Oil slick

[GaryM]

The biggest thing that bothers me about this is the complete irresponsibility of BP. I am baffled that a company so big does not have teams of people whose sole responsibility is to go through all the "worst case scenarios" associated with anything like this and have plans in place for when they happen. As I understand it, this is a 2ft diameter hole leaking uncontrollably... they shoul have some sort of 'plug' ready to seal it off, or a few blocks of explosives ready to collapse the opening in on itself...any sort of failsafe. Instead it has been over a month of bickering, finger-pointing, and feeding the media frenzy.

[rocracing2004]

Don't say a boycot will not work it took Exxon years to get their sales back to what it was before the spill. I don't buy gas from BP but I know Mark Pilson does what do you think about stop buying your gas from BP?

RC

[backpacker6]

If you haven't seen this you should watch it.....

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/ ... 0197.shtml

[Oberstwill]

Back in the day they used to "blow wells" in order to cap them and I really do not understand why they did not just drill down below the sea floor next to ti and blow the crap out of it so it collapses on itself inturn shutting off the flow. We have way to many overly cautious people whose indecisiveness just exacerbates the problem further by their lack of action. JMHO

[rocracing2004]

Bill I would not ever say I used to blow anything on this site. I don't know how many people were thinking the samething that were at dinner with us at the Dixie Tour.

RC

[Oberstwill]

Of course you would go there............

Bill I would not ever say I used to blow anything on this site. I don't know how many people were thinking the samething that were at dinner with us at the Dixie Tour.

RC

[DickCDawg]

The use of explosives on surface well blowouts put out the fire by momentarily starving the fire of air & fuel - then they have to come in and either close valves on the existing wellhead stack, or remove the broken stack, mount a new stack over the flow, and then close the valve - all while the hydrocarbons spew from the wellhead. The explosion by itself doesn't stop the flow.
Let's hope the top-kill attempt can get enough mud/concrete weight into the well head and downhole to create the weight needed to overcome flow pressure and volume. If not, I believe the relief wells will be the only way to redirect and control the flow - and back in 1979 it took almost 9 months for the Ixtoc1 relief well, in only 200' of water.

Dick

[Oberstwill]

Correct. I was thinking more of the fact that very quickly tons of soil could be forced into the well space and with the sludge quality of this oil, I think it would act as a coagulant and seal itself (or at least put a major decrease on the flow). THis is not your Exxon Valdez refined oil and apparently many of the most commonly used tactics are just failing.