BP Says That Oil Flow Has Stopped as Cap Is Tested

[Bill Ryan]

----------------

Hi, Folks - this is a good news thread. :)

There's a huge amount of nonsense circulating about the GOM situation... some of it I contributed to myself earlier, before the game changed (see below). I now know quite a lot more.

Summary:


The new 'cap' has been successfully secured to the open pipe.
The new cap includes three hydraulic rams of the kind featured in the original Blowout Preventer (BOP) - which failed.
The engineers are cautiously confident that this device (see photo below) will do the job that the original BOP failed to do:
The best case scenario - and this is really possible - is that the 'tap' could be shut off within 48 hours.


Caveats and notes:


They will go super-slowly and carefully, measuring the increasing pressure in the well as the outflow is gradually restricted.
If the pressure suddenly FALLS, this means that there is a rupture somewhere in the steel well casing deep under the seabed. Then they will have to stop immediately and allow the oil to flow until John Wright's Bottom Kill operation (the Relief Wells) works. That would be in 2-4 weeks' time.
At the moment the first Relief Well is literally feet away, but they have to get to the right spot within 3.5 inches. This needs time and great care, like performing keyhole surgery.
The enormous toxicity problem remains. This is a genuine, serious, major health and pollution issue.
Lindsey Williams' data on Jeff Rense, 1 July - from a new BP senior source who contacted him - was wrong. He seems to have been lied to. The pressure in the well is NOT 40,000 psi: it's 11,900 psi. This is a known parameter (and is within manageable limits).
It's hard to understand why BP has NOT made a public statement about this. It's as if they WANTED the alternative media to go nuts... with incorrect information.
The other falsehood Lindsey was told is that the 'granite encasing the reservoir' was cracked. I have asked several geologists about this, and they nearly fell off their chairs. There is NO granite anywhere near there, and no oil reservoir (biotic or abiotic) is EVER encased in granite. Either Lindsey mis-remembers what he was told - or he was being deliberately misled.
There is a huge methane problem, but it is not combustible. There is no 'asphalt volcano', the sea floor will not collapse, and there will be no tsunami.
There IS a serious toxicity problem.


References:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38225168#38214823

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38225168#38225168

http://theoildrum.com/node/6722

http://bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/incident_response/STAGING/local_assets/downloads_pdfs/kent_wells_transcript_11_07_2010_0730CDT.pdf

http://markimoore.com/bp-releases-high-resolution-images-of-the-new-capping-stack-bop-stack-up

Summary:


This is honest-to-god good news.
There's a real chance of capping this monster this week. (Meditate, Pray, Wiggle your nose... whatever works for you. :) )
I believe - as I stated a month ago - that the game changed. A subtle but important tipping point occurred. Since then, I've been confident that the problem will be solved. The thousands of able and well-intentioned engineers - including some of the world's best - have been allowed to do their job. This is what has been happening.
I don't know whether the well was sabotaged, whether the accident was allowed (or encouraged) to occur, or whether it was just multiple incompetence fueled by greed and self-interest at management level. But I think this is going to be okay now... we have been given a reprieve. Time now to learn from this and ensure that it NEVER happens again.


A VERY rough summary of the engineering:

The device in the third photo - called a three-ram capping stack - is bolted on top of the open pipe (also shown below - the onshore image with the two men shows the size of the thing). The top image is a screenshot from the live feed, showing what we've been looking at for the last several weeks, and where the oil is escaping from.

http://projectavalon.net/pipe.jpg

http://projectavalon.net/test_pipe.jpg

http://www.theoildrum.com/files/2.%20New%20CAP%20view%201.jpg

[Sarahmay]

Thanks, Bill, for the very informative update. I pray for the cap to work.

[kinsuemei2]

unfortuntalely been so focused on the utter fiasco that we have failed to even look at the othe hand, and what it's doing, they used misdirection and as usual it worked like a charm.

[HORIZONS]

Bill, thanks for the information and for giving this issue your full due diligence. My intent is for the highest and best good for all.

[Steven]

That is an awesome news! I hope we will learn from it all.

Namaste, Steven

[JesterTerrestrial]

Hi Bill, thanks for your update on what you have come to understand about the blown out oil well. i was hoping that you would publish some of your updated thoughts after reading the wild stories that have been flying around for days I just don't know what to believe about the situation. Thank you for clearing up some of the issues and putting it together in a nice overview. I look forward to future updates. At this point I am really just watching the disaster from my remote location. I have a few ideas about this oil spill and some of the effects that it may cause...according to the natives in my area and the ancient site we seem to have found. Thats another story for another day.

My thoughts are on a positive solution. I would like to think that this event will be the catalyst needed to move the alternative energy revolution into high gear! GET RID OF OIL!!! So this can never happen again!!! We should be dismantling every single piece of junk oil rig out there!

If the world had of used Tesla's work 120 years ago we would be 100% free of oil...as I am sure you already know. Its never too late to start :)

Peace JT!

[tone3jaguar]

The other thing that people need to learn from this other than don't hire egotistical project managers to oversee critical engineering logistics has to do with the way the information on this spiraled out of control. People where being scared half to death by the rantings of some of the alternative media gurus out there who where just talking out of their asses. I heard everything from "tsunami is coming" to "this will spark a nuclear war off" to "the methane will explode and kill a bunch off red necks".

Even people that usually keep their heads screwed on strait like George Ure, and Richard Hoagland where freaking out and warning of a huge imminent cataclysm. The lesson is to stop looking outside of ourselves so that we can bypass our own intuition and rely on others for information on what to do next. I was in the "kill zone" the entire time and never once bought any of this stuff from any of these people about mass destruction suddenly killing everyone around the Gulf. Why? Because I rely on my instincts to warn me of danger. Not screaming frantic internet gurus!

EDIT: Side note, check out the first emotional release language date here on he web bot linguistics line graph. (Hint, it is today)

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x102/bradwj1977/editedgraph2.jpg

[Bill Ryan]

----------------

The alternative media have a tough job: because no-one's giving press conferences on what's really being planned.

I think what happens is that the energy and intention and drive comes from people JUST KNOWING THAT SOMETHING IS BADLY WRONG.

But they don't know exactly what that is. In their zeal, they sometimes pick on the wrong thing... they start running with the wrong ball.

Meanwhile, the PTB understand this mechanism perfectly.... and keep on giving the alternative media the wrong ball to run with.

[kinsuemei2]

It's been very interesting though and I guess good for people to do some real soul searching in the face of the unknown.

[PHARAOH]

----------------

The alternative media have a tough job: because no-one's giving press conferences on what's really being planned.

I think what happens is that the energy and intention and drive comes from people JUST KNOWING THAT SOMETHING IS BADLY WRONG.

But they don't know exactly what that is. In their zeal, they sometimes pick on the wrong thing... they start running with the wrong ball.

Meanwhile, the PTB understand this mechanism perfectly.... and keep on giving the alternative media the wrong ball to run with.

Well stated Bill. Unfortunatley a few within PA also jumped on the bandwagon and inflamed this situation. "We the People" have all the power and must learn to NEVER give it away. I did not know how, or when but knew for sure that we were going to get through this as our intentions are to be victorious. Because we did not react the way they expected us to, we gave them no other choice. The PTB also know this and will eventually learn to do what they took and oath to do which is to SERVE, "We the People". BTW "Deep Water Horizon" I'm sure there is no coincidence in this name. Just not sure what exactly. Maybe one of our members can break this down for us.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!

AMOR Familia!

[Eric J (Viking)]

Well thats great news...lets pray that this is effective...perhaps our consciousness hasn't allowed this to happen and we've had a little help from our friends (who knows)...yes its a bugger how much dis-info seeps through and what we pick up...still not sure how much was rubbish and how much was reality...but some good will surface from this..I am sure...strange how the weather patterns have changed with regard to the hurricane season hey!! Seems to be very cool down that part of the world, as I mentioned in the weather change thread... I don't think it has panned out as the PTW hoped!!

Lets hope its capped....

viking

[Victoria Tintagel]

Thank you so much, Bill! I really wriggle my nose a lot, these days, have been living with this every day, since the oil broke free. Many times, when I told people who didn't realise the impact of the oil spill, the person said "Oh well...........(<; I am sure there will be some very smart people who are going to solve this problem" This is a weird sense of humor, of course, but these people were right, at least it seems like that for now. And me standing next to them, jumping up and down of anger and excitement, figuretively speaking...... this is hopefully a very BIG wake up call to all involved in alternative/free energy.

[MargueriteBee]

Wow, Bill, I feel like we've gone into an alternate time line.:cool2:

[LeeEllisMusic]

Thanks, Bill~ but what do you think about all the reports that oil is leaking from many other cracks in the seabed?
Do you think this is incorrect information, or disinfo, and either way, do you think the relief well will solve that problem, if indeed there are other leaks on the seafloor?

Also:
* the spraying of the dispersants
* the cover up of the illnesses associated with the real toxicity of what they are using
* reports of US troops to Costa Rica in preparation for disaster/ mass evacuations.

How do you see all this connecting if the well is plugged?
Is all this disinfo?
Or might some of the de-population scenarios still unfold...

Hoping for the best, yet still mighty suspicious :rolleyes:

Thanks again for your attention on all this!

[HORIZONS]

Thanks, Bill~ but what do you think about all the reports that oil is leaking from many other cracks in the seabed?
Do you think this is incorrect information, or disinfo, and either way, do you think the relief well will solve that problem, if indeed there are other leaks on the seafloor?

Also:
* the spraying of the dispersants
* the cover up of the illnesses associated with the real toxicity of what they are using
* reports of US troops to Costa Rica in preparation for disaster/ mass evacuations.

How do you see all this connecting if the well is plugged?
Is all this disinfo?
Or might some of the de-population scenarios still unfold...

Hoping for the best, yet still mighty suspicious :rolleyes:

Thanks again for your attention on all this!

Lee, I have the same questions as you do - there is still an incredible amount of toxicity in the water and the air that has to be dealt with - or else we have been duped big time - which would fit an agenda to get all kinds of new legislation passed that would not have otherwise passed without a major event like this. After all, that is how things work in our overblown government these days - like David Icke states, here is a problem we have to deal with and here is the answer for the problem; problem solved, everyone is happy now.

[Anchor]

Thanks for this thread.

I am "wiggling" daily ;)

John..

[fifi]

Thank you so much, Bill, for your updates. I feel so happy and relieved. This forum has become my main source for information. I trust info coming from this forum more than anywhere else.

[Caren]

Thank you Bill for the good news. I have been very concerned about this. Thank goodness it will soon be
resolved. Alleluia!
caren

[unplugged]

Wow, Bill, I feel like we've gone into an alternate time line.:cool2:

Thank you for saying this. This has been my feeling for the past 24 hours -- just after the eclipse, in fact. I FELT we had shifted to a new timeline, one that averted the worst of what came before.

Now for a bit of fun. What if Lindsay Williams told the absolute truth when he said what he did when he did? What if circumstances were PRECISELY as dire as we believed them to be for a time? What if active prayer, daily energy work, and deeply felt love for our beautiful planet vibrated in the hearts of hundreds of millions -- possibly billions -- and we linked together to create a vastly accelerated pace in and thru the event horizon that caused us to wake up in a place and time that is profoundly better than that pictured before the eclipse?

This may all just be foolish blather, but hey -- who knows anything with absolute certainty at this time? Actually, I'd be pretty nervous if I met someone who claimed 100% absolute knowledge about anything at this time.

In this moment I am indeed thankful we have arrived at a point within the experiential kaleidoscope where a much brighter future than that anticipated as little as one week ago is now clearly in sight.

Blessings!

[Snowbird]

The other thing that people need to learn from this other than don't hire egotistical project managers to oversee critical engineering logistics has to do with the way the information on this spiraled out of control. People where being scared half to death by the rantings of some of the alternative media gurus out there who where just talking out of their asses. I heard everything from "tsunami is coming" to "this will spark a nuclear war off" to "the methane will explode and kill a bunch off red necks".

Even people that usually keep their heads screwed on strait like George Ure, and Richard Hoagland where freaking out and warning of a huge imminent cataclysm. The lesson is to stop looking outside of ourselves so that we can bypass our own intuition and rely on others for information on what to do next. I was in the "kill zone" the entire time and never once bought any of this stuff from any of these people about mass destruction suddenly killing everyone around the Gulf. Why? Because I rely on my instincts to warn me of danger. Not screaming frantic internet gurus!


tone3, you have mentioned on another thread that you live in the gulf region.

Granted, the news of the capping today is certainly a step in the right direction. This is very good news for those who live out of harm's way. But it has taken them 12 weeks to get this piece of equipment into place. I have a really difficult time offering praise because of this.

Below, are just two articles that describe this situation as it most likely really is. These people are not just talking out of their asses. Methane is odorless and is deadly.

Not just oil: Methane gas may cause 'dead zones' in Gulf

Levels of methane in deep-ocean waters near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are 10,000 to 100,000 times higher than normal, and in some very hot spots "we saw them approaching 1 million times above" what would be normal, says ocean chemist John Kessler of Texas A&M University in College Station.

Kessler and a group of oceanographers from Texas and the University of California-Santa Barbara spent 10 days doing deep-water sampling from 35 different sites within 7 miles of the leak, close to the ocean floor.

The gases are coming up from the same geological layer as the oil, Kessler says.

