure. Then cap it with steal so the environment doesn't get screwed by Lead poisoning.

I dont' know what happens to oil when it's super heated underwater.