All It Would Take Is One Environ Mental Crazy Roustabout Or Toolpusher Willing To Set An Oil Rig On Fire

Obama,US government and Gore are in bed with each other!

Man made oil disaster creates a crisis that won't go to waste

(All It Would Take Is One Environ-Mental Crazy Roustabout Or Toolpusher Willing To Set An Oil Rig On Fire. The narrative below is just one example of how an environmental radical could have caused the oil spill in the gulf. It just doesn't smell right to me. Smells like the BO kinds of green thugs had a hand in this. Was it an accident done on purpose or a crisis obama was not willing to go to waste?

Rush Limbaugh pointed out that the explosion occurred on April 21st, the day before “Earth Day.” He also reminded us that Al Gore had previously encouraged environmental nutjobs to engage in civil disobedience against the construction of coal plants that don’t have carbon capture technology. “Eco-terrorists” exist and have done millions of dollars worth of criminal damage. Fire is one of the main tools of their evil trade. This has got to be the perfect environmental storm. Remember the obama administration is controlled by environ-mental wackos that aided obama in the passage of the "stimulus bill". Radical thugs who will do anything to please their leader BO. This will prevent further licensing of offshore drilling. This "perfect storm eco disaster" will help promote the climate change bill now in congress. Obama is a thug who will use his fellow thugs to put hit after hit on America.) Story Reports

.........................................................................................
There is a theory on a Russian website that claims North Korea is behind this. The article claims that North Korea torpedoed the Deepwater Horizon, which was apparently built and financed by South Korea.

Torpedoes would make sense for the results we see. The platform exploded, despite redundant safety features; plus, something apparently also happened on the Gulf floor at the opening of the well to prevent engineers from being able to stop the flow of oil from it. Two torpedoes launched from a submarine could cause those things to happen.

There are a number of international “suspects” who might want to do something like this. They range from Muslim terrorists to the Red Chinese, Venezuela and beyond. Remember that China and Russia are drilling out there, as well, and they would benefit from America cutting back on our own drilling.

AK

Aha, a reference at last. The presence of a packer implies with some certainty that we're talking about a liner, not a 'tapered string'. Also (someone else might have mentioned this) I feel that shear rams might have a hard time closing on a BOP test plug, and that doing so may even cause deformation of the Dp from which it's suspended, preventing a seal of the latter within piperams, as well.

So with what we've recently learned (or at least surmised), let's compose a little scenario. But first, I want to make it clear that this is pure speculation, conjecture, and hypothesis maybe not bearing any relevance to what happened on Transocean's DWH working for BP, and therefore as such implies no fault, blame, nor negligence on the part of their equipment and personnel, nor those of any of the companies involved. In fact, let's call this scenario a fantasy situation, occuring on a non-existant well, called 'Well X'.

This is a bit long, but bear with me. I'd appreciate any feedback from others picking holes in this scenario: or could it really happen?

The deepwater (very high dayrate) rig is to temporarily abandon the well, moving off in two days, and a schedule and budget are already in place for this.

A 7" liner has been set and cemented. After the plug has 'bumped' (in fact 'latched', this being a liner), the required casing test pressure is applied for the required length of time (usually 15 minutes). This is then bled off and observed for backflow. Everything looks good. No doubt the annulus is also being observed, through the triptank maybe. That looks OK as well. At present the cement slurry is at its initial density, so that, added to the mud column, has the well under control.

The next job is to set the liner hanger packer. This may be mechanically set, with the liner hanger setting tool assembly, or hydraulically set, which involves closing the BOP and applying annular pressure. Ten attempts are seemingly made. Maybe (if it's a mechanically set packer) it just didn't set properly, and an annular pressure test proved this. Or maybe it was hydraulically-set and didn't function properly.