The world is focused on the amount of oil being released, but the large quantifies of methane also are creating "a highly unusual situation" that's not going to go away anytime soon, says Peter Brewer, an ocean chemist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Monterey, Calif. Bacteria consuming the methane will "run rampant," using up all the oxygen and possibly creating localized dead zones.

At some locations, up to 30% of the oxygen had been depleted from normal levels, Kessler found.

The team next plans to plot the data to find out how large these deep-sea plumes of dissolved gas are.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-06-23-hnb23_ST_N.htm


This is a list of the professionals listed with opinions and study from the article below:

Gregory Ryskin, Northwestern University-bio-chemical engineer
Matt Simmons-oil industry expert
Dr. John Kessler-Texas A&M University



Doomsday: How BP Gulf disaster may have triggered a 'world-killing' event

The warning signs of an impending planetary catastrophe—of such great magnitude that the human mind has difficulty grasping it-would be the appearance of large fissures or rifts splitting open the ocean floor, a rise in the elevation of the seabed, and the massive venting of methane and other gases into the surrounding water.

Such occurrences can lead to the rupture of the methane bubble containment—it can then permit the methane to breach the subterranean depths and undergo an explosive decompression as it catapults into the Gulf waters. [6]

All three warning signs are documented to be occurring in the Gulf.

The subterranean methane is pressurized at 100,000 pounds psi. According to Matt Simmons, an oil industry expert, the methane pressure at the wellhead has now skyrocketed to a terrifying 40,000 pounds psi.

Another well-respected expert, Dr. John Kessler of Texas A&M University has calculated that the ruptured well is spewing 60 percent oil and 40 percent methane. The normal methane amount that escapes from a compromised well is about 5 percent.

More evidence? A huge gash on the ocean floor—like a ragged wound hundreds of feet long—has been reported by the NOAA research ship, Thomas Jefferson. Before the curtain of the government enforced news blackout again descended abruptly, scientists aboard the ship voiced their concerns that the widening rift may go down miles into the earth.

That gash too is hemorrhaging oil and methane. It’s 10 miles away from the BP epicenter. Other, new fissures, have been spotted as far as 30 miles distant.

http://www.helium.com/items/1882339-doomsday-how-bp-gulf-disaster-may-have-triggered-a-world-killing-event

[HORIZONS]

tone3, you have mentioned on another thread that you live in the gulf region.

Granted, the news of the capping today is certainly a step in the right direction. This is very good news for those who live out of harm's way. But it has taken them 12 weeks to get this piece of equipment into place. I have a really difficult time offering praise because of this.

Below, are just two articles that describe this situation as it most likely really is. These people are not just talking out of their asses. Methane is odorless and is deadly.

Not just oil: Methane gas may cause 'dead zones' in Gulf

Levels of methane in deep-ocean waters near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are 10,000 to 100,000 times higher than normal, and in some very hot spots "we saw them approaching 1 million times above" what would be normal, says ocean chemist John Kessler of Texas A&M University in College Station.

Kessler and a group of oceanographers from Texas and the University of California-Santa Barbara spent 10 days doing deep-water sampling from 35 different sites within 7 miles of the leak, close to the ocean floor.

The gases are coming up from the same geological layer as the oil, Kessler says.

The world is focused on the amount of oil being released, but the large quantifies of methane also are creating "a highly unusual situation" that's not going to go away anytime soon, says Peter Brewer, an ocean chemist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Monterey, Calif. Bacteria consuming the methane will "run rampant," using up all the oxygen and possibly creating localized dead zones.

At some locations, up to 30% of the oxygen had been depleted from normal levels, Kessler found.

The team next plans to plot the data to find out how large these deep-sea plumes of dissolved gas are.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-06-23-hnb23_ST_N.htm


This is a list of the professionals listed with opinions and study from the article below:

Gregory Ryskin, Northwestern University-bio-chemical engineer
Matt Simmons-oil industry expert
Dr. John Kessler-Texas A&M University



Doomsday: How BP Gulf disaster may have triggered a 'world-killing' event

The warning signs of an impending planetary catastrophe—of such great magnitude that the human mind has difficulty grasping it-would be the appearance of large fissures or rifts splitting open the ocean floor, a rise in the elevation of the seabed, and the massive venting of methane and other gases into the surrounding water.

Such occurrences can lead to the rupture of the methane bubble containment—it can then permit the methane to breach the subterranean depths and undergo an explosive decompression as it catapults into the Gulf waters. [6]

All three warning signs are documented to be occurring in the Gulf.

The subterranean methane is pressurized at 100,000 pounds psi. According to Matt Simmons, an oil industry expert, the methane pressure at the wellhead has now skyrocketed to a terrifying 40,000 pounds psi.

Another well-respected expert, Dr. John Kessler of Texas A&M University has calculated that the ruptured well is spewing 60 percent oil and 40 percent methane. The normal methane amount that escapes from a compromised well is about 5 percent.

More evidence? A huge gash on the ocean floor—like a ragged wound hundreds of feet long—has been reported by the NOAA research ship, Thomas Jefferson. Before the curtain of the government enforced news blackout again descended abruptly, scientists aboard the ship voiced their concerns that the widening rift may go down miles into the earth.

That gash too is hemorrhaging oil and methane. It’s 10 miles away from the BP epicenter. Other, new fissures, have been spotted as far as 30 miles distant.

http://www.helium.com/items/1882339-doomsday-how-bp-gulf-disaster-may-have-triggered-a-world-killing-event

GOOD POST! I am thankful for the potential good news, but it is very naive to think we are out of the woods on this issue at this time - the aftereffects are yet to be resolved - I'll wait to party till that is done.

[Operator]

Granted, the news of the capping today is certainly a step in the right direction. This is very good news for those who live out of harm's way. But it has taken them 12 weeks to get this piece of equipment into place. I have a really difficult time offering praise because of this.

My thoughts are similar. I do not wish to dampen the party however ... the situation still needs our best intend so let's not break that.

The effect of the spill so far will be felt for years to come and maybe we did not even see the total effect of it yet.

There are way too much signals that this incident was anticipated and apparently allowed to happen (to say it mildly). What if some reports are correct and
this is a result of warring factions ? Suppose it was instigated from European side to weaken the US position (The euro-zone on it's turn was economically
attacked) . Then this faction is not interested in getting the oil themselves washing up the shore ... which would be the case if the leak keeps gushing.

Just a theory ...

[Anchor]

It is not over until the oil stops leaking from where it is not supposed to, and the oceans are restored. This remains the work of nature and humans alike, to restore the oceans to clarity and the aquatic life to health.

We have a way to go yet...

John..

-O- Leaking
-=- Sealing
--- Sealed

[Snowbird]

It is not over until the oil stops leaking from where it is not supposed to, and the oceans are restored. This remains the work of nature and humans alike, to restore the oceans to clarity and the aquatic life to health.

We have a way to go yet...

John..

-O- Leaking
-=- Sealing
--- Sealed

I beg to differ. But I also have no intentions of spreading fear...just facts.

The oil is the blazing red that is conveniently kept at focus level by those who have perpetrated this horrorific false flag. This circumstantial evidence has been gathered by several respected whistleblowers who have performed deep research.

The odorless methane alone will continue to deplete and destroy for many years to come.

The wildlife in that immediate area has been crushed.

Tens of millions of innocent human lives are hanging in the balance.

We also must remember that there is an upcoming political election here in the U.S. in November.

People want desperately to return to their lives. I can't at all blame them. However, the U.S. ships off Costa Rica are sitting and waiting and salivating for action.

The Gulf ocean region will not be restored for decades.

[Anchor]

I beg to differ. But I also have no intentions of spreading fear...just facts.

The oil is the blazing red that is conveniently kept at focus level by those who have perpetrated this horrorific false flag. This circumstantial evidence has been gathered by several respected whistleblowers who have performed deep research.

The odorless methane alone will continue to deplete and destroy for many years to come.

The wildlife in that immediate area has been crushed.



I don't see you differing with me at all. I didn't mention a timescale. We agree it isn't over yet. We have a lot of work to do.

John..

[HORIZONS]

Hopes high for cap on well, but testing delayed

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- BP was set to continue reviewing testing procedures Wednesday, a day after delaying crucial "integrity tests" on a new stacking cap placed on its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil giant had expected the tests -- to check pressure in the well and determine if it can be sealed once and for all -- to get under way Tuesday afternoon.
But late Tuesday night, officials announced that additional analysis of the well testing procedure was needed. The move followed a meeting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and his team of advisers. The decision was made by the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, which includes government agencies as well as BP.
A source informed about BP operations told CNN's John King that, "There were some potential complications that might cause a delay -- some bad, some in the 'better to be safe than sorry' category."
CNN's David Mattingly, who accompanied the Coast Guard out to a site over the ruptured well Tuesday, said Wednesday a "small city of vessels" remains at the site and continues combating the sheen of oil in Gulf waters as smoke from burning gas and oil hovers on the horizon.
It had been hoped that the integrity tests would show whether an end is in sight to the environmental disaster that has been unfolding for the last 12 weeks. But throughout the evening, cameras some 5,000 feet below the surface showed oil gushing from the well's capping stack, indicating that valves had not been closed to begin the pressure tests. Mattingly said some of the oil, however, is being siphoned.
The massive custom-designed cap, which has a better seal than the last cap placed on the well, is some 30 feet high and weighs 160,000 pounds. It's hoped that it might seal the well completely. But if it's unable to contain all the oil, some could be diverted through riser pipes to ships on the surface. Under a worst-case scenario, however, tests might show there's more damage to the well's casing, meaning that capping the well would not stop the oil from flowing.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/14/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T1

[illuminate]

There has never been a better time to use our individual and collective
power to make a difference here through prayer, intent and meditation...

YOU really can make a difference!! :love:

[Bill Ryan]

Hopes high for cap on well, but testing delayed

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- BP was set to continue reviewing testing procedures Wednesday, a day after delaying crucial "integrity tests" on a new stacking cap placed on its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil giant had expected the tests -- to check pressure in the well and determine if it can be sealed once and for all -- to get under way Tuesday afternoon.
But late Tuesday night, officials announced that additional analysis of the well testing procedure was needed. The move followed a meeting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and his team of advisers. The decision was made by the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, which includes government agencies as well as BP.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/14/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T1

I'm watching this with huge interest. It SEEMS as if there are a bunch of concerned people (a good thing!) who want no risks to be taken. Measure twice, cut once.

The potential risk is that if they pressure-test the system with a bad unknown situation down the pipe, they might make the entire situation worse.

Some very experienced observers (not Matt Simmonds, but engineers who really know the business!) are asking why any risk at all should be taken when the Relief Wells are so close. It's a good question.

One has to presume that the BP engineers have evaluated that the risk is justified... after a whole bunch of detailed 3D seismic testing over the last few days. It's entirely possible that Steven Chu and his team just wanted the guys to take one long look again at all the data just to be extra extra sure.

There's also the factor that a capped well - even a partially capped one - will assist in the Bottom Kill. This is because with a blocked or partially blocked outlet at the top, this will provide extra pressure - additional to the heavy, thick OBM (old-based 'mud') that will be pumped through the Relief Well UP the pipe at the bottom to form a sort of giant superheavy liquid cork.

Once all that is stable, then they cement the entire thing shut and live to drill another day.

The principle here is that ANYTHING that helps stop the oil from coming out - even a partial cap - will help the Bottom Kill 'liquid cork' to do its job.

So part of the calculated risk may be that even if they can't totally "turn off the tap", it'll help the Bottom Kill to work. (And this is true.)

More data is leaking out, as well as the oil. It's interesting (see my original post) why BP have not been more transparent from the outset.

It's as if they WANT the alternative community to go off on every kind of wild goose chase, while something entirely different may be happening elsewhere: a classic misdirect.

To say again: Lindsey Williams is a dear, sincere man, but he was plain wrong about the pressure and the granite (Jeff Rense, 1 July). His ORIGINAL source - the elderly executive he knows well - was also wrong about the pressure.

Whether it was an accident or not, as Lindsey claims (with occult foreknowledge by those with financial interests) is interesting to debate. I still think it was an accident, compounded by all kinds of criminal incompetence and shortcutting, but there are some serious questions that remain.

Having said that, if anyone still thinks that what happened is an "illusion of a false spill", they should go and look: or maybe ask Kindra Arnesen.

This is the most alarming image I've seen... a satellite photo, using a special sensor, in which the red is the oil and the turquoise is the dispersant: to the naked eye, this is invisible.

THIS is part of the toxicity problem, which is huge (and as a number of members have pointed out) will take a LOT of co-ordinated work to fix.

-------------------

(Click here for a very high-resolution image: [B]http://projectavalon.net/oil_and_dispersant_15_July_2010_lg.jpg)

http://projectavalon.net/oil_and_dispersant_15_July_2010.jpg

[tone3jaguar]

[QUOTE=Snowbird;34663]tone3, you have mentioned on another thread that you live in the gulf region.

Granted, the news of the capping today is certainly a step in the right direction. This is very good news for those who live out of harm's way. But it has taken them 12 weeks to get this piece of equipment into place. I have a really difficult time offering praise because of this.

Below, are just two articles that describe this situation as it most likely really is. These people are not just talking out of their asses. Methane is odorless and is deadly.

I was not inferring that all information about the gulf was false or that the entire situation is peachy. I was referring specifically to the people who where warning us to pack our bug out bags, prepare for a tsunami, prepare for over 10 million people to be evacuated, prepare for possible nuclear war, prepare for a methane gas explosion and etc. Of course there are real issues that will persist that are serious. However, none of these conditions warrant frightening all those around the gulf that read and listen to the alternative media.

