Was his solution to crimp the pipe? The pressure differential between the oil and the water is pretty low (20k barrels/day isn't that much for a pipe that larg

Was his solution to crimp the pipe? The pressure differential between the oil and the water is pretty low (20k barrels/day isn't that much for a pipe that large) so crimping wouldn't require much more energy than bending a pipe without any flow. However, I don't know if there are ROV attachments that are strong enough and whether there was the required access. The other problem is that a crimp probably won't result in a complete seal. I don't know if there was room for multiple crimps or their cumulative effect. On the other hand, crimps would have reduced the flow while the relief well is being drilled. The other problem with crimps is that they may make it impossible to do other things.