It appears they might be doing the kill right now

[Iwasthere]

Or at least some tests (saw some junk fly out of the pipe). Follow along, there are some engineers twittering as they work on the ship. Google Jgrindal
(he is the main engineer)

http://twitter.com/minterda

[charlesg]

1. Probably diagnostic tests:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j2WM-6T8Nj9-NM50L97Qc8BdwyfgD9FU5PU00

5/25/2010
BP engineers draw up plans for 'top kill'
By GREG BLUESTEIN (AP)

COVINGTON, La. — BP is going in for the kill. The trick is to do the job quickly and cleanly.

As early as dawn Wednesday, the oil company will try to choke to death the gusher at the bottom of the sea by force-feeding it heavy drilling mud and cement — a tactic called a "top kill" that is routinely used above ground but has never been tried 5,000 feet underwater.

If it's not done just right, it could make the leak worse.

Engineers were doing at least 12 hours of diagnostic tests Tuesday. They planned to check five spots on the well's crippled five-story blowout preventer to make sure it could withstand the heavy force of the mud. A weak spot in the device could blow under the pressure, causing a brand new leak...

[Maru Kitteh]

2. Thanks!

[Iwasthere]

16. here are a few more tidbits of the conversation with the engineer

jgrindal.@Dasani_01 Correct. Relief wells for this site started early may and will complete in August.
1 minute ago via web
Just got called to the deck, be back in a bit.
14 minutes ago via web
@SuziLeVeaux No, the relief well will be used to kill the "wild" well.
14 minutes ago via web in reply to SuziLeVeaux
@drgrist Even if we fail on the top kill, the relief well(s) will kill the well. Period.
15 minutes ago via web in reply to drgrist
Killing a well doesn't preclude you from recovering the oil in the resevoir, it just means to you have drill a new well.
17 minutes ago via web
@avivao Doing this required mobilization of some very rare equipment, and it has taken this long to get everything prepared for it.
19 minutes ago via web in reply to avivao
@unenergy Actually, I started my twitter account 6 months ago to follow @zacharylevi but I just recently had something interesting to tweet.
20 minutes ago via web in reply to unenergy
@David_in_Austin You may also be seeing the actual mud line, which is 4"
22 minutes ago via web in reply to David_in_Austin
@avivao To clarify, I am not a BP engineer. I am a consultant.
23 minutes ago via web in reply to avivao
@David_in_Austin Unfortunately, I can't see the feed that you can (we have limited bandwidth out here), but the riser is 21",
25 minutes ago via web in reply to David_in_Austin
@SoloAnn I don't know the well names off hand, and its doubtful you'd be able to find anything. Most problems are handled relatively quietly
26 minutes ago via web in reply to SoloAnn
@JDietz1 Not exactly. I fully expect a very unhappy letter once all is said and done.
27 minutes ago via web in reply to JDietz1
@destingirl54 Doing this required mobilization of some very rare equipment, and it has taken this long to get everything prepared for it.
29 minutes ago via web in reply to destingirl54
@minterda No, that is our injection rate of the mud. The leak is significantly lower than that, but we have to power the mud into the hole
29 minutes ago via web in reply to minterda
@LesleyMag I know it has worked on some mid-depth wells (800'), but I'm not the exhaustive resource for that piece of info.
31 minutes ago via web in reply to LesleyMag
@nay731 On-site.
32 minutes ago via web in reply to nay731
@minterda Sorry, I'm still pretty new to this twitter thing.
33 minutes ago via web in reply to minterda
@minterda sorry, bbl is my shorthand for "barrel"
36 minutes ago via web in reply to minterda
Just so everyone knows, Top Kill operations have been very successful in other wells, this is the first time at this depth. Pls RT #oilspill
37 minutes ago via web
@Crimson_Cougar Just talked with one of the ROV pilots, things are progressing pretty well, next few hours.
38 minutes ago via web in reply to Crimson_Cougar

[xxqqqzme]

25. damn - running commentary

maybe the revolution will be in the internet cuz it sure as hell ain't on TV.

[joe black]

69. Man.

I wonder how much those rover pilots get payed.

[FedUpWithIt All]

3. He is saying 40 to 50 barrels a minute?

Am i reading that right?