During this time, the cement column behind the liner is in communication with the rest of the wellbore, and is beginning to firm up. It must be recalled that during the cement curing process, there is a critical period when the slurry no longer exerts the hydrostatic pressure of its initial density, but simply that of the mix fluid, which is usually close to that of fresh water. The well can become underbalanced very easily at this point, which is why some operators like to WOC with the BOP closed.

In this instance, waiting on cement time had not been planned for, because had the liner packer functioned correctly, it would have isolated the formation mechanically from the rest of the well.

At this point, someone figures that possibly the packer failure indicates a BOP malfunction, so that will need to be tested. It is decided to POOH the liner setting tool, make up the BOP test plug, RIH and land it in the well head to test the BOP functions which are suspected to be at fault.

The clock is ticking: this unforseen work might delay the rigmove.

The liner setting tool is pulled. Maybe the crew have been instructed to POOH as fast as possible, because time is of the essence. Maybe swabbing was induced, disturbing the bond of the setting cement between the formation and the OD of the liner. Maybe gas starts to slowly migrate, without being noticed, but causing channelling within the cement.

The test plug is run, and BOP tests are performed. There is no pressure sensor in the annulus below the landed test plug, so nobody is aware that gas is now entering the wellbore, and migrating up below the plug.

The BOP tests having been completed, someone thinks that having the test plug in the hole might be a blessing in disguise. Before moving off the well, the riser must be displaced to seawater. The boat destined to receive the mud is already on location. Why not do it now, thus saving precious time and clawing back some of the delay? Then all that needs to be done is unseat the test plug, pull it above the level of the BOP, close a set of rams, test the liner top and packer, maybe set the packer as well (if that hasn't been done), and then all that will remain is setting the 'mudline' cement plug'? After all, on previous wells in the area there have been no indications of problems with the liner cement bond...

This idea is approved. In itself it doesn't represent much apparent risk. Except that unbeknown to all, gas is still percolating up below the test plug, unexpanded, and thus at full formation pressure.

After the riser displacement, the test plug is unseated, and pulled slowly upwards through the stack. All hell breaks loose. The gas at formation pressure 'sees' an open pathway to expand, and does so. The riser unloads rapidly, sending seawater over the height of the crown block, causing mayhem, confusion, and possibly damage on the rigfloor. The driller has already left his draworks joystick, thus stopping further pipe movement, so he can operate the BOP panel. Rapidly the seawater eruption is being followed by gas, so it is decided to operate the shear rams.

However, by terrible misfortune, the test plug is stopped opposite these rams, which are unable to fully close. Maybe an attempt is made to close other rams or the Hydril. But the MUX control system only operates sequentially. In other words one function must have been completed (ie ram either open or closed) before a further signal can be accepted at seabed. The shear rams are stuck half-way.

By this time, the formation fluids outside the liner are taking advantage of the riser being evacuated to gas, 'seeing' a drastic reduction in the hydrostatic pressure keeping them in place, and are rapidly rising up the wellbore, breaking down the liner cement sheath (which hasn't yet reached its full compressive strength) yet more, and bypassing the packer, which indeed was not set.

The gas at surface has meanwhile found an ignition source, causing a major explosion. This (if not killing the drill crew outright), renders them incapable of any further intervention. The lifeboats are being loaded, and the blowout is now out of control.

.................................................. ............................................


As I mentioned at the start of this mail, I am no way saying that this is what happened recently in the GOM. 'Well X' is a pure invention, but one which encompasses many of the observations and anomalies remarked upon by the many contributors to this thread. As such, is it a possible scenario?

AK

PS By the way, and on a different subject, various people have been asking about other correspondents' qualifications. I've got nothing to hide, so here are mine. Started as a roustabout N.Sea in 1978. Worked my way up within drilling contractors to Toolpusher just by 'climbing the rungs of the ladder'. Did some office stuff as well. 'Moved sideways' in year 2000, and have worked as a consultant drilling supervisor ('Company Man') for various outfits ever since. Have no intention of either taking a shore-based position, nor retiring, come to that.