Well, the depth does make a big difference in how fast the methane hydrates form at the temperature of the ocean. Add in a little bit of heat from the oil itself, and it becomes very difficult for them to form above this depth. Sure, they can form in cold, undisturbed seabed over a long period of time at much shallower depths, but that's not the situation here.
But you know, its funny. While they are drilling the well, the talk is all about how this is all new and cutting edge technology on the frontier. But once there are some major gaffes after an accident, and all of a sudden its about how there are no actual gaps in their knowledge at all, they've drilled like this before, and there should be no problems in the future if they do things right, none at all. Right, I understand.
The truth is that like all human endeavours that push the limits, we are just making this up as we go along and learning from mistakes along the way. What happens if most future wells in this area to this total depth or deeper are similarly "gassy"? Quite frankly, I'd pin the odds of them NOT redesigning anything in their basic equipment directly because of this accident to be about the same as the odds that Congress won't pass onerous and expensive requirements for safety devices on future offshore drilling rigs.
The disturbing thing about all of it is that though the safety problems may have been made more problematic because of the depth and greater pressure, they were all things that would have been safety hazards on any well.
When you find a brake failure due to poor maintenance on a truck that runs away in mountainous terrain, it's probably good to check what the maintenance is like in the ones running on the plain too.
But you know, its funny. While they are drilling the well, the talk is all about how this is all new and cutting edge technology on the frontier. But once there are some major gaffes after an accident, and all of a sudden its about how there are no actual gaps in their knowledge at all, they've drilled like this before, and there should be no problems in the future if they do things right, none at all. Right, I understand.
The truth is that like all human endeavours that push the limits, we are just making this up as we go along and learning from mistakes along the way. What happens if most future wells in this area to this total depth or deeper are similarly "gassy"? Quite frankly, I'd pin the odds of them NOT redesigning anything in their basic equipment directly because of this accident to be about the same as the odds that Congress won't pass onerous and expensive requirements for safety devices on future offshore drilling rigs.
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When you find a brake failure due to poor maintenance on a truck that runs away in mountainous terrain, it's probably good to check what the maintenance is like in the ones running on the plain too.
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