[Operator]

There's also the factor that a capped well - even a partially capped one - will assist in the Bottom Kill. This is because with a blocked or partially blocked outlet at the top, this will provide extra pressure - additional to the heavy, thick OBM (old-based 'mud') that will be pumped through the Relief Well UP the pipe at the bottom to form a sort of giant superheavy liquid cork.


Hi Bill,

I am not an expert in the oil industry but my common sense tells me that if you cap and close the top full pressure will hit at the entry point where the relief well 'connects'.
Wasn't this the idea (but then the other way round) of a relief well (to reduce pressure at the open end by having another open end) ?
Also if the top is closed .. you can't pump anything 'up' ...

Again I am not an expert, maybe I am missing some insight here ... just using common sense ...

Anyone else having thoughts on this ?

Cheers, op.

[JoshERTW]

A lesson those of us who follow this type of 'alternative' news need to learn from this is to be more careful in what we take as truth. Sensational claims require sensational proof to substantiate them. A lot of us didn't keep this in mind as the 'tsunami' of information about the oil spill spewed forth into the alternative media. Not enough hard facts were presented, too many dubious claims of 'inside sources' and such things. I certainly got sucked into it. We all need to keep our heads on striaght as things get more intense.

[Bill Ryan]

Hi Bill,

I am not an expert in the oil industry but my common sense tells me that if you cap and close the top full pressure will hit at the entry point where the relief well 'connects'.
Wasn't this the idea (but then the other way round) of a relief well (to reduce pressure at the open end by having another open end) ?
Also if the top is closed .. you can't pump anything 'up' ...

Again I am not an expert, maybe I am missing some insight here ... just using common sense ...



The term 'Relief Well' is a misnomer... it doesn't relieve or bleed off pressure.

It connects with the bottom of the Wild Well (the one with the blowout) so that 'mud' (very heavy thick specialized fluid) can be pumped upwards to form the 'liquid cork'. As the 'mud' is pumped upwards, the oil under pressure is forced down where we need to keep it.

Basically, the 'mud' blocks the pipe (with its own sheer weight acting against the pressurized oil and gas) and so the oil/gas has nowhere to go. Finally, they glue it all solid with cement.

If the Wild Well is partially capped already, then this helps this 'Bottom Kill' process. This adds pressure to the system... like putting your thumb over the end of a hose.

That's what they're going to test in the next day or so: whether the 'thumb' CAN be put over the end of the hose without the hose breaking somewhere else. And they have to do that pretty carefully. Testing to destruction is not a good idea here. :)

With the extra pressure in the system from the 'thumb' (the new 3-ram capping stack, which itself is a kind of mini blowout preventer), the Relief Well 'mud' doesn't have to work quite as hard to keep the oil/gas down in the reservoir where it needs to stay. They'll need a little less of it, and it need not be so heavy. Those are advantages.

[Bill Ryan]

A lesson those of us who follow this type of 'alternative' news need to learn from this is to be more careful in what we take as truth. Sensational claims require sensational proof to substantiate them. A lot of us didn't keep this in mind as the 'tsunami' of information about the oil spill spewed forth into the alternative media. Not enough hard facts were presented, too many dubious claims of 'inside sources' and such things. I certainly got sucked into it. We all need to keep our heads on striaght as things get more intense.

Couldn't agree more. It's been a learning point for me as I realized that many well-intentioned people (including Lindsey Williams) were just plain wrong.

There IS a methane problem (which de-oxygenates the water, killing sea-life) - but it is highly unlikely to explode. It did on the DW Horizon, because it was coming out like a huge gas cooker jet which had not been lit. One spark set it all off.

(I read a chilling account from an oilman who had been in an identical situation... but where there had thankfully been no spark to cause the explosion. Everyone ran for their lives, but the drilling supervisor was brave enough and cool enough to run in the opposite direction for the Blowout Preventer cutout... and activated it. It worked immediately as designed, and it was all over. That situation blew up from nowhere within minutes, with no warning. They call it a 'kick' - when a pocket of gas is suddenly punctured. All oilmen tell these stories, with no exaggeration needed.)

Back to the topic.


There IS a methane problem. It creates dead zones in the waters of the Gulf, but will not explode.
There IS a toxicity problem: volatile organic compounds like benzene and hydrogen sulphide - and the Corexit.
The sea floor will not collapse.
There is no asphalt volcano.
There is no risk of a tsunami.
There is natural seepage from the floor of the Gulf, but no huge cracks. (The report about the 'Thomas Jefferson' research vessel having found a huge crack in the ocean floor is a wild rumor - here is the most recent report from the Thomas J (http://www.noaa.gov/sciencemissions/PDFs/tj_deepwaterhorizon_responsemissionreport_june3_11_2010final.pdf).)
They will 'kill' the well - maybe this week, and certainly next month.


This is worth reading (a well-informed response to the wild rumors):

http://helium.com/items/1889723-fact-checking-the-drama-in-the

I'm not beating anyone over the head with the above, but I've been following this REALLY closely and I've completely revised my original thoughts about this. I believe the above to be true as best I know right now.

I was at one point extremely alarmed, as I stated on the Avalon blog. I'm not alarmed any longer, though I want this to be turned off yesterday, and then there's the mother of all clean-ups to get on with. And PLENTY of learning to help ourselves to, God help the human race otherwise.

The bottom line: about a month ago, something definitely changed in the ethers. Timeline change? Maybe not a joke.

[Ba-ba-Ra]

----------------

The alternative media have a tough job: because no-one's giving press conferences on what's really being planned.

I think what happens is that the energy and intention and drive comes from people JUST KNOWING THAT SOMETHING IS BADLY WRONG.

But they don't know exactly what that is. In their zeal, they sometimes pick on the wrong thing... they start running with the wrong ball.

Meanwhile, the PTB understand this mechanism perfectly.... and keep on giving the alternative media the wrong ball to run with.


Thanks Bill for the info and I agree. I'd also like to add something else that I've noticed and perhaps it's a possibility to consider.

As when the American stock market dropped 1,000 points last month. First the stock market dropped in a normal fashion about 350 points (something pretty noteworthy), then it dropped another 700 points instantly causing much trepidation among investors. After a sweat-breaking pause it then went back up the 700 points and the headlines read "Stock Market rallies" and it was said the 700 point drop was someone just pushing the wrong button. My point is - no one paid attention to the 350 drop and I think the 700 drop was perhaps done on purpose to divert our attention. ..... Same way with the Gulf. While I'm hopeful and grateful that there seems to be an answer of stopping this nasty flow of oil, let us not forget that unimaginable damage has been done to the Gulf - even if the flow is stopped at this point. Many animals dead, many folks have lost their means of support for who knows how long, many more toxins released etc. But I wonder if once again they haven't played us - perhaps by the leaking of all these worse case scenarios. After considering a tsunami, underwater volcano erupting, Gulf floor rupturing, etc., the reality of what's actually happened doesn't seem so bad. ... I'm not trying to be negative here, just trying to bring some balance, Bill, as I know you are.

Let's all try to stay out of judgment and fear as we keep searching. And let's look at the back page and see what else has been happening while they've kept us focused on the Gulf. Often, I've noticed, that's one of their tactics. Ba-ba-Ra

[danieljackson]

I for one am glad the hysteria is dying down. I've always believed it was more cock-up, than a deliberate act to blow an oil well.

From afar, it seemed to me that the reaction of the politicians and all the other loud voices actually made things worse.
I work in engineering, and from time to time one sees things going horribly wrong and what is needed is a calm head and a few moments to absorb the situation and work out a way forward. All we heard from the politicians was how they were going to keep their foot on BP's necks, who's personal blame is it, fix it now, fix it now fix it now why isn't it fixed why isn't it fixed why isn't it fixed demands for an enquiry heads should roll....... and on it went.

This was a pretty unique situation, seeing as how the operation was having to be carried out in an environment more challenging than working in space - no human is ever going to be able to work 10,000 ft. under the sea.

Personally speaking, i work best and think most clearly when I'm left to it. I think that would apply to all of us, who can concentrate when every 5 minutes your're being told that you're working too slowly and you'd better get it sorted right now?

So the first attempt at a repair was done just for the sake of it, because people who had no idea of what the answer was, were demanding that some feat of engineering brilliance be worked out on the spot.
And as for all the threats made to BP that they'd better pay for the clean up.......does anybody really think that after the explosion happened BP would just disappear into the night like a dodgy roofer and not take responsibility for what happened? I mean how would they think they'd get away with it when oil is washing up on shore and the worlds media was putting them under their microscope?

I'm not sticking up for BP, it seems as if mistakes were made, but like i said, when you want someone to fix something, screaming and shouting isn't really the answer, no matter how bad things look. The people trying to fix this are humans - some of them extremely skilled and experienced, some of them prone to putting their foot in their mouth but nonetheless, they needed time to think and initially it wasn't given to them. I'm not sticking up For BP, I'm looking at how you deal with situations and how external influences can have a negative effect.

There's been talk about a dead zone in the GOM, there was one BEFORE the explosion because a lot of the USA's waste get's poured into it - just thought I'd throw that one in there !

It's hard not to come across as anti American when you don't toe the line and only express shock and horror - but it strikes me as just a bit hypocritical for the USA's politicians to immediately jump on their high horses. If they were that concerned about corporate responsibility, how come that since the the Bhopal disaster, no American has ever been held responsible for the corporate manslaughter of up to 125,000 Indians....babies are still being born with deformities now. Incidentally, union carbide is now owned by dow chemicals - the inventors of napalm.

Let's chop the heads off after the dust has settled, i think I'm right in saying that the coastline destroyed in the Exxon Valdez disaster has now recovered - oil is an organic compound and will eventually disappear, I doubt that offshore drilling will disappear and I'm sure that plenty of oil companies can't wait to start drilling in the arctic either - we're supposed to learn from history, and it's happening right now, but as long as there's oil they'll keep drilling for it no matter where it is. There's no choice, so many economies depend on it and how do we make a gentle transition to green energy with out the lifestyle so many have become accustomed to thinking is their right, being taken away from them.

I totally understand how people thought this was a sinister illuminati plot to de-populate America, in fact i can understand how people think there's a plot to de-populate the world. There's a lot of empathetic (is that a real word?) people on here, I mean how much of an impossible job is it to run a country and oversee a complete paradigm shift at the same time - at best it's crisis management 24/7 at worst it's just plain impossible.

If you wanted to fix it, you wouldn't start from here!

I'm old enough to remember the 70's and how the environmentalists were derided as bearded, sandal wearing, tree hugging lefties - and to be fair, some of the ladies could have done with a shave :) but seriously, that was the time to do something and the politicians were too busy with their snouts in the trough and a lot of people just wanted their standard of living to get better and didn't really care or think about whether there was a price to be paid.

If we can find a way to create a situation where oil companies don't need to go to such extreme lengths, then we've cracked it. But i wonder what lessons will be learned, how much quiet reflection will take place about how the developed world has found itself on a path of unsustainable living, of exponential population growth, of the need for infinite economic growth ?

Let's hope the children of today grow into the saviours of tomorrow

[Etherios]

Let's hope the children of today grow into the saviours of tomorrow

They wont because ppl that think like you will never teach them the problem .... If a kid grows up thinking this is how life if the it will never change it. Thus dont hope for your kids to be savious.

SAVE THEM YOURSELF. Let them grow in a proper society for a change. Then again you dont see any big problems its all our fear mongering and our BS. Then dont worry your kids will turn like you apathetic and ignorant to the planet problems... ofc till something happens.

P.S. i am not talking about you spesific it... a generation thing.

[danieljackson]

The US coastguard has just ORDERED BP to cap the well even though pressure tests have not been completed - this is exactly what i mean. As far as im aware, the coastguard rescues drowning sailors it doesn't operate oil wells.......fix it now mentality strikes again !

Please don't confuse pragmatism with apathy :)

[Teakai]

Thanks, Bill~ but what do you think about all the reports that oil is leaking from many other cracks in the seabed?
Do you think this is incorrect information, or disinfo, and either way, do you think the relief well will solve that problem, if indeed there are other leaks on the seafloor?

Also:
* the spraying of the dispersants
* the cover up of the illnesses associated with the real toxicity of what they are using
* reports of US troops to Costa Rica in preparation for disaster/ mass evacuations.

How do you see all this connecting if the well is plugged?
Is all this disinfo?
Or might some of the de-population scenarios still unfold...

Hoping for the best, yet still mighty suspicious :rolleyes:

Thanks again for your attention on all this!

I'm with you, Lee. How do we know what's info and what's disinfo?

Whatever happens, it doesn't change the fact of the secrecy, the spraying of poisons, the power to arrest by big companies, the shonky shortcuts, the media black-out, the selling off of BP stock, the refusal of BP to supply the clean up crew with face masks, not allowing people on the beach, not allowing workers to talk to the media, the seeming unconcern of Barrack Obama and his pushing on about cap and trade, Larry Scweiger stating: "the crisis in the gulf is 'about' creating a safer energy platform for America", the turning away of assistance from other countries.

Has the situation run sufficiently to now allow the 'ptb' to follow through on an agenda? Has it got the majority of the population screaming "NO MORE FOSSIL FUELS - WE CAN NEVER ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN!!!" I'd say so - they been trying to do this for 20 years or more - now they can justifiably tax the crap out of us while at the same time having our support (not all of our support) to do it.

