Deepwater Horizon oil spill: "Top Kill" not looking so good

There remain more questions than answers at this point, but the BP spin from yesterday that "Top Kill" was working appears to have been a falsehood. BP is not the right source for what the actual data from the well head means, but unfortunately they are the only source of said data.

I would like to offer interested readers a couple of better sources of technical information.

This is the live feed from 5000 ft below the Gulf of Mexico.

Apparently what this is showing now (11:02 AM Pacific time) is alot of drilling mud being ejected. This mud is what is intended to counteract the upward pressure from the oil reserve and if it does not stop coming out then "top kill" attempt one will have failed.

And this is some interesting and informative conversation going on at "The Oil Drum". Also see this summary of articles article. And here.

More like this

My guess is the junkshot stuff will get scraped away by the sandstone particles in the flow. Is this going to go on for the 3 months (relief well)?

By anonymous (not verified) on 28 May 2010 #permalink

We now have the government saying that the leak will continue till August. Or maybe even until the entire well has emptied itself.

What exactly is the situation? A pipe has been drilled into the well, and now is gushing out oil into the ocean bed.

Solution: Dig a shaft, say about a mile deep next to the pipe (shouldn't take more than a few days to do). Detonate a very powerful bomb, maybe even a nuclear bomb. The oil will no longer have a clear path to the surface and the leak will stop.

Wow there Jayanta - don't think you have thought that one through to well.
Firstly, I kind of think it takes more than a couple of days to set up an oil platform and drill a hole a mile deep into the ocean floor.
Secondly, detonating a nuke tends to leave large craters, kills everything for miles around, and has long term ecological consequences.
But apart from those minor problems..........