Lessons of wreck in gulf of Mexico:

We can disturb terrestrial depths only very cautiously  

In April, 2010 in gulf of Mexico there was an wreck with oil well "Deepwater horizon". The mass media widely showed these events and, in particular, they informed, that in address of a management "British Petroleum" from all world has messages over 38 thousand technical offers with recommendations for liquidation of catastrophe.

I do not know, what quality of these technical offers was, however in October, 2010 in magazine "the Science and a life" have been published article "We should not disturb the terrestrial depths". For me it is difficult to judge, why above-named clause has been published, but I can assume, that, possibly, in opinion the editorial staff of magazine "the Science and a life" and experts of oil industry, in specified article the most successful way of liquidation of catastrophe is offered. (Certainly, the method, worded in this article, maybe, and is more effective in comparison with other ways, where how the offered decision was use of inclined unloading oil wells. But here appear question: "How much"?)

I shall tell at once: I do not wish to call into question competence of authors of the given publication, but, in my opinion, in some questions they are wrong.

Firstly, is obvious, that an appeal of authors "We should not disturb the terrestrial depths" will not be heard by the mighty of this world - already later some months after catastrophe in gulf of Mexico the president of the USA has been compelled to cancel an interdiction on the extraction of sea oil in coastal waters.

And little bit later the company "British Petroleum" has been invited as the partner for development of the Russian sector of Arctic regions:

Therefore the environmental appeals (in style Greenpeace) of Alexander Fridrikhson's and Marina Kasatochkina's so and will remain empty phrases because the modern mankind any more cannot do without hydrocarbonic raw material. (And affair here not only that oil and gas are used as fuel, they, besides it, are also valuable raw material for the chemical industry at manufacturing of various polymers.)

But the most important, we cannot think, that the catastrophe, similar as in gulf of Mexico, it is necessary to liquidate so radically, I would tell even by barbarous, by the method, how simple stopping of oil well hermetically it is an inadmissible squandering. (We needs nevertheless remember about considerable means, which expended for drilling the oil well - I viewed in one of sources the numeral 120 of millions dollars. And now what, simply stopping of oil well and "to chuck away money"?)

Therefore the problem consists so: not simply in stopping hermetically of spouting emergency oil well, but so that in the beginning AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE QUICKLY LIQUIDATE LEAK, and then, after elimination of wreck, to RENEW the OIL PRODUCTION FROM THE OIL WELL!

(Offered by A. Fridrikhson and M. Kasatochkina the technical decision of the hermetic stopping of oil well without the subsequent restoration of oil production should be considered only as an extreme measure caused by force majeure, for example, by cracks of the rock.)

For the further analysis of a situation it is desirable to familiarize the website visitor with other large wrecks, accompanied with spouting of the oil, to compare them and to draw corresponding conclusions that will allow to be prepared for possible similar situations in advance.

So we can compare three big accidents:

firstly, the wreck, which was near village Urta Bulag in 1963 year. Engineers have been compelled to muffle an emergency oil well by means of underground nuclear explosion:

1986 in soviet republics of Kazakhstan on Tengiz a oilfield: pressure of oil on a exit of wellhead of the oil well was 800 atmospheres, temperature 1500⁰ C (that close to temperature of fusion of steel) therefore not was of means for move nearer to wrecked oil well. Then the specialists for breakdown elimination was using the inclined relief oil wells, what in that situation was the reasonable decision. More than one year was necessary for liquidation of this wreck:

And accident of April, 2010 in gulf of Mexico: pressure of oil near with 1000 atmospheres, but temperature was rather comfortable, she is equal to an ambient temperature. Last circumstance (comfortable temperature) and has allowed to solve a problem relatively quickly. By means of insufficiently good remote-operated underwater robots the company "British Petroleum" with difficulty could reach the destroy damaged oil well and stop up she.

Thus, very important circumstance at underwater wreck is the oxygen-free environment, it allows to avoid ignition of oil and to keep comfortable temperature, what enables to executing of work directly on the damaged place of a tube, and under water on depth it is possible to use, not being afraid of explosion, even such traditional means of processings of metal as gas welding.

The comparison of these three accidents was show, what to liquidate underwater accidents on oil wells in some cases is easier, than overland. Especially it will be convenient to do it at use of diving technologies with unlimited depth of immersing (the patent for the invention number 2134193 Ru, look on this question on the Internet a site: http://www.deepdivertech.narod.ru).

In view of all that I here told, it is possible to offer following sequence of restoration of working productions of the damaged deep oil well.

The stage # 1. The Main task - as much as possible fast stopping of leak of oil. And the method, described by the authors in article "We should not disturb the terrestrial depths", will quite suitable for these purposes. For prevention of the similar events is possible even to create under aegis of the United Nations the international service of fast reaction - special airmobile "special troops". It will give an opportunity by joint efforts to cork a damaged oil well worldwide for some days and minimize ecological detriment.

The stage # 2. She can be begun only after all necessary surface infrastructure will be restored, i.e. when above earlier corked damaged oil well the new oil platform will be established (I shall remind, that an initial cause of spouting of oil in gulf of Mexico became the fire and next flood of floating oil platform). At the second stage regenerative works (replacement of the preventer on wellhead of oil well, etc. actions) are spent. Later through a pharynx of preventer we can DRILL a cement fuse, which was created on the first stage, and then do connection of the new pipeline AND RENEWAL OF THE OIL PRODUCTION.

It is possible to offer and other ways of restoration of working regime of the damaged deep oil well without similar blocking. However realization of these ways requires transportation of the cumbrous equipment and thorough preparation, i.e. the time, therefore they are not always acceptable, since they do not allow to stop quickly leak of oil and to minimize ecological consequences of wreck.

In summary it is necessary to repeat once again, that at any development of a situation at liquidation of spouting of a deep oil well it is desirable to have diving technologies with unlimited depth of the immersing, which I describe on own a Web site: http://www.deepdivertech.narod.ru

A.Y. Streltsov.

Postscript:

Recent tragical events on the Japanese atomic power station Fukushima have recovered nuclear phobias in many countries, what, undoubtedly, will lead to braking of development of atomic engineering all over the world. Therefore it is necessary to expect increase in need of mankind in traditional hydrocarbonic fuel which will have to extract from a bottom of the seas. So there is only one way: We have to disturb the terrestrial depths, but we should it do gingerly.