I also am hoping for the best, but remain mighty suspicious.

[Bill Ryan]

---------------

For those with an engineering bent, this page is a gold mine re what is happening right now (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6729).

Almost a running commentary from a bunch of very smart and savvy oilmen, engineers and geologists. I've learned a huge amount from reading their comments carefully.

One post a short while ago from the guy most worth reading carefully - a good man called ROCKMAN (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6729#comment-676733). This gives you a clue about the kind of nonsense that I now realize is leaking (like the gusher!) throughout the alternative media:


ROCKMAN [to another member] :
You won't take comfort in this but not only was BP's well not some odd extreme geological misfit it was pretty plain vanilla in the DW world of the GOM. Except for the water depth it wasn't very noteworthy on any level. It didn't drill that much rock (13,000')...I've drilled over 30,000'. The pay sand wasn't that thick (60')...I've seen 800' thick pay sections. The pressure wasn't that high (11,900 psi)...I've measured over 19,000 psi. It only ran over schedule by about 40 days...I saw one well drilled 200 days over schedule.

The geology wasn't the cause of the accident.

(When the thread closes, as it will within a few hours, look for the continuation URLs indicated at the top of the page... that forum works in a different way from this one.)

[tone3jaguar]

With the reported massive budget of the CIA to basically push counter intelligence out on the internet, you have to wonder how much of this hysteria was by design and how much of it was just hysteria.

[bluestflame]

on the positive side with a bit of backtracking and cross referencing we may be able to track down some disinfo sources and tag them

[Humble Janitor]

Thanks for the updates, Bill. I can see that the disinformation is still running amok on other sites, especially since it seems that people are actually disappointed that their doomsday scenarios haven't come to pass (probably CIA cockroaches?).

[Luke]

There is also a phenomena called "Stand Alone Complex" to consider, when event that came to be known to the public is then copied and extended by people, that have never been involved or associated with original perpetrator. They just feel connected with original message, and often build and extend "story" or "manifest" on their own.
Millenarism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millenarism) is phenomena known for at least 2000 years. Many religious movements have sprout from that, often genocidal ones. So, while transformation is ongoing thing, it's easy to fall into "doomsday scenario". Religions worked for ages to insert this thought-patterns in every individual. Civilization that expect that their world will end any minute now is not interested in any sustainable development.

And then there a those that want to "immanentize the eschaton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanentize_the_eschaton)" no matter the costs.

[bluestflame]

if i find something of interest that could bear further investigation i post it for others to do thier own research

[morguana]

this is very good news, i hope with all my heart that they will have a great success.
hopefully humans will soon stop this indiscriminate taking from the planet, a lesson i hope all will learn from
m

[Bill Ryan]

----------------

Update.... this is a totally excellent visual summary of the current situation (a really simple and accurate presentation).

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/07/14/jk.nye.capping.the.leak.cnn.html

Note the further confirmation of the high (quoted as around 10,000 psi) but not VERY high pressures. The measured pressure in the reservoir is 11,900 psi.

It really is. Lindsey Williams was totally misinformed about this (for whatever reasons). A problem for well-meaning Lindsey... but actually good news. I'm happy he was quite wrong, because it means the problem is fixable.

[Etherios]

----------------

Update.... this is a totally excellent visual summary of the current situation (a really simple and accurate presentation).

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/07/14/jk.nye.capping.the.leak.cnn.html

Note the further confirmation of the high (quoted as around 10,000 psi) but not VERY high pressures. The measured pressure in the reservoir is 11,900 psi.

It really is. Lindsey Williams was totally misinformed about this (for whatever reasons). A problem for well-meaning Lindsey... but actually good news. I'm happy he was quite wrong, because it means the problem is fixable.

Excellent news indeed ... lets hope they stop this fast... THO they sure are taking things slow and acting like amateurs...

[JoshERTW]

Bill

Thinking back to your summary of what problems are and are not on the horizon with this blowout, you forgot to mention the economy. I'm just speculating here, but how many water-front mortgages do you think are held by people along the gulf? How many of these property values are going to fall through the floor as a result of this spill once people realize its going to take many years to clean up the mess? People will start to walk away from their mortgages once the amount owing starts to exceed the value of the property if they have any common sense - as they will likely be unable to get any of their equity out of it. This will probably make the ongoing 'mortgage crisis' (thats right folks, it never ended, it just stopped being front page news) worse and further stress the economy, and thats not even to mention the number of defaults just from people who's jobs are gone forever and who will not be able to pay the bills. In other parts of the US people have been doing exactly this for quite some time now - stop paying the mortgage for a few months until you get foreclosed on, save the cash while you're waiting to get the boot, then use that cash to rent for a while until you can find something better. I think I even saw a story about people doing this on CNN not too long ago. I figure its just gonna be happening in a new area now, and mortgage defaults have ripple effects as we've all seen, as they have been packaged and sold in so many investment 'vehicles' over the years.

Not trying to get back into the 'doom and gloom' here but I think the economic side of things is certainly worth considering, and could certainly be part of the bigger picture as to why this seems to have been allowed to happen (and to go on for so long) in the first place. I read an article just yesterday on a wall-street blog site about the dollar being abandonned by central banks all over the world, I figure this was bound to happen eventually and maybe this disaster was the straw on the camels back.

As to the length of this disaster, I personally don't see why they took so long to design and fabricate this new cap. Its not like they were bogged down by permits required to start the work, and with so many engineers working (I assume) in tandem with one another, I would imagine something like this could be pulled together quickly without compromising safety or the integrity of the design. Engineers generally put in some pretty long hours when the heat is on, and get the job done quickly when the need is there, or they get a new job. When I say quickly, I mean a couple of weeks, not 86 days or whatever we are at now.

[bluestflame]

that's the interesting thing , generally accepted , based on well traveled exaggerated facts and figures the delay in capping had been justified even plausible , now in the light of reduced figures and apparent reduced complexity, in reality ...what was taking so long ?

basically a lot of people had thought it was a lot worse than what it actually is , I don't believe that is an accident , public opinion has been seeded and steered , the whole thing from the start has seemed like a series of delaying tactics yet all the while the oil continued to pour

[HORIZONS]

This event, for whatever reason, is and will be used to to further erode the US constitution and pass the new energy bill with all its attachments in place that will ultimately take away even more of our freedoms just like 911 did. Cap and trade, carbon tax and all the like will be passed now without any resistance whatsoever, and this is just one more major step in the nwo plans for a global one world government. The big picture has not changed one bit, but has become more in focus - for the nwo - while the world is focused on this event in the gulf. Real catastrophic events are the triggers that the nwo will use to complete their agenda - whatever the cost to the rest of us.

[irishspirit]

NEW ORLEANS — Oil stopped gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in nearly three months, as BP began testing the cap atop its stricken well, a critical step toward sealing the well permanently.
Enlarge This Image
Reuters

A robotic arm is visible at work next to the new cap on the blown-out well in this image captured from a live video feed provided by BP.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/us/16spill.html?_r=1

[Bill Ryan]

---------------

Thanks for posting this - you beat me to it. :)

If anyone wants literally up-to-the-minute information about this from smart people in the oil business who know exactly what they're looking at and what's actually happening - click here:

http://theoildrum.com/node/6733




Wow, Bill, I feel like we've gone into an alternate time line.:cool2:

Yep...!




============

Thread merged with the previous update thread here:

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?3976-BP-Says-That-Oil-Flow-Has-Stopped-as-Cap-Is-Tested

[Bill Ryan]

Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander:

"We're encouraged by this development, but this isn't over. Over the next several hours we will continue to collect data and work with the federal science team to analyze this information and perform additional seismic mapping runs in the hopes of gaining a better understanding on the condition of the well bore and options for temporary shut in of the well during a hurricane.

"It remains likely that we will return to the containment process using this new stacking cap connected to the risers to attempt to collect up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day until the relief well is completed."

I've been watching this very closely for quite a while now, and what's been happening is more than fascinating.

To recap, on Monday BP suddenly revealed their 3-ram capping stack (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6725)... the massive new gadget that's bolted on top of the old blowout preventer.

Who knew? They produced it like a rabbit out of a hat. Even the professionals on The Oil Drum (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6733) were taken by surprise.

The 24 hour delay before the pressure testing (see the first post of this thread for details of the game plan) was so that they could double-check the seismic readings of the sea floor... to make sure there were no leaks or gashes. THERE WERE NONE. That gave them the confidence to proceed.

Admiral Thad Allen even stated this in the 4 pm Wednesday press conference (http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/783847/).... which is hugely intriguing:


Admiral Thad Allen:

"Tell you what – why we’ve been obsessing over this, and (probably) I should have explained a little bit more on the front. We tried the top kill back in May, and we pumped a lot of mud into that well, and as long as we were pumping mud into the well, we were suppressing the oil. But the maximum pressure we were able to achieve pumping the mud down the well bore was only around 6,000 psi, so the question is why aren’t we able to achieve a greater pressure head and be successful with the top kill? And you can postulate a number of things, but two we’re discussing, and this was part of the discussion over the last couple of days.



"One of them we’re just pointing out to the top of the blowout preventer, like we saw the oil escaping. And there was a lot of mud (inaudible) there. The other one was that as it was being forced down, it might be escaping the as it reached the casing through the well bore. We don’t know that. The admission of something was potentially wrong and we should have this discussion partially due to the fact that we’ve never been comfortable with what the 6,000 psi meant during the top kill effort and what the implication for not being able to achieve a higher pressure."

All observers - including myself, SHR (http://projectavalon.net/The_BP_Deepwater_Horizon_Macondo_Well_Blowout_and_what_we_are_facing_in_the_Gulf.pdf), and hundreds of mainstream and alternative media commentators, had been assuming that the 'Top Kill' had been aborted because it was sure that the well casing was ruptured.

IT'S NOW CLEAR THAT THAT WAS JUST ONE THEORY. They didn't know for sure. Evidently there was room for other causes of the 6,000 psi maximum pressure attained, and the engineers had ben debating this for several weeks.

Finally, it was agreed to do the pressure test, the final okay being given by Steven Chu, with orders (quite right, too) to go really slowly and carefully.

As I maintained a little while back: the brightest and best in the business have been allowed to do their job. Evidently that has been happening - on the geology and engineering side.

The alternative media might well be embarrassed by the amount of pure nonsense that had been discussed. Many Gulf residents must have been really frightened by the doomsday scenarios being promoted.

There are still MANY questions to be asked:


Why did the incident happen?
Why has the clean-up operation been so incompetent?
Why the strong-arm tactics on all observers of the clean-up and the extent of the oil?
What is the true extent and impact of the toxicity?
What will be done to prevent this ever happening again?

One might also ask:

How did the alternative media get some things so wrong?

Several weeks ago, I was also stating how extremely concerned I was. About a month ago, something changed in the ethers, and I reported this on the forum.

Many of you sensed the same thing. I stated, with cautious confidence, that it was going to be okay... and the real problem would be the massive clean-up needed.

Now, the worst-case scenarios may now be finally put to rest. As I write this, the pressure is up to 6,700 psi and holding. It needs to reach a maximum of a little less than 10,000 psi, which aided by the pressure of the sea water at a depth of one mile, will equalize the reservoir pressure.

Note again: the pressure in the reservoir is 11,900 psi - NOT 40,000 psi as Lindsey Williams had been told by his new BP source... who, you may remember, had approached HIM. Lindsey is a dear, sincere man, but he was clearly lied to. Learning here for everyone.

So: don't uncross your fingers just yet, but you can open your eyes... :)

And now we've had our wake-up call. Another bad-timeline scenario has been by-passed. We MUST start taking responsibility for Planet Earth, starting now. No easy job, and no easy exit.

[THIRDEYE]

bill today is the 15th and bp and staff ghas said the have stopped the flow of all crude flowing into the gulf..i hope this is the truth...it is on msnbc,a video an an articule on the flow being stopped,now they say they will be monitoring pressure in the well,to insure there is no failures in the well pipe itself..i pray to the devine ones that this catostrophy will be finally coming to and end..time will tell...with much lght,love and abundance...thirdeye

[Teakai]

----------------

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/07/14/jk.nye.capping.the.leak.cnn.html




My spidey senses are a tinglin’. This isn’t working for me. It’s like a total set-up. Where were these smart guys before? Why weren’t they talking about what was going on then?

Did those in charge realise the volcano was about to run out of steam and suddenly stop and so it was time to get ready to ‘cap’ the well and start talking about it?

Absolutely ‘everything’ about the whole scenario reeks of deception and manipulation.

Aside from all the other incriminating evidence:
Obama was too calm about the whole thing – in a hurry to jump into a war with Iran, couldn’t get the military to Haiti quick enough, but allowed BP to take its own sweet time with the job.

If they thought it was an end of world scenario they’d have taken all the offered help they could get.
And why all the secrecy?

I’m so glad it’s finally stopped – but IMO it was always going to – but it seems people are just so relieved that they’re starting to be grateful to and to believe information put out by the people that manufactured it in the first place.

And as an aside: If the big drill site is the main leak site why completely cap it and risk the great pressure build up? Why not slap another rig on top and use the oil?
Oh, wait - then we'd be back to square one with fossil fuels issue.

[LeeEllisMusic]

God, I hope you're right, Bill. There is a lot of work ahead, IF this thing can be fully sealed. But I have to say that these last couple of days has found me a bit angry. Not that I’m not glad that the well may be on it’s way to finally being sealed. But because I feel that important lessons may not be learned by the masses; that the dispersants have yet to reveal their awful toll to human life on the shore, as undoubtedly they have under the sea, where BP has diffused the majority of the oil and kept it from public view. I’m beyond frustrated that the lies, deceit, and business as usual will continue~ while the livelihoods of thousands in the Gulf region will never be the same, that insidious health threats will be swept under the rug, and that the plan for the dying of our economy and our very nation are sailing along full speed ahead.

I don’t believe this is a new “timeline”. I think that happened in September of 2008 when Hillary was supposed to win, and the game changed. One awake friend of mine said he thinks this change we feel is more related to an upgrade in our DNA. Who knows?...

I want to know what the sea bed looks like, away from BP’s single shot camera. I want to know how many toxins are down there. I want to know how big the dead zone is, and how large it will become. Will it travel around the globe, unseen on the surface as it makes it’s way through the planet’s currents? I really want to shake the people who say “Oh, how lovely, it’s over~ now I can go back to my life...” and tell them,,, well hell, what DOES one say, really.... “Oh, I guess you were right! No big deal. Just a few pelicans and dolphins. Gee we really dodged a bullet there...”

Today I heard a wonderful interview on NPR with a reporter who discussed the horrific dispersants, the illnesses among the Gulf workers and the devastation of the world economy. My favorite progressive radio show - The Thom Hartman Program - has been all about the dispersants lately. And, I have to say, that Thom is consistently one man who talks about our constitution, the demise of our democracy, and the oligarchy that rules us now - in a measured way that Alex Jones can only dream of. And in a small way, I’m a bit disturbed that I find myself thinking more positive thoughts about Mr. Jones and what he is trying to do than ever before.

So, yes, I feel a change. I think things may actually get better. In the long run. But I also think the s**t is still going to hit the fan, that this is some kind of cruel reprieve, and that the wake-up call this disaster has offered us will be missed, while the deadly consequences it unleashed has only just begun...

We do indeed have a great deal of work to do. The first of which,it seems to me, is to channel our knowledge, our frustration with TPTW and get our arses in gear.

Blessings to all. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning :)

[MariaDine]

Follow the Money ...for more answers :)

Reporting from Washington and Atlanta — In an effort to seize greater control of the gulf oil catastrophe, President Obama is prepared to compel BP executives to set up a multibillion-dollar escrow account to pay damage claims in the region, a senior White House official said Sunday.

The Obama administration could use its legal authority under the federal oil pollution act — the landmark legislation passed a year after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill —- to force BP to set up such a fund to cover damages that are likely to be astronomical and could prove to be a burden even for BP, which posted a $6.1-billion profit last quarter.

"Our mission is to hold them accountable in every appropriate way," Obama advisor David Axelrod said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "He is going to be very clear about what our expectations are in terms of taking care of the people who've been damaged by this crisis."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
» Don't miss a thing. Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In a letter to BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward on Sunday, 54 senators, nearly the entire Democratic caucus, called on the company to set aside $20 billion for cleanup and damages, to be administered by an independent trustee.

The push for an escrow account is one of several strategies planned by the administration this week in an apparent effort to rebut mounting criticism from the left and right that Obama has failed to respond to the disaster with sufficient adroitness or passion.

Before meeting with BP executives Wednesday, the president will travel to the gulf on Monday for his fourth visit since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 men and starting what has become the largest oil spill in U.S. history. On Tuesday night, the president plans to deliver a nationwide address on the spill and the government's response.

The federal government and public have become increasingly frustrated with BP after its numerous failed efforts to stop the leak —- and as the original estimate of a 1,000-barrel-a-day problem has been dramatically revised upward. On Friday, federal officials said that number could be closer to 40,000 barrels a day.

During the weekend, Alabama saw the worst effects of the gusher yet on its coastal beaches, where waves of oil mixed with Sargasso seaweed up to 5 inches thick washed ashore. Crews in Gulf Shores, Ala., cleaned up much of it by Sunday morning, but tar balls remained on the sand and an oil sheen was visible on the water. The city government prohibited swimming at a beachfront usually packed this time of year.

"Everybody down here's so frustrated with the situation, and there's nothing they can really do about it," said Grant Brown, the city's director of recreation and cultural affairs.

Meanwhile, Jon Pack, a BP spokesman, said Sunday that the company would respond in a "very timely manner" to the Coast Guard's demand to come up with a better plan to contain the oil, but he added that the company would not make the plan public.

BP's board of directors was scheduled to meet Monday, according to Pack, who would not divulge the agenda.

BP executives have promised to pay all "legitimate" claims arising from the spill, despite a legal cap of $75 million for economic damage. But those promises have not reassured all those affected by the disaster, including fishermen, oil workers and business operators who have lost their livelihoods. Some have feared that BP could declare bankruptcy or be taken over by another company in an effort to limit its liability.

Administration officials downplayed the possibility of a BP bankruptcy but said they wanted a commitment from the oil giant to set aside a substantial fund so claims could be paid quickly.

BP could tap its estimated $7 billion in cash reserves or borrow. But borrowing costs could be higher after two agencies lowered BP's credit rating from AA+ to AA this month. The company has lost about half of its market value since the disaster. BP said it had shelled out $1 billion toward the containment, cleanup and compensation effort.

On CNN's "State of the Union," Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said BP should compensate the tourist industry as well as fishermen and oil workers. "I really don't care how they do it, whether they set up an escrow account or not," he said.

"But we have to do something. If you look at what's going on with the economy and the state of Alabama and Mississippi, Louisiana and now Florida, we're going to have to have some level of compensation, because our tourist season here is essentially from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And with the beaches the way they are this morning, it's going to be very, very difficult to sustain the economic balance that we've had in the past."

Asked who should receive compensation among so many far-flung businesses, Riley said, "Every one of them.… I don't think there is a dividing line."

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said sensational media coverage had scared away tourists who believe, wrongly, that his state's beaches had been fouled.

But in Gulf Shores, in neighboring Alabama, there was no denying reality after the onslaught of gooey, viscous oil Saturday. Brown, the city recreation official, said the issue of how to attract visitors amid the mess had become "the million-dollar question."

Brown said the city would emphasize the many inland water attractions that have not been affected by the spill. However, he said, "The beach is the main draw — and everybody loves to go to the beach."

Brown laid out some of the long-term threats to the area, including the 40,000 tourism-dependent jobs in Baldwin County. City officials are worried, he said, that the oil could compromise the offshore sand that is dredged each year and used to broaden the resort town's trademark pearly white beaches.

The drama was also unfolding in tiny, though no less dramatic, ways. Late Saturday, a sea turtle swam through the oily mess and laid a new nest on the south Alabama shore.

Although motorized vehicles are not supposed to help clean up the area used by the turtles, the beach was soon swarming with all-terrain vehicles and heavy equipment, and a vehicle ran over the new nest, said Mike Reynolds of Share the Beach, a volunteer group that protects turtle nests.

Reynolds said volunteers were able to find the nest and safely dig up 127 new ping-pong-ball-size eggs and rebury them in a safe spot.

This was the first nest laid in the area since the oil spill began. It will be fenced off to protect the eggs until they hatch in about two months.

As of Saturday, 374 sea turtles affected by the oil spill had been collected by wildlife authorities, 315 of them dead. Oil was visible on 42 turtles.

[concerned square]

..........

[MariaDine]

and chaper two of soap opera...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100616/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill

[wynderer]

i have had these thoughts: the NWO ETs & trained human remote viewers can see into the future -- they are building those DUMBS to hide out from something -- maybe from Earth changes that they know are coming [for whatever reason -- my best-case scenario is Momma Earth saying 'ENOUGH!']

-- the Gulf is near the New Madrid faultline -- i have suspected for some time that the NWO is manipulating Earth w/'disasters' like the big tsunami, this Gulf oil attack, nuclear & probably scalar weapons being detonated w/o our knowledge -- i think they want to control the Earth changes to their advantage & have a lot of fun testing out various of their theories while doing so --

[tone3jaguar]

If you are reading this version of the future where the well is being capped, congradulations. You have chosen the correct timeline. The other timelines where it does not get capped are still on going. That is the level of strangeness that is going on on Earth right now. Hard to see it though the veils I know, but it is the truth as far as I know it.

[unplugged]

If you are reading this version of the future where the well is being capped, congradulations. You have chosen the correct timeline. The other timelines where it does not get capped are still on going. That is the level of strangeness that is going on on Earth right now. Hard to see it though the veils I know, but it is the truth as far as I know it.

What a succinct, perceptive summary. I agree with your perspective.

I am among those who believe that there has been a noticeable TIMELINE adjustment, one that coincides with the July 11 solar eclipse.

As "evidence" I offer this quote from the "Beleaguered BP . . ." link posted earlier in this thread (#58 - concerned square).


"Cameron International's Bob Walker, MD of the Longford plant that employs 240 people, said: "We got a call from our Houston head office to supply something we produce here. We were asked for part number. . . .' Do you have such a thing?'

"We searched our inventory and found what was the best match for the product we were asked to supply.

"But we had just supplied them to a third party in Norway. We contacted the company in Norway and they also work with BP, so they agreed we could buy them back. They were air-freighted direct from Norway to America.

"If they had not been able to sell them back to us, if they had already been in use, then it would have taken between 14 and 16 weeks for us to make and deliver new ones." "

IMO, these are the types of "whoops" events that signal adjustments within timelines. In this particular example, the product was already sold. Conveniently enough, in THIS timeline they were not yet deployed and could be re-bought (from one BP arm) and sold (to another BP arm).

I agree with Teakai (#55) that my "spidey senses are a tinglin’." Indeed, where WERE "these smart guys before? Why weren’t they talking about what was going on then?" I suggest they emerged (or merged) with this new timeline that was precipitated within the last week. The justifications that will emerge to explain away the shift in the Event Horizon will be along the lines of "Absolutely ‘everything’ about the whole scenario reeks of deception and manipulation." For indeed, when everything's going in one direction and suddenly shifts into an entirely new one, some rational explanations must appear to solidify the new perspective.

Teakai continues, "If they thought it was an end of world scenario they’d have taken all the offered help they could get. And why all the secrecy?" Again, IMO, in the previous timeline there would have been NO DESIRE to accept help, especially if the Gulf Oil debacle were perceived as a "fortuitous accident" by the NWO gang. However, that same secrecy used to serve the Dark Minions in the old timeline is certainly helpful in shifting reality into a new timeline, as much remains hidden and now acts as a bridge between the "old" and the "new."

Like LeeEllisMusic (#56), I too, feel "beyond frustrated that the lies, deceit, and business as usual will continue. . ." (and possibly increase as the unhinged Dark Side REALLY goes berserk at its increasing ineffectualness).

However, we are in different camps in regards the timeline issue. While I completely agree that a major shift occurred in 2008 when Barack won the nomination from Hillary (note, she still ended up in a VERY POWERFUL ROLE in the new timeline) I disagree about this latest ECLIPSED event not presaging the emergence of a new timeline. Events are altogether too different within less than 7 days for something miraculous NOT to have occurred. I DO agree with his "awake friend" who believes we got a DNA upgrade. That ties in nicely with our ability to jump out of the trap laid and sprung in the Gulf into potentially much improved scenarios and outcomes. And yes, there remains work to be done. However I am not ruling out the possibility that other "miracles" can occur within this timeline that permit the horrific poisoning of the Gulf to suddenly not be "all that bad after all," and other events that seemed potentially "life extinction" events to dissipate into the mists.

The fact that there are so many versions of reality screaming for attention in this now also lend support to my belief that TIMELINES shifted at the time of Eclipse.

[ExHaLaTiON]

This is good news indeed and completely came out of no where. "spidey senses are a tinglin" as well , where are we being lead too now?

[Operator]

where are we being lead too now?

Be your own leader and you will never be lead to anything by others ...

[bluestflame]

well aware of group focus the powers that be have been using the unwitting group focus of the masses for years , so big part of thier agenda in the oil spill and the subsequent reams of misinformation in many cases spread my well intentioned individuals on this end , is to trick the massess into creating thier chosen reality through fear and manipulation

would be good to start a thread entitled " empowering the positive timeline : methods and support "

¤=[Post Update]=¤

there's a mention of the allied forces during the world wars utilising this technique in the minute of silence to pray for peace , as they were quite aware of the non physical means employed by the adversarials

[CetaceousOne]

If you are reading this version of the future where the well is being capped, congradulations. You have chosen the correct timeline.

Correct - as in less calamitous?

Feels like we are in someone's sick joke of a game....



I’m beyond frustrated that the lies, deceit, and business as usual will continue

The thought of things continuing as they are for any length of time is enough to make you
want to whip out The Thumb and hitch a ride the hell out of here on the next passing starship!

Oh, right. We have to fix this mess - ****!

[Operator]

Re: Be your own leader and you will never be lead to anything by others ...

But to answer the question more specifically here's a possibility ...
I forgot if it was the film 'The longest day' or 'Saving private Ryan' but US troops got stuck on the beach and they are being slaughtered by enemy crossfire.
Then one of the officers is calling on them, he reminds them who they are, which unit they are and gets them to proudly move ...

Although the well maybe capped ... the damage is already done. Lots of people in the southern states will likely get a bad hit by a faster down-turning economy and are 'lead' into a 'we got to fight this' mood ... One more strike somewhere sensitive and you have a great number of people in the right position to sign up for one of the defense forces (willingly or because they have no other choice) for another 'justified' war.

I hope I am wrong of course ... but it is a potential scenario. If you think it is impossible ... look at the last part of the film 'Pearl Harbor' and see what they got them to do just after the attack. So it has happened before ... we should learn !

I don't want to turn this good news feeling in a doom and gloom thread again but we need to keep our eyes open. You're most vulnerable when your guard is down.

[tone3jaguar]

Correct - as in less calamitous?

Feels like we are in someone's sick joke of a game....

Yes, the less calamitous. I will take the oil problem over a pole shift all day.

[HORIZONS]

news report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbs_aDOh7u0

[illuminate]

The fact that there are so many versions of reality screaming for attention in this now also lend support to my belief that TIMELINES shifted at the time of Eclipse.
They sure did! :love:

[blue777]

I am playing the devil's advocate...Can anyone tell me why Kerry painted such a negative scenario about the oil leak in her video, she likened it to Armageddon.....are we missing something?
lol
blue

[blue777]

If you are reading this version of the future where the well is being capped, congradulations. You have chosen the correct timeline. The other timelines where it does not get capped are still on going. That is the level of strangeness that is going on on Earth right now. Hard to see it though the veils I know, but it is the truth as far as I know it.

If everyone is seeing the same news, how can there be 2 timelines?....., the other timeline comes from the imagination
lol
blue

[Luke]

If everyone is seeing the same news, how can there be 2 timelines?....., the other timeline comes from the imagination
lol
blue
Consider timeline as a sum of all vectors of reality that all conscious beings involved in "here" project.
There are some gray areas where different realities overlap, casts shadows so to speak.
Every possibility exists simultaneously, and sometimes you can glimpse it if its near enough from your path. From your perspective, you exist in logically connected "reality" but there is infinite amount of such reality co-existing. All that matters is what you choose to "see". We are see others here because our realities overlap.
So, yes, timeline change is complete possible thing for me; moreso, it gives hope to see, we're not crazy enough to see world die :P Some people are disappointed for sure :)

[Alan]

Note again: the pressure in the reservoir is 11,900 psi - NOT 40,000 psi as Lindsey Williams had been told by his new BP source... who, you may remember, had approached HIM. Lindsey is a dear, sincere man, but he was clearly lied to. Learning here for everyone.



Hi Bill, I've been closely following your updates on this. I really appreciate the time you've put into this.

This just occurred to me -- there are reports that other leaks have been created by this gusher, some miles away. I heard this on Alex Jones, I assume he has evidence to support this, but I haven't seen the evidence.

If this is true, then there -could- be 40,000 psi pressure. If there are multiple outlets for this pressure, then it's not surprising that the one they're measuring is less than 40K.

Comments?

[Operator]

If this is true, then there -could- be 40,000 psi pressure. If there are multiple outlets for this pressure, then it's not surprising that the one they're measuring is less than 40K.


PSI is the abbreviation for Pounds per Square Inch ... so it doesn't matter how many holes you drill or how wide it is .... per Square Inch it will be the same.
The only difference is ... more holes or a bigger hole will drain the oil and methane faster and so the pressure will probably drop faster.
By the way you can't compress oil so it is the released methane (gas) which is the component that can make the pressure drop (or somewhere else pressing landmass is sinking ;))

P.S. I am not sure if the methane under the seabed is in liquid or gas form ... not only the temperature plays a role but also the pressure. Maybe someone else can add that info ?

[Teakai]

well aware of group focus the powers that be have been using the unwitting group focus of the masses for years , so big part of thier agenda in the oil spill and the subsequent reams of misinformation in many cases spread my well intentioned individuals on this end , is to trick the massess into creating thier chosen reality through fear and manipulation


Absolutely - and when our choices are made from a fear base, they lack reason - never a good thing.


would be good to start a thread entitled " empowering the positive timeline : methods and support "[COLOR="red"]


Great idea - apart from keeping our frequencies high all the time, maybe we could arrange a mass projection of high frequency energy ejection into the cosmos.

Tone3Jaguar and Unplugged – I’ve never given timelines much thought before. Quantum physics theory tells us there are multiple realities you can select from with the choices you make - so it works for me.

Thinking out loud - I guess the important thing is to make the right choice – and I guess to ensure it is the right choice one has to raise their frequency levels – that means no dwelling in fear based thought.

To me that doesn’t mean not talking about stuff that might be perceived as scary by some – but to be able to discuss it without being pulled into the fear and negativity that it might inspire.

[Teakai]

Yes, the less calamitous. I will take the oil problem over a pole shift all day.

tone3jaguar, can you explain how the timeline works? If we're all sitting on earth and earth is routinely due for a pole shift - why does that change?

[JoshERTW]

To those with engineering knowledge - now that there is a pressure released - how do you adjust the effect of gravitational acceleration constant at sea level (9.81 m/s^2) to apply at 5000 below sea level? I want to know the actual flow rate and need this to solve the orifice equation (which may not even be applicable underwater... I deal with sea level or greater equations at work)

Edit: I may just need to do some less simplified equations

[Bill Ryan]

To those with engineering knowledge - now that there is a pressure released - how do you adjust the effect of gravitational acceleration constant at sea level (9.81 m/s^2) to apply at 5000 below sea level? I want to know the actual flow rate and need this to solve the orifice equation (which may not even be applicable underwater... I deal with sea level or greater equations at work)

Edit: I may just need to do some less simplified equations

You may! The effect would be negligible compared with the many other variables, most of which would be estimates.

[JoshERTW]

Its not negligible in the orifice equation - however I'm guessing, based on physics, (i.e. fluid flowing into fluid - with different relative densities) it would be a small number, maybe even a fraction as the recieving fluid is denser than the discharging... Nah, need something more complex, or access to research on fluid densities vs. gravitational effects... or something.

[Bill Ryan]

Its not negligible in the orifice equation - however I'm guessing, based on physics, (i.e. fluid flowing into fluid - with different relative densities) it would be a small number, maybe even a fraction as the recieving fluid is denser than the discharging... Nah, need something more complex, or access to research on fluid densities vs. gravitational effects... or something.

Go the The Oil Drum forum (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6737)..... they will figure it out for you.

(Seriously - there are a lot of very smart people there, including oil engineers, geologists and mathematicians. This is their bailiwick.)

[Lost Soul]

They've stopped it, but they're not sure about the results. Let's hope for the best and that they've got Plan B ready.



BP, scientists try to make sense of well puzzle

By VICKI SMITH, HOLBROOK MOHR and HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writers Vicki Smith, Holbrook Mohr And Harry R. Weber, Associated Press Writers – 2 hrs 11 mins ago

NEW ORLEANS – In a nail-biting day across the Gulf Coast, engineers huddled over puzzling pressure readings from the bottom of the sea Friday to determine if BP's capped oil well was holding tight.

Halfway through a critical 48-hour window, the signs were promising but far from conclusive.

Kent Wells, a BP PLC vice president, said on an evening conference call that engineers had found no indication that the well has started leaking underground.

"No news is good news, I guess that's how I'd say it," Wells said.

Engineers are keeping watch over the well for a two-day period in a scientific, round-the-clock vigil to see if the well's temporary cap is strong enough to hold back the oil, or if there are leaks either in the well itself or the sea floor. One mysterious development was that the pressure readings were not rising as high as expected, said retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man on the crisis.

Allen said two possible reasons were being debated by scientists: The reservoir that is the source of the oil could be running lower three months into the spill. Or there could be an undiscovered leak somewhere down in the well. Allen ordered further study but remained confident.

"This is generally good news," he said. But he cautioned, "We need to be careful not to do any harm or create a situation that cannot be reversed."

He said the testing would go on into the night, at which point BP may decide whether to reopen the cap and allow some oil to spill into the sea again.

Throughout the day, no one was declaring victory — or failure. President Barack Obama cautioned the public "not to get too far ahead of ourselves," warning of the danger of new leaks "that could be even more catastrophic."

Even if the cap passes the test, more uncertainties lie ahead: Where will the oil already spilled go? How long will it take to clean up the coast? What will happen to the region's fishermen? And will life on the Gulf Coast ever be the same again?

"I'm happy the well is shut off, that there's a light at the end of the tunnel," said Tony Kennon, mayor of hard-hit Orange Beach, Ala. But "I'm watching people moving away, people losing their jobs, everything they've got. How can I be that happy when that's happening to my neighbor?"

On Thursday, BP closed the vents on the new, tight-fitting cap and finally stopped crude from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since the April 20 oil-rig explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed the spill 5,000 feet down.

With the cap working like a giant cork to keep the oil inside the well, scientists kept watch on screens at sea and at BP's Houston headquarters, in case the buildup of pressure underground caused new leaks in the well pipe and in the surrounding bedrock that could make the disaster even worse.

Pressure readings after 24 hours were about 6,700 pounds per square inch and rising slowly, Allen said, below the 7,500 psi that would clearly show the well was not leaking. He said pressure continued to rise between 2 and 10 psi per hour. A low pressure reading, or a falling one, could mean the oil is escaping.

But Allen he said a seismic probe of the surrounding sea floor found no sign of a leak in the ground.

Benton F. Baugh, president of Radoil Inc. in Houston and a National Academy of Engineering member who specializes in underwater oil operations, warned that the pressure readings could mean that an underground blowout could occur. He said the oil coming up the well may be leaking out underground and entering a geological pocket that might not be able to hold it.

But Roger N. Anderson, a professor of marine geology and geophysics at Columbia University, said the oil pressure might be rising slowly not because of a leak, but because of some kind of blockage in the well.

"If it's rising slowly, that means the pipe's integrity's still there. It's just getting around obstacles," he said. He added that "any increase in pressure is good, not bad."

The cap is designed to prevent oil from spilling into the Gulf, either by keeping it bottled up in the well, or by capturing it and piping it to ships on the surface. It is not yet clear which way the cap will be used if it passes the pressure test.

Either way, the cap is a temporary measure until a relief well can be completed and mud and cement can be pumped into the broken well deep underground to seal it more securely than the cap. The first of the two relief wells being drilled could be done by late July or August.

In a positive sign, work on the relief wells resumed Friday. The project had been suspended earlier this week for fear that the capping of the well could interfere with it.

There was no end in sight to the cleanup in the water and on shore. Somewhere between 94 million and 184 million gallons have spilled into the Gulf, according to government estimates.

In Orange Beach, Ala., long strands of white absorbent boom strung along the shore were stained chocolate brown after a fresh wave of BB-size tar balls washed up. Charter boat captains who can't fish because of the spill patrolled the shore, looking for oil slicks. Fishing guides spent their time ferrying Coast Guard personnel. A flotilla of fishing boats operating as skimmers plied the waters across the Gulf.

Large sections of the Gulf Coast have been closed to fishing and shellfish harvesting. Many fishermen have been hired out by BP to do cleanup work.

Cade Thomas, a 38-year-old fishing guide from Pine, La., said the whole mentality of the place is different.

"It's all changed dramatically. The fishing stories aren't there," he said. "There's no stories to tell except where we went to today and how much oil we saw."

In Grand Isle, La., most of the summer rental cottages are vacant, tables at the single high-end seafood restaurant are empty, and souvenir shops are barely doing enough business to pay the bills. A hand-painted sign along the main road rechristens the tourist town "Grand Oil."

Folks are grateful the gusher has been stopped, but many say it is too late to save this summer. Thousands of tourists have gone elsewhere.

Scientists cannot say for certain what the long-term environmental effect will be. But long after the well is finally plugged, oil could still be washing up in marshes and on beaches as tar balls or patties.

There is also fear that months from now, those tar balls could move west to Corpus Christi, Texas, or travel up and around Florida to Miami or North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Tim Kerner, mayor of Lafitte, La., said the crisis isn't over by a long shot.

"There's millions and millions of gallons of oil out there, and they need to keep the fishermen working," he said. "We need to constantly have that boom up absorbing oil along the banks and hard boom in the bayous to protect the marshland. It's no time to pull back. It's time to continue to fight until we know it's over."

Kerner added: "I don't want everybody to think we won this battle. This battle's going to be ongoing for a while."

[ascendingstarseed]

I really hope we've created a new timeline and that the leak is stopped. But, it wouldn't surprise me if that's an illusion and this "capping" procedure fails because they "found" new leaks. When in reality they've known about the other leaks the entire time and fabricating this situation was a way to finally let us know what's going on with fissures that people like Florida Senator Bill Nelson and others have mentioned.

The AP news reports on the radio are already voicing concern that there are pressure problems, tonight on the Mike Malloy show (progressive) one of his listeners an "investigative" news reporter wrote in to say that he was talking to the BP press helpline asking some of the harder questions. They couldn't answer his questions, were being evasive and even deferred him to another office. That reporters opinion is we're still not getting the whole story, there are additional leaks coming from breaks in the well casing and/or fissures. He also said the methane problem is underplayed. Most reporters aren't actually "investigating" meaning they're not asking the hard questions and are just reporting what's being spoon fed to them over the phone or the AP ticker - a computer read out that they rewrite.

From the start, BP has lied at every turn. The way in which they conduct business is sociopathic in nature, they have no conscious and lie incessantly. BP's poisoning workers, poisoning marine life, patrolling the coast like Nazis, controlling the news, destroying millions of lives along the coast, controlling politicians and literally devastating our coastlines and an entire ocean, possibly more. From the moment I heard of the capping procedure something hasn't felt right about it, seems like it's just another way BP's buying more time by placating the public with fabrications.

I really hope not, but when you've been lied to repeatedly its foolish to believe anything they say - even if it's about doing the right thing. Sociopaths use situations like "doing the right thing" because it's something they know you really want to believe in and that you're likely to fall for the lie...again. We must remember we're dealing with sociopathic people running a corporation - which makes the corporation actions sociopathic in nature too.

Another thing that concerns me about the information we're getting is that oil companies have a enormous amount of power over the mass media, which is why the information we've been getting is underplayed and watered down. My background is in radio broadcasting and journalism, I've watched the entire industry get hollowed out by corporations over the last twenty years to the point where all the good investigative reporters with integrity have left the industry to retire or for independent or foreign news outlets. Mass media is nothing but a tool for the transnational corporations that have a stranglehold on government and everything else.

Any journalist with integrity knows that FOX News is the worst source for honest news and it only gets slightly better from there. Even MSNBC and CNN are highly controlled by the machine. When Dan Rather got fired for having integrity and telling the truth, it was the shot that was heard across the news industry. The message was "If you ask the tough questions and tell the truth, you lose your job". Fewer and fewer Americans remember the good old days of hard nosed reporting, Nixon would've never been impeached today because it was journalist's who broke the story that led to the investigation. Nowadays if a reporter had the nerve to cover corruption like that, the story would get killed before it ever aired.

I really hope I'm wrong about the capping procedure and the integrity behind the information we've been getting, something just doesn't feel right. Or could I be on another timeline from everyone else! lol :confused:

[tone3jaguar]

Yes, now you are thinking right.

[Bill Ryan]

-------------------

The extremely interesting and relevant discussion about timelines (and Schrödinger's Cat - sorry, my fault! :) ) has been moved to this new thread:

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?4050-Schroedinger-s-Cat-and-how-reality-really-works

[jack]

Its fantastic that they have managed to "cap" this well and all, but thats just one facet of the problem. As far as my study goes, there is a very very strong possibility that more oil is leaking from fissures in the gulf seabed then was ever coming out of the well publicised BOP leak. Also, there does not seem to be any focus on the documented rise in the sea floor around the area of the leak.

I'm also very concerned how this might affect the North Atlantic Drift, considering the amount of oil that has already been spilled, and also taking into consideration that the oil is "still" leaking, through less well publicised but much greater leaks in the sea bed.

[tone3jaguar]

Its fantastic that they have managed to "cap" this well and all, but thats just one facet of the problem. As far as my study goes, there is a very very strong possibility that more oil is leaking from fissures in the gulf seabed then was ever coming out of the well publicised BOP leak. Also, there does not seem to be any focus on the documented rise in the sea floor around the area of the leak.

I'm also very concerned how this might affect the North Atlantic Drift, considering the amount of oil that has already been spilled, and also taking into consideration that the oil is "still" leaking, through less well publicised but much greater leaks in the sea bed.


Something to consider if there is actually oil coming out of the sea bed. Lime stone is a layered stratified rock formation. There are sometimes porous or even empty voids in the various layers depending on the geology. This is why for example you get the phenomena of underground water caverns that people dive in and fresh water springs emerge from. Then perhaps only a few thousand feet down from the surface of the sea bed there is one of these inconsistent layers of lime stone with some ancient cavern like formations running through it. Or maybe it is only a few hundred feet below the surface.

If the pipe ruptured near or next to where they had drilled through one of these voids / deep sea aquifers, then what we could be seeing there with the oil leaking out of the "cracks" below the surface could just be the oil running through some ancient limestone caverns and coming out where there where already conduits from those voids / caverns before the blow out ever happened.

If that was the case then all they would have to do is pump the concrete and mud far enough below the point where the oil is leaving the pipe under the surface to seal off that aspect of it as well. This makes a lot more sense to me than a 19,000 PSI well field having fractured through the enormous weight and pressure of thousands of feet of stratified lime stone. Even if the layers of lime stone that are right at the interface of the well field had fractured, due to the layers of rock, the fractures would not have made it very far. They would have stopped at the interface between the layers.

[HORIZONS]

Government says leak detected 'a distance from' oil well

(CNN) -- The federal government's oil spill response director says testing has revealed that there is a "detected seep a distance from the well" and has ordered BP to quickly notify the government if other leaks are found.
"When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours," retired Adm. Thad Allen said in a letter to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley. "I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed."
BP spokesman Mark Salt said Sunday night that he had no information about the leak mentioned in Allen's letter. The letter does not provide further details about where the leak was spotted or how big it is.
It was unclear from Allen's letter, released Sunday evening, whether testing on the well had been extended. It was scheduled to last at least until 4 p.m. Sunday. Earlier in the day Allen said officials could decide to extend it in 24-hour increments.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/18/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T1

[john.d]

The US government has ordered oil giant BP to offer a plan for opening the capped oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, after a seep was found threatening to leak into the bedrock.

"I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed," AFP quoted US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen as saying in a letter to BP chief managing director Bob Dudley on Sunday.
The order came after reports of a methane seep detected at a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head.The authority also ordered BP to report on a "detected seep" and other "anomalies" near the oil well as experts monitor the seabed for cracks.
"Given the current observations from the test, including the detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head, monitoring of the seabed is of paramount importance during the test period," the official added.
Experts say this could mean more leaks are being sprung.
The Coast Guard admiral has given the energy corporate 24 hours to provide a new method without damaging the well but BP says three days are needed to start the process.
The well was capped just three days ago after it spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf for almost three months.
The firm was hoping the cap could stay in place until relief wells stop the leak but there are fears now that oil may begin leaking into the bedrock around the well.
Scientists are now puzzled as to why the pressure measured at the well cap is lower than expected. They fear the worst case scenario -- oil leaking into the bedrock surrounding the well, making the seabed unstable.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=135350&sectionid=3510203

[CetaceousOne]

This is from Kerry's latest blog post:


The Libya Connection, BP and where's it all going...

With the leaks (yes that is plural) continuing and the disinfo about "plugging the leak" aimed no doubt at taking the heat off of BP for the moment... My European friends are finding links with BP and Libya, the Lockerbie bomber, and other interesting bits and pieces.

[tone3jaguar]

This is from Kerry's latest blog post:

Kerry seemingly will believe anything anymore. Somehow she has decided that her popularity is directly proportional to her intuitive psychic abilities.

[Bill Ryan]

-----------

Guys, this page is so encouraging to read that I have to post it here:

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/gulf_oil_spill_photos_from_jul_9.html



.... Even though it has been only days since the oil was turned off, the naked eye could spot improvements on the water. The crude appeared to be dissipating quickly on the surface of the Gulf around the Deepwater Horizon site.

Members of a Coast Guard crew that flew over the wellhead Saturday said far less oil was visible than a day earlier. Only a colorful sheen and a few long streams of rust-colored, weathered oil were apparent in an area covered weeks earlier by huge patches of black crude.

[July 18, two days ago]

[MariaDine]

Is this true ? ... another hole open next to the first one ?

http://news.discovery.com/earth/what-does-the-seep-mean-for-the-gulf.html

[Bill Ryan]

Is this true ? ... another hole open next to the first one ?

http://news.discovery.com/earth/what-does-the-seep-mean-for-the-gulf.html

According to the folks at The Oil Drum (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6754), this is almost certainly just a regular seep. That's the geological equivalent of a dripping tap. From what I understand, and based on what I know, I agree.

There are seeps all over the Gulf of Mexico, and always have been. These are natural events. But in the current situation, where BP is trying hard to figure out what's happening in the well bore where they can't see it, they have to investigate absolutely everything, and everything they're doing is covered in the press briefings. So even small stuff gets pounced on by the media... because everyone is so jumpy.

[Ross]

SBS news lastnight said, 'there are some leaks around the new cap but not to worry as these are 'natural' leaks...UMMM ok, natural leak it is then?

[sunnyrap]

IMHO, people who are sticking out their necks to warn the rest of us are doing a service to the rest of us, not necessarily 'creating a doomsday scenario'. Telling someone, 'hey, a locomotive is headed down the track, might be a good idea to move to one side or the other' is not 'being negative' it's just saying what is observed from their perspective.. It is still up to you to use information as information and rely on your own guidance to put yourself where you need to be to accomplish your own ends and goals.

[HORIZONS]

IMHO, people who are sticking out their necks to warn the rest of us are doing a service to the rest of us, not necessarily 'creating a doomsday scenario'. Telling someone, 'hey, a locomotive is headed down the track, might be a good idea to move to one side or the other' is not 'being negative' it's just saying what is observed from their perspective.. It is still up to you to use information as information and rely on your own guidance to put yourself where you need to be to accomplish your own ends and goals.

Good observation :thumb:

[Bill Ryan]

IMHO, people who are sticking out their necks to warn the rest of us are doing a service to the rest of us, not necessarily 'creating a doomsday scenario'. Telling someone, 'hey, a locomotive is headed down the track, might be a good idea to move to one side or the other' is not 'being negative' it's just saying what is observed from their perspective.. It is still up to you to use information as information and rely on your own guidance to put yourself where you need to be to accomplish your own ends and goals.

Right. That's what George Green said in his April 2008 Camelot video interview.

But if there's no locomotive, then people get very frightened for no reason. And like the boy who cried wolf, when there REALLY is a locomotive, no-one may be listening any more because (change metaphor) the alternative media may already have been discredited in many people's eyes.

The smart thing to say is:

"There's a locomotive about three miles away, and seven people have seen it, and it seems to be coming quite fast, and here's a picture I took of it with my cellphone camera."

But Matt Simmons, for example (see the 20 July Avalon blog update (http://projectavalon.net)) is not doing that. It's just his word - which does not stand up to scrutiny. He gives no GPS co-ordinates for the "open hole", nor does he reference any documentation for it. (The Thomas Jefferson June mission report (http://www.noaa.gov/sciencemissions/PDFs/tj_deepwaterhorizon_responsemissionreport_june3_11_2010final.pdf) mentions no such thing).

I understand Kerry's motivation to share whistleblower testimony, believe me, but in her SA presentation she's doing the same thing. "Rivers of fire heading towards Yellowstone..." It's never gonna happen, not unless Planet X swings by this side of the Moon. This is nonsense, straight out of Roland Emmerich's movie 2012.

Wolf, wolf applies here, too. One day, Kerry might get something from a real five star solid gold whistleblower who is a smart, credible scientist who has something desperately important and will provide all the terrible detail. And no-one will believe her because they will think it's just another crazy story.

[Rimbaud]

I honestly believe that the BP doomsday scenario has been put off for a little while..If you all look back at my posts I said it'd be capped by July at the latest. There was no conspiracy here..the Brits weren't "attacking" Americans..the "Illuminati" weren't involved...It was a bloody accident that's all.

There is no lava flow going anywhere..and no..we're not going to run out of oxygen...what a pathetic bunch of weaklings we've become

Rimbaud

[tone3jaguar]

Wolf, wolf applies here, too. One day, Kerry might get something from a real five star solid gold whistleblower who is a smart, credible scientist who has something desperately important and will provide all the terrible detail. And no-one will believe her because they will think it's just another crazy story.

Which is exactly why she has become a magnet for disinfo from whistle blowers. They know she will evangelize almost anything that is sensational enough to attract attention. I hate to see it going down this way, but she is becoming a sub-tabloid alternative media outlet. No one is immune from the phenomena of success breeding failure.

[sygh]

Don't get me wrong, I want this cap to work and would love to see this whole thing mudded and cemented. Studying to be an engineer myself, I have good faith, when it comes to hard work, good ole human ingenuity and, dogged determination. Of course, I'm not down there so I don't really know what's actually happening. Any information I have recieved, concerning the Gulf spill, has been second hand in nature. On the spiritual side, I actually felt things were getting better in the Gulf but...

Matthew Simmons from the Ocean Energy Insitiute got duped? The man's got some pretty heavy credentials including being a member of the CFR... I just got done listening to what it was he had to say about the Gulf spill/leaks. I think I'd like to hear Matthew recant his words, or, see him make another move. This doesn't make sense. Why would Matthew Simmons come out on KingWorldNews with such a bold statement? Gerald Celente has spoken there as well. He couldn't be going for the media-op, could he? Is this his own educated opinion? He seems to be shooting from the hip. Maybe he's dealing with investors. If it's hear-say on his part, certainly his credibility is at stake. I don't know, maybe that doesn't matter anymore ~ these days. What the heck is going on?

[jack]

Which is exactly why she has become a magnet for disinfo from whistle blowers. They know she will evangelize almost anything that is sensational enough to attract attention. I hate to see it going down this way, but she is becoming a sub-tabloid alternative media outlet. No one is immune from the phenomena of success breeding failure.

Her vibratory frequency will determine her content.

Her vibratory frequency is.. not so nice.

Bill, Your interviews have been stellar so far, and I will continue to keep myself updated.

[Bill Ryan]

Don't get me wrong, I want this cap to work and would love to see this whole thing mudded and cemented. Studying to be an engineer myself, I have good faith, when it comes to hard work, good ole human ingenuity and, dogged determination. Of course, I'm not down there so I don't really know what's actually happening. Any information I have recieved, concerning the Gulf spill, has been second hand in nature. On the spiritual side, I actually felt things were getting better in the Gulf but...

