It's all just wishful thinking on his part; that they could out-perform the spill by pumping back into captivity all the oil as it is let out of the broken rise.

That is, of course, impossible.

If that were possible it would be, for everybody, "Ultimately" (in the last analysis), "a winning game" (the best that could happen given the circumstances).

Wishful thinking that would be nice for BP, and for all, yes.

I wouldn't agree with that:

Kent Wells <---.

I would agree that it hasn't completely stopped the spill because they couldn't achieve a perfect seal with the RITT - nothing like as good as the one I got.

km

So this whole business of oil being lighter than water has nothing to do with it anymore?



Things like:



vs.



Seem pretty inconsistent to me ... but oh well ...

Well, I made that point in relation to experiment 1 when I poured oil into water in a wine glass and it rose to the surface, which simulates the spill, of course. Since there's more pressure on water than on anything lighter than water such as oil it comes to the surface from a subaquatic source even through a pipe - that's what my experiments 2 and 3 prove.

km

What? You want to throw slime at slime?

That doesn't support the pump theory - it detracts from it.

km

You would have to have one helluva pump to reverse that flow. These wells, when tapped under such pressure, don't use pumps. They use valves to control the flow at the head on the well platform. The best comparison is an artesian water well which also flows freely unless it is controlled with pressure valves.

The pump lobby aren't trying to reverse the flow of course but to ADD to it.

km

Here's the explanation:

Blowout (well drilling) - From Wikipedia

In all material respects your experiment reflects the characteristics of subaquatic well in a perfectly good condition, while the well BP is focused on has, at the ocean bottom surface, in a lower pressure environment than that of the mantle, a leak or spill —into the ocean— of 5000 barrels a day ("Oil Siphon Doubles Capacity"), as its Riser Insertion Tool captures another 2000 barrels a day.

If the Riser Insertion Tool picks up 30% of the flow it would be lucky to trap 30% of the gusher pressure. The original riser pipe is broken —in several places (three?)—; the pressure is spilt.

The above percentage of captured gusher energy means that 70%+ of the pressure is spilling out into the gulf with the oil. The longer it gushes, the more pressure is lost.

I see a big difference between one and the other and can't understand your equating in your experiment a ruptured well and an intact one.

Isn't this all about the oil spill? Yet, you choose to ignore it in your model?

If your garden hose had a gash 10 inches from the water pipe faucet, and it was spilling 70% of the water through it, would the pressure at the head of the hose 50 feet away be unaffected?