After watching the responses of BP on stopping the oil, I believe they will do anything except seal the well forever. If the estimates are right, that hole produces 4 million dollars a day if they could only trap it all and sell it. That's why the "relief wells" are being drilled hoping that when complete they could be the producing holes in the future. I guess they see they are going to need a lot of income to cover their asses.
The Feds on the other hand are slow to bring in the cavalry because it would hurt them politically if they asked for one more cent of tax payer's money. So, most of the effort so far has been to secure the funds from BP, and rightfully so. The states affected just don't have the budget.
A few weeks ago I emailed both BP and CNN with my idea of a possible solution. Drill a hole parallel near to the gusher and lower an engineered conventional explosive. Seal that hole and let her rip. If it is close enough to the gusher it would collapse the well like a soda straw. Even if it allows some leakage, the pressure would be reduced enough to install a new assembly on top of the well. I saw on CNN the other day where another solution is to use a nuclear bomb in the same fashion. Geez, a bit overkill and typical sensationalized reporting. I wonder if we could get a Daisy Cutter to fit down a hole?
Another thought I had was to capitalize on the spill. That goo must be worth something even if it is only good for asphalt. Enterprising boat owners could outfit their rigs to collect the goo. They could then haul it to a collection barge or something and get paid for their harvest. Similar to the incentives that drive people to collect scrap metal and haul it to the yard for a $ check. I think the value could even be subsidized for more incentive and still be ahead of the expensive, complicated contracts with skimmer outfits.
Very interesting ideas. I like how you think.
ReplyDeleteEYE EYE Cappin lets recap all black tops at the malls. Its true that the gulf will never be what is was. 20 years on the Valdez oil spill is still just inches and in some cases still on the surface. What’s really messed up is the talking heads want us to think this is something that can be returned to natural state. The truth is the gulf has been sick for a long time and this needs to be brought to light. Our water in the most remote watersheds would never touch my children’s lips. I hope that this tragedy will bring to light that we cant reverse "Human progress". Instead we must take stock of the health of our land and water and start treating it like our lives depend on it (crazy thought huh?) It makes the "not in my backyard" argument for wind turbines, renewable resources etc. mute huh? I certainly hope that this can be harnessed for a real push for a energy policy that does not take the food from our mouths and burn our own house down. I agree that with all that money floating in the gulf the clean up should turn a profit. I.T.H
ReplyDeleteI finally got a response from BP...Huh?
ReplyDeleteDear Hoffa Robert,
Thank you for your submission to the Alternative Response Technology (ART) process for the Deepwater Horizon MC252 incident. Your submission has been reviewed for its technical merits.
It has been determined that your idea falls into one of the following ART categories: Already Considered/Planned, Not Feasible, or Not Possible, and therefore will not be advanced for further evaluation. To date, we have received over 80,000 submissions with each submission receiving individual consideration and priority based on merit and need.
BP and Horizon Deepwater Unified Command appreciate your contribution and interest in responding to this incident.
Michael J. Cortez
Technical Manager
Alternative Response Technology Team
Deepwater Horizon Call Center – Houston, TX
Wow,what an interesting and "cold" response letter. Wonder if BP CEO Tony Hayward penned it LOL
ReplyDeleteHere's a picture of the triage process:
http://images.businessweek.com/mz/10/24/popup_mz_1024_20compcleanup.jpg