Drilling Off Shore, Down Right Stupid

[SHOOTALL]

so how much pressure is /was on that well head ?

[Dixie Dude]

It has to be several thousand lbs.  We have a natural gas well in Mobile bay with 1,400 psi gas.  We ran a pipeline around Mobile all the way to just west of Selma to dump the gas into the cross country pipeline.  Never had to compress the gas, only filter it.  Must be a lot of gas in that well head, that was 20 years ago that we drilled it.  This is not a deep well either.  The deeper the more pressure.  

This oil has to be under tremendous pressure, since 4-5,000' deep water on top, and water is heavy.  Not counting the 30,000' of earth they drilled through to tap the oil.  That is a lot of earth and rock pressure on the oil reserve. 

I also think some of the blow out could be from aftershocks of the Haiti earthquake.  Just yesterday a whole 3 story building sunk in a giant sink hole in Guatamala City. 

[SHOOTALL]

Thats alot never had heard before.

[SHOOTALL]

28 inches of water head  is 1 psi , the foot print of the water determines total weight on something ? We test with 10 foot of head or 4.28 lbs of air pressure .

[Dixie Dude]

What I was saying is water isn't the only pressure, but the earth itself is squeezing the oil out of a "little" hole, so that would be a lot of pressure coming out.  It has to be a lot just to push against the water.  

If the robots saw off the bent and twisted leaking pipe, it will release even more oil.  However, the may be able to weld a flange around the pipe, and then place a valve over it, and bolt it down, then turn it off.  It could, however, break the bolts and break off the valve if it is under that much pressure.  Don't know how good the robots can weld that deep, underwater, and freezing cold.