May 18, 2010 (28 days into the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico)
The PROBLEM is that I am aware of your [BP's] 90 foot sections of riser pipe and Claudi Santiago plus the firm should review and have this procedure from Branko R. Babic in mind in any future OIL WELL DISASTERS. I know you have people who can advise BP, Transocean, and Halliburton that the CPP and hollow pipe CPP with ball valve can be inserted into your 21 inch pipe and sealed while the flow goes through the special piping of lesser size until the weld is made; then the leak can be SEALED IMMEDIATELY.
According to the Transocean website, the riser devices on the Deepwater Horizon were manufactured by VetcoGray, a division of General Electric Oil & Gas. The specific designation is a "HMF-Class H, 21-inch outside diameter riser; 90 foot long joints with Choke & Kill, and booster and hydraulic supply lines."
Here's a photo of something similar. These are Vetco risers sections shown on another vessel, the Transocean Discoverer Inspiration, when someone visited that ship last month:
Transocean Horizon Riser Sections
As an OLD Florida Plumbing Contractor, I started back ON APRIL 26TH or later screaming about using a section of PIPE from experience in the Mexican Oil Rig IXTOC 1 which made ME get involved and knew you CAN use a flange with section of PIPE, BALL VALVE THEN PLACE SAME ON A JOINT FLANGE AND SEAL THE LEAK, but the bolts must be cut and pipe section going AWAY FROM LEAK SOURCE fall away to make these connections.
My idea was to use one LONG bolt on the flange with TOP OF BOLT WELDED STRAIGHT THEN LOWER TO BOTTOM AND INSERT ON THEN WITH ROV SWING OVER CONNECTION AND PULL DOWN OVER THE FLANGE WHICH SHOULD BE 90 FEET AWAY FROM BOP TOP. ONCE PULLED DOWN THE RESTRICTIVE FORCE WOULD GO UP TOWARD THE SURFACE ALLOWING FREE FLOW OF GAS AND OIL.
THEN ONCE TIGHTENED ALL AROUND WITH NEW BOLTS AND SCREWS WHICH WOULD BE TIGHTENED QUICKLY BY ROV PERHAPS USING DEEP WELL SOCKETS MANUFACTURED TO ALLOW TURNING QUICKLY IF NOT USING HYDRAULIC SPINNING SOCKET ACTION FOR LOCKING DOWN.
I then found an OPEN PIPE with seal made of RUBBER which could be INSERTED, TIGHTENED, AND SEAL MADE which could be welded in PLACE BY ROV using the edge of the pipe and round beveled washers.
Once full flow was going through perhaps even a 6 inch pipe inside with FULL FLOW AND GAS PRESSURE RELIEVED…the round wheel ball valve COULD SHUT THE SECTION DOWN SAFELY! JET SWET and BRANKO BABIC'S INVENTIONS ARE SUPER SIMILAR BUT BRANKO BABIC WAS DESIGNED FOR SUPER PRESSURE WHEN JET SWET COULD BE TESTED IN A POOL ALONG WITH BRANKO BABIC'S INVENTION THEN THREE TAKEN TO SITE AND INSERTED EVEN INTO PIPE CUT WITH ROTARY BLADES ON ROV. CLEAN CUT IS NOT SUPER NECESSARY AS THE INSERT CAN BE WELDED WITH PLATES TO THE INSIDE OF THICK PIPE AND TO THE THICK METAL OF THE WASHER UNIT TO HOLD SAME IN PLACE OR EVEN TO THE INTERIOR PIPE SINCE IT IS THICK WALL.”
TO ME THE SIDE PIPES COULD BE CUT AWAY AND CAPPED LEAVING ONLY THE SUPER THICK PIPE AT THE FLANGE IF A FLANGE WAS GOING TO BE USED WITH THE BRANKO BABIC PIPE AND SHUTOFF VALVE IN PLACE WELDED ALREADY……SOUND WORTHY OF EXPEDITING SINCE OVER 25 DAYS HAVE BEEN LOST WHILE THE LEAK HAS BEEN PUMPING FROM THREE LOCATIONS…….. H I N T !