Matthew Simmons from the Ocean Energy Insitiute got duped? The man's got some pretty heavy credentials including being a member of the CFR... I just got done listening to what it was he had to say about the Gulf spill/leaks. I think I'd like to hear Matthew recant his words, or, see him make another move. This doesn't make sense. Why would Matthew Simmons come out on KingWorldNews with such a bold statement? Gerald Celente has spoken there as well. He couldn't be going for the media-op, could he? Is this his own educated opinion? He seems to be shooting from the hip. Maybe he's dealing with investors. If it's hear-say on his part, certainly his credibility is at stake. I don't know, maybe that doesn't matter anymore ~ these days. What the heck is going on?

Hi there - you may not have had time to catch up with the major post I made on the Avalon blog yesterday:

http://projectavalon.net (20 July update)

I was so concerned about what Simmons was saying - with no substantiation, and with much of it just being plain wrong - that I took the step of clarifying it all as best I could.

If you're studying to be an engineer (delighted you're here! :)) - I'd welcome your comments.

[Swanny]

Matt Simmons about the gulf crisis...


Scroll down a bit and on the left side there is a sign for MP3
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/7/17_Matt_Simmons.html


Matthew Simmons: Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Energy Institute & Former Chairman Emeritus of Simmons & Company International - Matt was past Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association, and served as energy adviser to President George W. Bush, among others. Simmons is author of the book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy, which examines oil reserve decline rates to help raise awareness of the unreliability of Middle East oil reserves. Simmons is one of the top minds in the world when it comes to energy. His work has been followed internationally for over 35 years and Matt's company Simmons & Company International has served as co-manager on over $38 billion in public debt and equity offerings. Simmons & Company has also acted as financial advisor in $140 billion of transactions, including 550 merger and acquisitions worth over $97 billion

Looks like BP fixed the leak on the riser but much more oil etc is leaking from other places :(

[Bill Ryan]

---------------

Swanny, you're not paying attention. :)

Matt Simmons' claims are taken apart on the Project Avalon blog (20 July)

http://projectavalon.net

... and also discussed in this thread I've moved your post to. The discussion starts on the previous page (p.10).

[Swanny]

Sorry haven't been here for a while :)

[PINEAL-PILOT-IN MERKABAH]

the problem now appears to be toxic oil disolved into the water which is unskimmable. This is as i thought , the corexit bio weapon is the main problem and they couldtn ait to use it. i think its the corexit that suits the new world order agenda better than the oil, they knew this could be eaten by microbes and skimmed but decided to save money. now they say its capped and over ( i dont bleive it). so they can clear out of the gulf and take no more responsibility. i say if the CAP fits ware it . pardon the pun.;

[Operator]

I am wondering what the next step will be ...

I think it's likely that BP wanted the oil dispersed since they were very aware that the new well on Libya's coast was about to be drilled.
Perhaps they were afraid not get a green light ...

When I read Chris Landau's remarks (article on Kerry's blog) it confirms what I expect to happen: they are going to take the well into production.
The latter is however denied by the new CEO who apparently said that they are gonna cap it forever.

So what is it going to be ? ... my guess is that they still want to make money out of it ... especially to compensate the high costs that of course will
not stop running up yet.

[Bill Ryan]

When I read Chris Landau's remarks (article on Kerry's blog) it confirms what I expect to happen: they are going to take the well into production.
The latter is however denied by the new CEO who apparently said that they are gonna cap it forever.


My $.02 worth: I think they will kill it (fill it with 'mud' and finally cement) and walk away. This is industry standard practice with blown-out wild wells that have become monstrous problems.

Remember, blowouts happen all the time - this was just a spectacular one in deep water, that was at the same time totally in the public eye.

But this kind of thing is basically not uncommon. The oil companies factor failed wells into their financial risk analysis (win some, lose some). The difference here is that the blowout preventer failed and the resulting gusher cost the company billions.

THAT was not factored into the risk. I feel sure they'll walk away. They'll be mighty relieved it was not far worse.

There are compelling indicators (well casing pressure now very much lower than expected) that the well might be partially depleted now anyway. The longer the cap holds with the pressure holding also, the more likely it is that this is the situation.

Meanwhile, there are thousands of other wells in the Gulf of Mexico, many of which are producing... and as long as there are no environmental or other problems, we never hear about them.

But they're all there, at a figure that varies between about 3,000 and 4,000, depending on what's happening. Macondo was just ONE of those.

[Etherios]

Any info on whats happening with the toxics? It seems to me that the USA just thinks its over and the sea is clean now... no news about the toxic its weird..

[SpoonMan]

My $.02 worth: I think they will kill it (fill it with 'mud' and finally cement) and walk away. This is industry standard practice with blown-out wild wells that have become monstrous problems.

Remember, blowouts happen all the time - this was just a spectacular one in deep water, that was at the same time totally in the public eye.

But this kind of thing is basically not uncommon. The oil companies factor failed wells into their financial risk analysis (win some, lose some). The difference here is that the blowout preventer failed and the resulting gusher cost the company billions.

THAT was not factored into the risk. I feel sure they'll walk away. They'll be mighty relieved it was not far worse.

There are compelling indicators (well casing pressure now very much lower than expected) that the well might be partially depleted now anyway. The longer the cap holds with the pressure holding also, the more likely it is that this is the situation.

Meanwhile, there are thousands of other wells in the Gulf of Mexico, many of which are producing... and as long as there are no environmental or other problems, we never hear about them.

But they're all there, at a figure that varies between about 3,000 and 4,000, depending on what's happening. Macondo was just ONE of those.


Seems to me a massive earthquake in the gulf could be catastrophe unimaginable. I hope we can move beyond oil before that happens.

[HORIZONS]

Any info on whats happening with the toxics? It seems to me that the USA just thinks its over and the sea is clean now... no news about the toxic its weird..

Well here is the latest spin being propagated: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_excl/ynews_excl_sc3270

Mighty oil-eating microbes help clean up the Gulf

Where is all the oil? Nearly two weeks after BP finally capped the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, the oil slicks that once spread across thousands of miles of the Gulf of Mexico have largely disappeared. Nor has much oil washed up on the sandy beaches and marshes along the Louisiana coast. And the small cleanup army in the Gulf has only managed to skim up a tiny fraction of the millions of gallons of oil spilled in the 100 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig went up in flames.
So where did the oil go? "Some of the oil evaporates," explains Edward Bouwer, professor of environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University. That’s especially true for the more toxic components of oil, which tend to be very volatile, he says. Jeffrey W. Short, a scientist with the environmental group Oceana, told the New York Times that as much as 40 percent of the oil might have evaporated when it reached the surface. High winds from two recent storms may have speeded the evaporation process.
cont...

[Etherios]

So what you say is that the oil is gone from the eyes but the toxic parts are either in the air or in the water... So what ever we cant see it wont hurt BP? Right?

What about the ppl that got sick? the trees that started to burn? they are just being ignored?

[LeeEllisMusic]

Great interview on Olberman last night - Lawrence O'Donnell subbing for Keith interviews Hugh Kaufman - EPA senior policy anylyst and whistleblower:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4-eoNE-izk

Here's Hoping that the dispersant / under the sea oil info keeps getting out there in the mainstream media!

[PINEAL-PILOT-IN MERKABAH]

the corexit is the problem, and if it was jsut a case of capping it why didnt they cap it sooner. i agree withy bill on the fact they will walk away, they purposefully let it go on long enough to destroy the gulf and then they capped it. bp will be releived they got away with another con job. these guys in charge are animals. jsut thinking of what bill said about this oil spill in the begining being next on the list to nuclear war in concern is about to be realised also no doubt. the war drums are beating. i think what webster tarpley comesout with on this is pretty spectacular in the usa govt case for war,it benefits them economically, strategically(in their minds) and nwo agenda wise. oh... and they get to shut the internet down to just their own sites and instill the death penalty which is already passed into eu law 2008.

[Etherios]

So you think they will try the same with the Mediterenian oil rig they started lately? i sure hope not...

[PINEAL-PILOT-IN MERKABAH]

this whole oil spill thing stinks to high heaven, wreaks of conspiracy from start to (un) finish. no proof the oil is stopping and that its capped correctly. shares being sold, companies being purchased, the people that own the company that makes correxit. the unkown reason for doing it.. accident last on the list. its all bull****.. all futuire events are only gonna be as hammered with disinfo as this one, war, flase flag et ect total minefield. good luck wading through the **** im off to do something constuctive like learn skills for the coming collapse of society.

[Bill Ryan]

-------------

Hi. Folks:

http://theoildrum.com/node/6810

... a detailed account of the so-far-holding 'Static Kill'. I'm very confident that it'll all work fine.

I've not yet caught up enough to be sure of the reason for the marked, but stable, drop in pressure in the well casing that puzzled (but cautiously delighted) everyone for so long. I am personally assuming that the reservoir was depleted.

There is an outlandish possibility that may have been discussed elsewhere on the forum, cannot be proved, and which I keep on thinking about: that we may have had a bit of quiet help.

I had earlier been convinced that the well casing was ruptured, and many other smart people thought so too. But it seems not to be the case... or, just maybe, something or someone repaired it.

It would absolutely not be possible to do that using conventional oil engineering technology. Any 'downwell' problem is so inaccessible that a remote fix would come under the category of magic. Yet this might somehow have happened.

These are personal musings only... just to stir the debate. But, just to stir the pot one more time, if a benevolent high intelligence with very advanced technology had wanted to slip in a fix very quietly among all the hysteria and confusion, it might have been very easy for them to do this quite unnoticed... and no-one would EVER know what happened as the evidence is totally inaccessible - and will forever remain so.

:)

[Steven]

... or, just maybe, something or someone repaired it.

It would absolutely not be possible to do that using conventional oil engineering technology. Any 'downwell' problem is so inaccessible that a remote fix would come under the category of magic. Yet this might somehow have happened.

These are personal musings only... just to stir the debate. But, just to stir the pot one more time, if a benevolent high intelligence with very advanced technology had wanted to slip in a fix very quietly among all the hysteria and confusion, it might have been very easy for them to do this quite unnoticed... and no-one would EVER know what happened as the evidence is totally inaccessible - and will forever remain so.

:)

And it wouldn't be the first time this kind of 'mysterious blessing intervention' happens. I share your personal musing ;)

Namaste, Steven

[Bomack]

There is an outlandish possibility [...] that we may have had a bit of quiet help.:)

This is not outlandish at all! And, in-fact, it is a great reminder to everyone! Just look how the timeline has changed, from the beginning of this disaster to where we are now. Amazing! Did we, could we (humans) have much to do with this? Hardly I think. If one was to go back and review how this event developed it would be plain to see that we were on a pretty dark timeline. One in which even the so-called experts were running out of ideas. And then all of a sudden (it seemed practically overnight) you could actually feel the shift!

"There is nothing man can do to destroy this planet." I can't remember who said that but I know why. It will never be allowed to happen because this is NOT mankind's planet. We need this planet to survive, but does the planet need us? We could be whisked outa here in an instant and the planet would be better off for it. We must have one heckuva LOVING MOTHER to allow us brats to stay home for this long! I love us humans. We have so much potential and so many great positives about us. But I wonder...will we ever grow-up?

We can destroy ourselves all we want but we will never be allowed to destroy our planet!

Sorry about the rant here folks. But Bill said:
These are personal musings only... just to stir the debate. Maybe a new thread could be started if there's interested.

Bob

[Bill Ryan]

This is not outlandish at all! And, in-fact, it is a great reminder to everyone! Just look how the timeline has changed, from the beginning of this disaster to where we are now. Amazing! Did we, could we (humans) have much to do with this? Hardly I think. If one was to go back and review how this event developed it would be plain to see that we were on a pretty dark timeline. One in which even the so-called experts were running out of ideas. And then all of a sudden (it seemed practically overnight) you could actually feel the shift!

"There is nothing man can do to destroy this planet." I can't remember who said that but I know why. It will never be allowed to happen because this is NOT mankind's planet. We need this planet to survive, but does the planet need us? We could be whisked outa here in an instant and the planet would be better off for it. We must have one heckuva LOVING MOTHER to allow us brats to stay home for this long! I love us humans. We have so much potential and so many great positives about us. But I wonder...will we ever grow-up?

We can destroy ourselves all we want but we will never be allowed to destroy our planet!

Sorry about the rant here folks. But Bill said: Maybe a new thread could be started if there's interested.

Bob

Reminds of that great little exchange in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008):

Regina Jackson: I speak for the President of the United States. Now, please; tell me why have you come to our planet.
Klaatu: YOUR planet.
Regina Jackson: Yes; this is our planet.
Klaatu: No, it is not.

[SkepticSoul]

I heard something that Kerry Cassidy said on one of her presentations in Africa about the Oil Spill and the plans of TPB.
She said she had a phone call of an insider that told this conspiracy.
Brief summary would be that the plan is to nuke the golf (as the americans say: can't we just nuke it?..), if this happens armegeddon would be unleashed.

Here's the presentation
http://projectcamelotproductions.com/presentations/kerryliveinSouthAfrica.html

[PINEAL-PILOT-IN MERKABAH]

ian r kane has a good take on the ongoing oil spill .. they are about to do something with a releif well , so we will see now if mr simmons was indeed correct in his assumptions.. or shall we beleive bp .. ill side with simmons still for now since hes dead and cant talk for himself.