I can't really see much video as I am on dialup, but have seen what they plann to do--and in fact, are already doing. Snatched some drawings off BP's website, as well as their narrative. Some of this obviously may have already taken place.

quote Installing a Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap is a containment option for collecting the flow of oil from the MC252 well. The LMRP is the top half of the blow out preventer (BOP) stack. *The installation procedure first involves removing the damaged riser from the top of the BOP. *A remote operated hydraulic shear will be used to make two initial cuts and then that section will be removed by crane. *A diamond wire saw will then be placed to cut the pipe close to the LMRP and the final damaged piece of riser will be removed. *The LMRP Cap is designed to seal on top of the riser stub. The seal will decrease the potential of inflow of seawater as well as improve the efficiency of oil recovery. Lines carrying methanol also are connected to the device to help stop hydrate formation. *The device will be connected to a riser extending from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship. *The LMRP Cap is on site, and it is anticipated that this option would be available for deployment by the end of May. .

Above, is what the overall plan looks like. The drillship Enterprise will sit above the LMRP, and handle both the assy and take on (beam aboard?) fluids from a pipe coming up from the old BOPs once the LMRP is attached above those old BOPs. Enterprise, cannot handle full flow coming up a 21" pipe, so they have chosen 6 5/8" pipe above the new BOPs. The new BOPs are NOT to shut in the flow--more on that later, but understand, that the new BOPs are to protect Enterprise.


They will 1st shear off the 21" dia riser pipe, after attaching slings to hold the part they no longer want to work with--the longest part. The sheared off part is a;so the part where PB inserted their 6 5/8" "straw". That straw will suck it's last as soon as the shear cuts the pipe.

They will make one shear cut, which will also crimp the end of the pipe, some distance away from the old BOPs. They will then make another shear cut closer to the bend in the riser pipe. Only one cut is hown in the image below:



Once the 2nd shear cut is made, they will attach a diamond wire saw to the riser stub just above the old BOPs. A lot depends on how strainght and clean the saw cut ends up. A good clean cut will allow the LMRP to set down on the stub much better. Keep in mind, that the saw has to cut thru both the 21" riser and the drillpipe that is trapped by the partially closed BOPs, tho there is some speculation, that they may just cut the riser off by rotating the saw around the riser pipe, and not cut the drill pipe.

A lot will be learned as soon as the sheared and crimped riser is cut off by the saw. BP and the world--if the video is running--will know if all the flow is coming from just the drill pipe--just the annulus--or from both. Either way, the LMRP will still be set down on the stub.



The next step is to position and lower the LMRP and it's cap down on the old BOP's riser stub.



Inside the LMRP cap, is a hydralically actuated ruuber sealing assy. It is very thick rubber, and can be envisionded like an inner tube. When Hyd pressure is applied, the od has no where to expand to, so the ID gets smaller and seals around the stub.



This seal, is going to be subjected to about 5800 psi oil & gas. Expect it to leak some, which is good in a way. It will keep seawater out. The seawater mixing with the expelled oil/gas mix is what causes the frozen problems they encountered in previous attempts to capture the effluent. If they get a perfect seal--even better, but keep in mind, the seal is never going to be good enough to hold the LMRP assy in place vertically should the new BOPs be closed. A sudden kick, could push the whole assy off the stub, which is why they may chose not to close the new BOPs up above the LMRP cap. As you can see from the pics above, they have added some brackets (for lack of a better word) to help guide the LMRP cap and assy down on to the old BOPs. A lot of the guide work tho, will be done by operators on an auxillary ship via the ROVs.

Here's what it should look like set down in place with the seal inflated. The methanol injection line is to help prevent frozen hydrates from plugging up the pipe going up to Enterprise. (where no hydrate has gone before)


It will be up to Capt Picard on Enterprise to hold position. Hopefully, the weight of the new BOPs, the LMRP, and the 5000' of 6 5/8" pipe will be enough weight to hold everything down in place during normal flows and if they should see a sudden unexpected kick of effluent..

There is a risk, that the added hydrostatic head in the new assy and pipe, will cause more leaks around the old BOPs that are still attached to the wellhead. That entire assy has already been stressed far more than it was ever designed to be, has endured Deepwater Horizon sinking, the riser crashing down, and 40 days of scouring oil/gas flowing thru it at a high velocity and pressure.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-01-2010).]

Thank you for this wealth of information, and taking the time to share it with us. I really appreciate it. I understand this solution a lot more with your explanation.

Attaching the video link here, so that the Top Kill thread can die.

http://www.bp.com/liveasset...html/rov_stream.html

Edit - The Oil Drum forum. You'll have to find the current discussion.
http://www.theoildrum.com/

Thanks Don. Your descriptions help tremendously.
Wish you could see the video. Really fascinating.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-01-2010).]

The super shears, which make the first two cuts, are 18 ft. 9 inches long and weight 42000 lb. Wow!

im still confused on why the original pipe was 21" in diameter, yet they are going to attempt to attach a 6.675" pipe to the new adapter to bring the oil up.

one would think that installing the smaller pipe would increase pressures greatly.

i figure they might get away with a 12" or 16" pipe, but cutting the pipe by 15" in diameter is bound to cause alot greater pressures.

matthew

quote Originally posted by m0sh_man: im still confused on why the original pipe was 21" in diameter, yet they are going to attempt to attach a 6.675" pipe to the new adapter to bring the oil up. one would think that installing the smaller pipe would increase pressures greatly. i figure they might get away with a 12" or 16" pipe, but cutting the pipe by 15" in diameter is bound to cause alot greater pressures. matthew

I said that as well. Stupid idea, stay with the same size pipe or even bigger to lower pressure.
Anyone ever try to put a 1 ½“” exhaust pipe on a 3” system?
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.

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 06-01-2010).]

quote Originally posted by m0sh_man: im still confused on why the original pipe was 21" in diameter, yet they are going to attempt to attach a 6.675" pipe to the new adapter to bring the oil up. one would think that installing the smaller pipe would increase pressures greatly. i figure they might get away with a 12" or 16" pipe, but cutting the pipe by 15" in diameter is bound to cause alot greater pressures. matthew

Matthew/Steve:
I've seen it explained elsewhere, in math that I didn't really understand much, but it comes down to trying to keep pressure up enough to keep frozen hydrates from forming as the gas goes out of solution. That's been a problem all along. The other thing is, the drillship can't accept the flow rate that a 21" pipe running wide open would cause. The smaller pipe is a throttle valve of a known dimension, and that known restriction is something they haven't had before. I don't 'know' all this for fact, but that's just how it was explained to me.

Raydar:
I too, find this fascinating, not because of the things I know, but because of all the things I don't know.

The Oil Drum discussions have turned into a quagmire of crap to wade thru. Hard to keep up with all the different conversations going on.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-01-2010).]

Thank you for posting the diagrams and explainations, it helps me understand what BP is attempting to do. I'm sure that everyone appreciates the extra effort that it takes to get all that up on the forum.

I've got 25c that says the wellhead pops off the stack when they close that seal on the 6" pipe. I hope to God I'm wrong, but our conspiracy theorist in Maine might be right about this..

I've never had much luck forcing 10lbs. of crap thru a drinking straw... (nor have I really tried that hard either, for that matter..)

I have 25 cents that says the shears aren't having any luck crimping or cutting that pipe.

I've seen similar shears cut up some really big beams and pipe in our local scrap yard.
Perhaps, they do not have enough hyd pressure.

Heard a rumor that they've shut down this operation for now.

Saw the shears on a pipe yesterday night/early this morning for a while. It just looked like they were using them to hold it in place. Haven't had time to sit down today and tune in to see whats on the live cam.

I've been watching most of the day, except for when it was offline. Most of the day was watching the ROV was just wandering aimlessly around. I know it wasn't doing that, but it sure seemed like it after awhile. Almost like whenever BP doesn't want someone to see something they send one ROV out to just wander.

Right now one ROV is cutting a small diameter pipe that looks to have something flowing through it, though whatever it is is not coming out in force.

Brad

quote Originally posted by twofatguys: I've been watching most of the day, except for when it was offline. Most of the day was watching the ROV was just wandering aimlessly around. I know it wasn't doing that, but it sure seemed like it after awhile. Almost like whenever BP doesn't want someone to see something they send one ROV out to just wander. Right now one ROV is cutting a small diameter pipe that looks to have something flowing through it, though whatever it is is not coming out in force. Brad

Its not working on my computer. are you still watching it???

They've got the big shears out again. Looks like it's just crunching the pipe.
They've removed the smaller diameter pipes that were on the outside of the larger one.

Edit - Looks like they've made the cut.
Hmmm... Either that or they've just managed to crimp the pipe and all the oil is spraying out from the bent pipe above the BOP.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-01-2010).]

Thanks for the play by play Raydar. I can see the video on rare occassions, but it is just a few frames at a time. Dialup sucks.

If and when they get that riser sawn off, someone grab a screenshot or 2 please.
I can see the vid now--great stuff--from a mile down.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-01-2010).]

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Thanks for the play by play Raydar.

Excellent, thank you!

You can see the progress by those vertical marks on the metal beam below the rotating pulley as the machine moves itself forward to the left. Wow, no shortage of cutting fluid now.

[This message has been edited by jetman (edited 06-01-2010).]

Where are you watching from? The stream on the bp.com homepage is giving me a 7 second looping clip.. it's the same 7 seconds of footage being replayed over and over.

Here you go, this one will freeze every 7 seconds or so but it's not a loop, it's making progress as indicated by those marks on the metal bean and it's getting deeper into the pipe.

Man alive, that's one mean cutting saw.

quote Originally posted by Raydar: http://www.bp.com/liveasset...html/rov_stream.html

Ahhh okay I thought it was a loop I didn't see the changes. Thanks for explaining that~

I see nothing said sergeant Shultz.

Really nothing but a little x in the upper left. I hate dialup,

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.

Sorry Steve, I can't seem to get a screen shot for you. You cannot see the progress due to the billowing clouds of oil, last I saw was about 1/7th the way through the pipe. Maybe someone can get a picture up for you.

