Disturbing accounts from Gulf of Mexico

[Ma'ake]

Uhhh....

I've never ascribed to doomsday scenarios, but these articles are concerning:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dk-mat..._b_619095.html

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog...ne-bubble.html

http://www.helium.com/items/1882339-...-killing-event


The verbiage is Wells-esque, especially in the 2nd article, but the sources appear legit. Professor Kessler from TAMU certainly has found very high levels of methane, multiple sources put methane pressures at 40,000+ psi.

If BP is really drilling relief wells 10,000 feet below the sea floor, that seems far beyond what we've all been told is the worst case scenario in containing the blown well.

Any geo-scientists here? Opinions? (I'll gladly go back to my Summer '10 PAC afterglow)

[SeattleUte]

Uhhh....

I've never ascribed to doomsday scenarios, but these articles are concerning:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dk-mat..._b_619095.html

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog...ne-bubble.html

http://www.helium.com/items/1882339-...-killing-event


The verbiage is Wells-esque, especially in the 2nd article, but the sources appear legit. Professor Kessler from TAMU certainly has found very high levels of methane, multiple sources put methane pressures at 40,000+ psi.

If BP is really drilling relief wells 10,000 feet below the sea floor, that seems far beyond what we've all been told is the worst case scenario in containing the blown well.

Any geo-scientists here? Opinions? (I'll gladly go back to my Summer '10 PAC afterglow)

I'm going out on a limb and say I don't believe the gulf spill will cause a cataclysmic global methane bubble. I'm not too worried about that.

[wuapinmon]

I'm going out on a limb and say I don't believe the gulf spill will cause a cataclysmic global methane bubble. I'm not too worried about that.

Like you can even feel the Spirit anymore.

[SeattleUte]

Like you can even feel the Spirit anymore.

Here's another feeling I have: I have a feeling that those most shocked and upset now that BP was driling 10,000 feet below sea level are mostly the ones who were angriest at the high gas prices two years ago. Just a feeling. Granted, not the spirit, but I'm on a roll with these feelings. I have had a glass of scotch though.

[wuapinmon]

Here's another feeling I have: I have a feeling that those most shocked and upset now that BP was driling 10,000 feet below sea level are mostly the ones who were angriest at the high gas prices two years ago. Just a feeling. Granted, not the spirit, but I'm on a roll with these feelings. I have had a glass of scotch though.

You're feeling the spirits then.

[Indy Coug]

the spill in the persian gulf was far worse and none of this happened

I also lived down the coast from the Kuwaiti spills and the effect on the coastline wasn't nearly as bad as the media would have you believe. The bigger problem was the massive air pollution from the oil fires. Even 150-200 miles to the south it looked like dusk at around 2PM. I'll see if I can dig up some pictures from back then.

[Ma'ake]

the spill in the persian gulf was far worse and none of this happened

There's the oil spill, which is extensive, and pretty serious, but it's "only" oil contamination, could have come from umpteen tankers hemoragging.

But this is a problem with the source of the spill. A methane explosion is what started this disaster, BP was clearly caught off guard by the degree of methane involved (otherwise they wouldn't have been having a party on the rig celebrating their safety record).

Evidently this is far more than just capping a blown well. The seabed area around the well is fractured and leaking methane & oil. There appears to be a serious failure of the well casing 1000 feet below the well cap.

The 10,000 feet depth is from the sea bed, which means 15,000, total. BP obviously sees the problem is much, much deeper, in an area where methane pressures are far beyond our technological ability to deal with them.

Fissures 20 miles from the well, seismic "radiology" showing large methane deposits. Hopefully this is all just good psuedo-science theatre, Beckian exaggeration.

[SeattleUte]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/sc...ef=global-home

lol sometimes liberals have nothing on religious zealots for irrationality.

[Uncle Ted]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/sc...ef=global-home

lol sometimes liberals have nothing on religious zealots for irrationality.

Good catch SU. Looks like my small hedge in BP may pay off.

[landpoke]

These articles are full of crap. What the dude from Northwestern is talking about is methane hydrates, not a "massive methane bubble" as the articles are suggesting. Methane mixed with water in a frozen state. It's all over the gulf (and the world) and isn't some ancient slumbering evil accidentally unleashed by BP. Oil companies are well aware of its existence.

As for the fissures miles away (if they actually exist), this isn't uncommon in a blowout situation like this. The pressure from the formation will, like water, find the path of least resistance through the rock as it tries to escape. Sometimes this means following faults for miles before escaping.

Finally, drilling the well 10,000 feet under the sea floor, that's what you do with a relief well. You drill down to the target formation, the formation the damaged well is located in, and provide another avenue for the oil and gas to follow. This reduces the pressure on the damaged well and allows it to be capped.

[Jeff Lebowski]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/sc...ef=global-home

lol sometimes liberals have nothing on religious zealots for irrationality.

The solution to pollution is dilution.

And in this case, volatilization. And sequential degradation via microbial metabolism (bugs eat the oil). If you going to have a big spill, I can think of worse places for it to occur.

[Jarid in Cedar]

The solution to pollution is dilution.

And in this case, volatilization. And sequential degradation via microbial metabolism (bugs eat the oil). If you going to have a big spill, I can think of worse places for it to occur.

I had read the same. The gist of the article was that Exxon Valdez was more problematic because of the cold water and the relative lack of bacteria to do a majority of the work.

[Pheidippides]

I had read the same. The gist of the article was that Exxon Valdez was more problematic because of the cold water and the relative lack of bacteria to do a majority of the work.

Yup. Plus, you know all those pristine sandy shores in Florida and Alabama and such? Really easy to clean up. The marshes in Louisiana are not, however, and they present a real challenge. This might have been close to the best-case-scenario disasterous oil spill, I think.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The marshes in Louisiana are not, however, and they present a real challenge.

But I suspect they will make decent bio-reactors.

[SeattleUte]

The solution to pollution is dilution.

And in this case, volatilization. And sequential degradation via microbial metabolism (bugs eat the oil). If you going to have a big spill, I can think of worse places for it to occur.

lol for once someone here speaking within his field.