AGREE OR DISAGREE AS THE MANUFACTURER? Do you really have such long runs 90 feet without any type of check valve on those hydraulic lines in case 5,000 feet or fifty some sections at 90 feet BREAK OR FAIL? BOP DOES NOT HAVE ANY HYDRAULIC OIL REPORTEDLY AND ONE MODULE WAS KNOWN TO BE FAILING AND WAS NOT REPLACED. PLUS THE ANNULAR RUBBER WAS DAMAGED BEFORE THE EMERGENCY AND PARTICLES CAME UP THE PIPE.
CAN YOU WELD ANOTHER RECOVERY PIPE WITH BALL VALVE OR SHUTOFF VALVE ON SAME ALLOWING FULL FLOW THROUGH AT THE TOP OF A BOP CONNECTION FLANGE?
CAN YOU SEE THE BRANKO R. BABIC INVENTION FOR OIL FIRES TECHNIQUES REALLY WORKING QUICKLY TO SEAL ALL LEAKS WITHIN ONE FULL DAY?
THOSE CRANE AND ROV OPERATORS ON THE SURFACE CAN DO MIRACLES WITH THE UNITS SUSPENDED BY CRANES ON CALM WATER PLUS THE UNIT WOULD BE LIGHT ENOUGH TO BE HANDLED BY ONE OR TWO ROV’S EASILY THEN WELDING UNDERWATER WOULD SEAL UNIT INSIDE PIPE, EVEN SMALL DAMAGED SECTION COULD BE FILLED IN WITH FILLET WELDS ON THAT THICK WALL PIPE. AS A FORMER WELDER BACK IN THE 1970s WORKING FOR THE TAMPA SHIPYARD AS A WELDER AND TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL AS A WELDER IN 1975-1983 I CAN TELL YOU THOSE WELDERS CAN MAKE UP FILLET WELDS AND BLOCKS CAN BE USED TO KEEP EVEN 18 INCH PIPE COMFORTABLE INSIDE THE HEAVY STEEL WALL PIPE, AS YOU KNOW FROM YOUR SHOPS. WHY BP WELDERS CANNOT SEE THIS SHUTTING DOWN THE SPILL OVER 25 DAYS AGO IS BEYOND ME ! I KNOW IT WILL WORK !
I have asked the President of the United States to review the suggestion with U.S. Navy Divers and applaud the ROV operators on the surface who can indeed manipulate the special TUBING and WELD same to interior of thick wall pipe then when ready, CLOSE THE VALVE with any ROV and stop the leaks IN ALL THREE LOCATIONS. To me, one length of pipe, even recovered from the yards and flanges cut away could be flown in to make up a flange for attachment of a ball valve wheel controlled then a flexible section of pipe used to deflect the gas and oil plus water away from the ROV work areas and the entire BOP TOP LEAK stopped quickly. True or untrue ?
Editor's note: It is my understanding from an AP article that the law prevents the government from getting involved.
Ralph Charles Whitley, Sr. CFC032631
Backflow Prevention, Inc.
4532 W. Kennedy Blvd. PMB-276
Tampa, Florida 33609-2042 USA
Phone: 813-286-2333
Cellular: 813-241-7940
SKYPE: ralphwhitleysr IF ONLINE !
Post Script: Sadly this SAYS IT ALL in that BP knew how to solve the leak and failed to do so even after collecting HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY WHEN THE DISASTER COULD BE CRIMINAL NEGLECT OR TERRORISM OR EVEN MURDER! ACCIDENTAL OR ACT OF GOD MIGHT HAVE PAID BUT CRIMINAL NEGLECT OR TERRORISM OR EVEN MURDER COULD CAUSE ALL THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS TO BE GIVEN BACK TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY!