posted on Jun, 19 2010 @ 05:14 PM
I've looked at the live feeds daily now for weeks. Around 3:50 CDT today I noticed the BOP seemed to be slightly swaying, maybe 1 - 2 degrees off of
90. Then it would stop swaying. A few minutes later it would start again. I've been looking at this off and on for an hour. Maybe the ROV is swaying
with current, but the picture doesn't look that way to me. I don't think I can embed the live feed so here is the link (Windows media player):
link to live feed Enterprise ROV2
If it is not swaying when you look, wait a few miutes. It may not look like much, but I've heard the BOP is 400 tons and any sway would be
surprising.
Additionally, the Skandi Neptune Subsea 7 feed is showing what appears to be a large amount of sediment or drilling mud. Up until today I was seeing
what appeared to be a lot of hydrates/clathrates bubbling up with oil or whatever, but not sediment like this, in the forefront of the video. Today it
is different IMO. Here is a link to Windows media live feed:
Live feed to Skandi Neptune Subsea 7
I recall recently reading a thread that was written by an experienced driller (dougr I think). He stated that the BOP was very heavy with some stakes
that held it somewhat in place once it's 400+ tons was set on the sea floor. But the main thing holding it was the casing pipe all the way down to
the formation. He said if the casing integrity was gone, the BOP could start to become unstable. I have been on the lookout for this.
Any more experienced oilfield types care to comment?