From earlier today when they were using the diamond cutoff blade to cut the choke/kill/hyd lines off the outside of the riser:


About an hour ago, using the diamond belt cutting on the riser--you can just see the bend of that pipe in the background. Sorry is dull--that's what happens when ya take a screenshot the hard way--using my digital camera to take a pic of what is being shown on my monitor.

Well, I'm skeptical that a tube a smaller diameter will work but perhaps the pressure difference will work. who knows, BP/Dark Horizon/et all are the experts. Sure hope it works if not we're SOL for the next few months.

And it's great to see all the "investors" running away with their money to leave the cleanup to the taxpayers. Bail Baby Bail!!!

from a different rov and angle:

Wow, I feel like an ass. I cannot take a screen shot of it either.

I wonder....


Apparently windows 7 allows it, but XP does not.
Brad

[This message has been edited by twofatguys (edited 06-01-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Tigger: . And it's great to see all the "investors" running away with their money to leave the cleanup to the taxpayers. Bail Baby Bail!!!

Says the guy from an area that owes a great deal of it's current existance to the US taxpayer.

GM Bailout baby GM Bailout.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-01-2010).]

From earlier--after they hauled the shear back topside for repair/adjustments. It cut it, but only after all the extraneous piping and supports were removed from the riser.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-02-2010).]

quote Originally posted by maryjane: ... And the job that 1/2 the kids in America now wanna grow up and do? The ROV operators:

I was thinking, last night, that that must be a pretty stressful, frustrating job.
But if you grew up driving video games, it might be a cakewalk.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Says the guy from an area that owes a great deal of it's current existance to the US taxpayer. GM Bailout baby GM Bailout.

The auto industry about a year and half ago was much like what I imagine the fishing industries are currently like in the gulf of mexico. If the GM bailout irks you that much then do yourself a favor and junk your POS Fiero.

Like it or not, when the investors bail their money out of BP taxpayers will be footing the bill.

quote Originally posted by Tigger: The auto industry about a year and half ago was much like what I imagine the fishing industries are currently like in the gulf of mexico...

What? You couldn't build cars?
You could build all the cars you wanted. Just that nobody was buying them.
There's going to be no shortage of customers willing to buy fish. Getting them, OTOH, is looking to be a bit of a trick.

I wasn't even going to go into the fact that the auto industry brought much of its troubles upon itself (through mismanagement and union extortion), while the fisherman did nothing wrong.

This is not to say that BP is blameless in this whole thing. Far from it.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-02-2010).]

BP can take financial hit from spill

Company will owe millions, but has very deep pockets

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...ness-oil_and_energy/

Good morning.

Did BP cut through the pipe yet? What is the current status?

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Says the guy from an area that owes a great deal of it's current existance to the US taxpayer. GM Bailout baby GM Bailout.

I think you should rethink the Pot calling the kettle black Don. Because very shortly the entire gulf area is going to be a waste.

Thanks for the pictures though. Have they cut threw or what? I heard nothing on the news this morning.

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.

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 06-02-2010).]

I'm not sure that they got all the way through. When I went to bed they were under halfway.

Fox news this morning said that the saw was hung up. They also said the world was coming to an end, and we are all going to die

CNN says that all corporations are evil, as well as small Gov. We need to bow to the current Administration, and let the Government do it's job.

So both stations are so full of themselves that they can't even report accurately. And we are learning nothing. Except that oil that was going to hit the shore 30 days ago still is not there, everybody is getting sick from dispersants, the oil will for sure hit the shore 110% tomorrow, and everything will die. It will be one million times worse than Hiroshima. All this I have learned from the news over the past few days. Makes you proud to be an American, you know other countries are looking at this, and laughing at us.

Brad

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: I think you should rethink the Pot calling the kettle black Don. Because very shortly the entire gulf area is going to be a waste.

Yeah. The news says once that oil hits shore, the gulf is gonna look just like Detroit !

quote Originally posted by D B Cooper: Yeah. The news says once that oil hits shore, the gulf is gonna look just like Detroit !

lol

Brad

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: I think you should rethink the Pot calling the kettle black Don. Because very shortly the entire gulf area is going to be a waste. Thanks for the pictures though. Have they cut threw or what? I heard nothing on the news this morning. Steve

Very possible, tho I doubt it will be as bad as the fearmongers say. I just find it ironic, that someone from Michigan would dissertate on US taxpayer money being spent anywhere after recieving so much of themselves. I'll emphatically state my opinion here and now.

Absolutely ZERO US taxpayer funds should be spent on this project--including cap-control-cleanup-anything having to do with this well!

It should all every damn penny-- come out of BP's pocket and if it breaks them--so be it. If EXXON did it--I'd feel the same way.

I had a discussion with Boondawg last year here in OT about Exxon Valdez, and I stated then, that Exxon should have paid ALL the damages, both personal and punitive, and ALL the cleanup instead of dragging it out in court to get the judgements reduced.
It is NOT the taxpayer's job or place to cover corporate screwups--ever. It's the company and the owners' (stockholders) place to do so--PERIOD! And, yes, I still hold Exxon stock--if they go broke because of their screwups--that's my problem--not the taxpayers.

I do not believe in stealing from the US taxpayer.