Brad and I have been kicking back and forth on whether or not the saw is unstuck in instant messenger. You can see where it looks like the blade may have been. Its possible that is just a mark from where they cut the smaller pipe but the angle looks wrong. So I'm not sure one way or the other.
What idiot thought that they could cut all the way threw in one pass? That would have all the pressure of the oil coming up at the blade, like cutting threw a 2x4x8 in half with no support on ether end.
JAM.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't. Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
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02:40 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 41656 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
You'd think they'd have a backup ready to go. But then again, this is all uncharted territory.
I'm not surprised it got hung, though. It's hard enough to saw through a piece of exhaust tubing with a hacksaw without the saw binding. There's also no telling what the drill tube inside the pipe is doing.
It's going to be difficult getting the saw back in place in the same position as it was. Going to be hard to make that cut straight.
What idiot thought that they could cut all the way threw in one pass? That would have all the pressure of the oil coming up at the blade, like cutting threw a 2x4x8 in half with no support on ether end.
JAM.
Steve
Inside the riser, there is a piece of drillpipe--3 1/2" dia I think. They can hold pressure on the riser with another rov, even drive a wedge in the open cut of the riser, but they have no access at all to the drill pipe inside the riser. I don't think they will have any problem getting the saw repositioned in the same place, tho they might start from the other side on the next cut.
The oil and gas pressure shouldn't be too bad, but the fact that the drill pipe is squeezed in between the rams is probably what is causing problems. As the saw cuts, the dp weakens, and moves a bit within the rams of the BOP. And, they can't release the rams, because they are providing a big restriction to the flow of oil and gas.
Inside the riser, there is a piece of drillpipe--3 1/2" dia I think. They can hold pressure on the riser with another rov, even drive a wedge in the open cut of the riser, but they have no access at all to the drill pipe inside the riser. I don't think they will have any problem getting the saw repositioned in the same place, tho they might start from the other side on the next cut.
The oil and gas pressure shouldn't be too bad, but the fact that the drill pipe is squeezed in between the rams is probably what is causing problems. As the saw cuts, the dp weakens, and moves a bit within the rams of the BOP. And, they can't release the rams, because they are providing a big restriction to the flow of oil and gas.
If I am cutting a tree with a chainsaw I plan it so that I don't get the bar hung, and so that the tree doesn't fall on me. If the pipe is bent a certain direction you would think that cutting on the opposite side would make the cut pretty much stress free.
Brad
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05:12 PM
jetman Member
Posts: 7811 From: Sterling Heights Mich Registered: Dec 2002
I saw that BP was using a circular saw on the smaller pipes the day before but it looked like they switched to a cable saw on the main pipe. I was actually surprised that it didn't cut right through the first time they tried it. I wonder if the saw machine broke or if it really got hung up?
If I am cutting a tree with a chainsaw I plan it so that I don't get the bar hung, and so that the tree doesn't fall on me. If the pipe is bent a certain direction you would think that cutting on the opposite side would make the cut pretty much stress free.
Brad
Except, that in this case, they can't see inside the riser to determine which way the drill pipe is stressed. They're cutting 2 pipes--one inside the other, with the one that is inside being a completely different metalurgy than the outer pipe. No one really knows what condition or shape the dp is in, or which way it is positioned within the riser.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-02-2010).]
Part of the problem was apparently according to a BP spokesman that the cut through the first half had dulled the blade, so that when they got it restarted it would not cut. (What we do in those circumstances, which are not uncommon with diamond blades, is to run the blade through firebrick, and this erodes the material into which the diamonds have been pushed, and sharpen it. Then we drop the cutting pressure a little.) However, BP's current answer is going to be:
The technician said that rather than trying again with the saw, the plan now was to use a large shear to cut the riser. The shear, which is about 20 feet long and nearly 10 feet high, was used to make an earlier cut in the riser about 50 feet from the wellhead. Because the shear will not make as clean a cut as the wire saw, modifications would have to be made to the containment cap that is to be lowered over the cut pipe. But the technician said that even with the switch to the shear and the modifications, he expected the containment cap could be in place by Thursday
The shear is returning.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-02-2010).]
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10:58 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 41656 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Storms. Lightening hit something or a tree or limb fell on the line somewhere out in the National Forest. The line feeding our area crosses a river out in the middle of the woods and traverses thru a difficult area to get to. Takes em a while to ge tracked service trucks in there.
Oh well, we needed the rain, and it's still coming down, but the severe weather has subsided. I had turned everything off too--including computer, aerobic sewer treatment, and water well as soon as the lightening started.
I do not know how to do this, and am on dialup anyway, but the following was posted elsewhere for live feed of all the rov cams. Maybe Rumor or one of the other savvy it guys can use it?
text version:
To be able to follow all these ROV live feeds at once, I use these lines of HTML code saved into a simple feeds.txt file, which I then renamed into feeds.html. Opened in Netscape it shows all feeds in parallel:
---------- start (do not include this line) -----------
It occurs to me that they must have some really superb fabricators and welders. You know they didn't just pop down to "Oil Well Supply" and buy this stuff. At least not all of it.
Viewer Jay Estes, of Zebulon, said that he has sent several ideas to BP and government officials but hasn't heard back. He said he thinks they are taking the wrong overall approach.
"They're trying to stop the flow of oil out. If they would stop the flow of water in, that would solve the problem," Estes said.
Why couldn't they just unbolt the head, and bolt a new one on?
Excellent, that's what I was thinking too.
You would think that they would have the cap ready to go after they made the cut on the pipe, did everyone take a break for lunch? I see all those ROV machines tying ropes and such, nobody seems to be in a big hurry to get this finished.
quote
Originally posted by Raydar: Jeez, what an ugly jagged cut. The second cut looks to have missed the first by ~ 5-6 inches.
Really! I think most any 12-year old kid with Nutendo game experience could have articulated the cutting saw better that that cut. Wow. I hope that they left enough pipe there to secure the cap.
I've got 4 different feeds going on here, getting tired of clicking back and forth, *I'm not smart enough to tile all the feeds.
. I wanna see.