[Iwasthere]

6. yes

And they have 9000 psi down

http://www.livestream.com/wkrg_oil_spill

[FedUpWithIt All]

8. I get that we're talking pressure but what does it mean exactly? n/t

[TexasObserver]

57. 50-60 barrels a minute has been what I've thought it was for days.

That was an estimate I read in one source, and from watching the video of the gusher, it looks like it might be losing a barrel a second. There are 86,000 seconds in 24 hours. 50 barrels is about 72,000 barrels a day.

72,000 barrels is about 3 million gallons. I think that's a good number for the problem.

[Swamp Rat]

4. god i hope this works

[Kablooie]

5. He said the leak is 40-50 barrels a minute. That would be 72,000 barrels a day!

They can be fined up to $4000 per barrel for leaks according to law.
That would be 288 million dollars a day or 8.5 billion dollars a month.

[FedUpWithIt All]

7. I coudn't tell if the engineer was saying they were planning to insert at 40-50 barrels per minute

or if that was the estimated outflow.

[Kablooie]

9. @jgrindal "So - to be clear; you understand the leak is 40-50 barrels /minute?"

Sounds like the oil to me.

[Adsos Letter]

13. I don't know...the operator says this...

RT @jgrindal: Theoretically, yes b/c we have a 5,000' column of it working in our favor. We're injecting at 40-50bbl/min, so it should work
34 minutes ago via TweetDeck

[FedUpWithIt All]

15. 72000 a day would put us at around 100,000,000 gallons if flow were consistant. n/t

[truedelphi]

12. Here is some decent discussion of the oil leak amounts

Takes into account the highs and the lows as far as various estimates.
URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/25/gulf-oil-spill-how-much-o_n_588587.html


And like you are pointing out, there is a huge monetary incentive for BP to keep the estimates as low as possible.

[Subdivisions]

64. Isn't that pipe supposed to be about as big around as an oil barrel is? If so,

you can begin to imagine what it is that you're seeing in the video at

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

[Swamp Rat]

10. live feed:

something just happened... hard to see, lots of debris rising

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

[scheming daemons]

11. Yes...something did...... but what?

Hard to tell...

[Swamp Rat]

14. the robotic arm just stabilized the insertion pipe

too much debris coming up

i hope they pan down again

robot just lost its grip

[Swamp Rat]

17. spillcam is moving down to insertion point

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

[Swamp Rat]

38. del

[Adsos Letter]

18. And then there's this from the tweeters...

RT @jgrindal: .@minterda Non-Disclosure Agreements. Certain things BP's PR department wants to handle the release of - I can't discuss
2 minutes ago via TweetDeck

[G_j]

19. Certain things BP's PR department wants to handle

great!

[Maru Kitteh]

20. We will NEVER learn the full truth of what happened here.

It's hideous.

[Kablooie]

21. That might relate to the 40 to 50 barrels a minute comment.

[Kablooie]

23. .@minterda Junk Shot could tear open seals and create more leak paths than currently exist. It's not

engineered, it's a crap shoot.

[Maru Kitteh]

26. ugh........ *heart sinking*

[chill_wind]

22. k & R for the heads up. n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

24. does anyone know what we are looking at right now?

[Kablooie]

27. I have a strong suspicion we are looking at our computer screens.

[Bonobo]

28. WTF!

[Bonobo]

29. Looks like a crapy screensaver. nt

[Swamp Rat]

34. I believe it is the primary pipe that is being set into a receiver

on the other end of the receiver (block) are flexible hoses which go to a choke valve that is connected to the BOP.

It looks like they may have been successful, at least, in inserting the pipe which they will use to inject the bentonite clay (heavy mud)

[SemiCharmedQuark]

40. Thanks...I was completely confused.

[Swamp Rat]

44. looks like the pipe was successfully inserted

spill cam is panning area... looks like a damaged receiver box near the pipe

they may be getting close to injecting the heavy mud

[Kablooie]

30. .@barackobama URGENT: STOP THE JUNK SHOT.

