3 ms·
From what this guy said, the maximum flow rate if the well fails is 150,000 barrels per day. If there are 2.5 billion barrels in the reservoir, then we'd be loo
by dlnovell 16y ago
From what this guy said, the maximum flow rate if the well fails is 150,000 barrels per day. If there are 2.5 billion barrels in the reservoir, then we'd be looking at a continuous leak at approximately three times it's present flow rate for 45 years before it stopped.
The consequences of that scenario are too horrible to imagine.
- avolkov 16y ago4.5 years, not 45 years.
- Tekhne 16y ago2,500,000,000 barrels / 150,000 barrels per day / 365.25 days per year = 45.6308464522 years
- jpdbaugh 16y agoThis is correct. It would definitely take years. Think about that there is only one hole in this well. It is much smaller than wells in places like Texas and Middle East which are drilled via many holes for a few years.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- btilly 16y ago2.5 billion barrels is about 300,000,000,000 liters, which is 300,000,000 cubic meters, which is about half a cubic km. If any significant fraction of that volume is removed, it seems likely to me that there will be cave-ins around the bubble. If those cave-ins are big enough, they could create cracks that would cause more leaks to come out. Alternately they could produce places for oil to go that won't leak out the current hole. Or they could widen the current hole. Of course long before that point we should have relief wells. But the challenge there is that the wells are hard to put in and the existing leak lends an element of instability. The last thing anyone wants is to have further accidents on the relief wells. But when you're hurrying under difficult circumstances, accidents cannot be ruled out.