Dome to contain Gulf oil the next best solution

I hope this solution really works - the idea that all this oil is going to waste, along with the huge ongoing environmental disaster is tragic:

NEW ORLEANS — The best short-term solution to bottling up a disastrous oil spill threatening sealife and livelihoods along the Gulf Coast should be arriving on Wednesday in the form of a specially built giant concrete-and-steel box designed to siphon the oil away.

Crews for contractor Wild Well Control were putting the finishing touches Tuesday on the 100-ton containment dome. A barge at about midday would haul the contraption to the spot 50 miles offshore where a mile-deep gusher from a blown-out undersea well has been spewing at least 210,000 gallons of crude a day into the Gulf for two weeks. BP spokesman John Curry said it would be deployed on the seabed by Thursday.

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Such a dome has never been tested at these depths - Iam sure you will join me in wishing this effort will be a huge success.

Strap the CEO of BP to it while they are at it. I really hope for the sake of the Gulf that this works. I worry it may be too little too late though.

Originally posted by ventian
Strap the CEO of BP to it while they are at it. I really hope for the sake of the Gulf that this works. I worry it may be too little too late though.

The CEO is so full of hot air, the dome would float - nice idea though.

Originally posted by deltaalphanovember

Originally posted by ventian
Strap the CEO of BP to it while they are at it. I really hope for the sake of the Gulf that this works. I worry it may be too little too late though.

The CEO is so full of hot air, the dome would float - nice idea though.

Yep…I can just picture the BP board meeting.
Proposed:
1. Kill some people
2. Destroy some more peoples livelihoods
3. Destroy companies branding
4. Trash millions upon millions in equipment
5. Jeopardise future companies earnings
6. Be a patsy for US administration

All passed. CEO to expedite personally.



Just for the record the BOP that FAILED was of US manufacture.

Keep drinking the Koolaid kids.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


Could the oil find a small opening where the dome contacts the ocean floor? If it does then the leak would start over again shortly. I guess if it does you could use a dome over the original dome.

It's not a perfect solution, and there is doubt whether it will work at all - however, if it does work, it will restrict the amount of oil that is being spilled into the environment, as well as buying more time.

And it will take a lot of time to get this well properly capped again:

If crews cannot stop the leak quickly, they might need to drill another well to redirect the oil, a laborious process that could take about two months while oil washes up along a broad stretch of shore, from the white-sand beaches of Florida's Panhandle to the swamps of Louisiana.

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Well I hope it works... for the people of the area I have my finger crossed this turns out to cause minimal disruption and pain (I can hope)

As an aside..Saw the title and thought of the Simpson's putting a Dome over another ecological disaster and had a deja vu moment.. (the kids forced me to watch it )

[edit on 5/5/10 by thoughtsfull]

Its a band - aid,quick fix,hopefully it works,but quick fix's never last.
Pressure of the well is the first problem,they need to anchor it flush with the sea floor so it will not leak.
Yes,it will float depending on surface area to weight,if it does they will have to have holes or a hole to sink it and release air.
A dome shape is strong,a box is not,if they can equal pressure evenly on both sides it may work,but if pressure is greater on one side than the other then it could implode/explode tho it may buy them a few extra days to fix it proper.
Fingers crossed.

Update:

According to CNN, the dome is being lowered:

Venice, Louisiana (CNN) -- A massive dome began its descent into the Gulf of Mexico to cap a gushing oil leak about 5,000 feet below the surface, a BP official said Friday.

The arduous process of lowering the four-story containment dome and getting it in place is expected to continue into the weekend. The technique has never been attempted at the depth of the leak spewing from the sunken oil rig, officials said.

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