.@barackobama URGENT: Only 60-70% chance of success. 30-40% chance of making GULF OIL GUSH WORSE

[scheming daemons]

31. Seeing that robot arm sliding up and down the pipe is getting me horny...

;-)

[Kablooie]

32. Makes me feel like dancing the horn pipe.

[Kablooie]

33. Looks like zero hour is fast approaching. I'm headed topside, will keep in touch as possible.

Wish us luck. #oilspill #topkill

From jgrindal

[Maru Kitteh]

35. zero hour meaning the start of topkill? so this must be prep

[Swamp Rat]

36. Yes, it looks like the pipe was set into the receiving block

if all goes well, they will begin injecting bentonite clay packed with heavier minerals such as barite and galena, if mecessary

[G_j]

37. CNN has it on also

http://edition.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=2

[Swamp Rat]

39. Spillcam looking at insertion point... looks like insertion was successful

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

still hard to tell, but debris has stopped flowing from this point

spill cam moving in for closer view

[G_j]

41. hoping

and praying

[Swamp Rat]

43. spillcam is back online

pipe looks like it was successfully inserted

[Swamp Rat]

42. spillcam feed has stopped... I hope nothing happened.

hmm, this is the point where they try to inject the bentonite clay if the pipe was successfully connected.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

45. Is it that white pipe?

[Swamp Rat]

49. that's the pipe that goes up to the ship above where they will inject the bentonite clay

from there it goes to flexible hoses that go to chokes attached to the BOP

[G_j]

53. thanks

I wouldn't have the faintest clue

[Mimosa]

46. I can't rest until this gusher is stopped.

One good thing about D.U. more than any other board is that most people (whether we agree or disagree on some aspects of this issue) REALLY GIVE A DAMN about the environment.

Many people elsewhere do not realise the harm this will do to an important valuable ecology and many, many people and small businesses.

[Swamp Rat]

50. me too

:hug:

[Kablooie]

47. The PBS newshour live cam is several minutes ahead of CNN.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/05/newshour-oil-widget-2-including-spillcam.html

[SemiCharmedQuark]

48. Thanks, that one seems much clearer

[Swamp Rat]

51. Link to govt feed:

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

Let me know if the CNN feed is better. I've had good luck with this one for over 3 hours.

[G_j]

52. connection successful -PBS

[readmoreoften]

54. Does that mean successfully connecting to the feed, or that the operation is successful so far?

:shrug:

[SemiCharmedQuark]

55. I was reading as the connection to the streaming video was successful

[G_j]

60. so you saw that too

maybe you're right

[Swamp Rat]

56. The pipe that is used to send down the heavy clay was successfully inserted

I have no information other than what I am watching on the govt spillcam, and my basic civil engineering training.

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam

the pipe is connected into a receiving box, then flexible hoses will be attached to a choke, which is attached to the BOP. When thall these steps are finished, they will inject bentonite clay.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

58. Can you dumb it down a shade?

Biologist here.

I appreciate your information. I'm just having trouble with the terms.

[Swamp Rat]

59. This graphic should help everyone here who is watching the spillcam

It's hard to tell what is happening, so I'm struggling too. I'm trying to find an industry blog that has people who know a lot more than I do about this.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

61. Perfect. Thanks so very much!

[Jamastiene]

62. That actually looks like it might work.

Thanks for all your work finding info. :hug:

[Swamp Rat]

63. No problem... Looks like the spillcam is fixed on the plume for the last 7-8 hrs

I wish they would show what the ROVs are doing.

:hug:

[readmoreoften]

65. Top Kill delayed. Undergoing additional tests.

RT @jgrindal: Just got the call. Top Kill delayed for the time being. Additional tests requested. #oilspill #topkill
about 4 hours ago via UberTwitter

[Subdivisions]

66. Well FUCK! n/t

[Subdivisions]

67. UPDATE: According to MSNBC Breaking News, the 'Top Kill' has begun... on TV

[Swamp Rat]

68. Yes, but we cannot watch what they are doing because the spillcam is fixed on the plume

for the last 7-8 hours.

Maybe they do not want us to see what the ROVs are doing, in and around the christmas tree and BOP. :shrug:

[dixiegrrrrl]

70. Wow, just got a scathing call from mgmt, requesting I tone down my twitter info...

jgrindal's last tweet 3 hours ago.