When social media first debuted, most people saw it as a way for indie musicians to bring their music to a larger audience, as on MySpace, or a way for college kids to invite each other to campus parties, as on Facebook. But savvy business people soon saw the potential for social media to provide a two-way dialogue between their public and often-inaccessible corporate suits. Corporate giants like Dell, Zappos, and Kraft Foods have embraced the power of social media, using this increasingly popular medium as a conversation tool with customers and the public. Now customers feel like they’re being heard by the companies they give their money to.
Well, except for some companies. Take our old friend BP.
Here at BP Oil News, we are, of course, covering the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast with both Twitter (@bpoilnews) and one of the earliest types of social media – our blog. And though our blog is brand new, we found that within days of starting the blog, we were receiving suggested solutions from engineers and members of the public, including this one:
We have a way to contain the oil coming up from the seabed and we manufacture a boom system that far, far exceeds anything you have ever seen. 600 miles of it can be produced and deployed in under 30 days with current available materials.
Our boom sits a full three feet at water level and extends 8 feet under water and can be used as a containment system for animals as well in shallow waters like the Florida Keys. What are you going to do
when dead manatees start washing up?
Our containment system for the well can be manufactured and deployed for complete containment in about 21 days. It is very simple to build, it will work in heavy seas, very simple to deploy and maintain. This system would allow the capture of ALL of the oil coming out of the well. It will even work in 50 foot seas and will withstand a hurricane.
We have tried to move our ideas forward to BP but we get no return calls or contact. (Editor’s Note: BP has included a phone number for ideas just like this on their website on page called “Gulf of Mexico response.”)
We’re no engineers. We have no way of evaluating the merits of this idea, but wouldn’t it be nice if BP was doing everything it could to stop the loss of livelihood, the loss of marine life, and the economic and environmental devastation caused by their spill? We’re passing the suggestions on to people like the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (which has a very active Twitter account at GOHSEP).
Fortunately, other social media savvy folks haven’t been as complacent as the oil giant. A nonprofit called the Louisiana Bucket Brigade is using a crowd sourcing platform called Ushahidi to track all the damage from the oil spill. And by “all the damage,” we mean the sights, smells and fallout from the spill. The oil slick has not reached the shores yet, and as of today, most reports have detailed an oily sheen seen on the water, along with dozens of reports of strong odors. But a few have detailed seeing dolphins swimming in an oil slick or oil-stained birds. The non-profit eventually plans to use the power of crowds via social media to document the eventual harmful effects of the oil spill that is only now seeping slowly toward our shores.
Can you help the Louisiana Bucket Brigade? Reports of environmental damage, health impacts, job loss or other ill-effects of the oil spill can be made and viewed at the Louisiana Bucket Brigade website. Mobile phone users can text or call in reports to (504) 27 27 OIL. Reports can also be sent to bpspillmap@gmail.com and through Twitter with the hashtag #BPspillmap. Eyewitness reports for the map require a description, and location information such as address, city and state, zip-code or coordinates. Citizen reporters can remain anonymous or disclose their contact information. Photos and video can be uploaded via the web.
Meanwhile, we’ll continue to use social media to independently report on the oil spill. Keep the comments and suggestions coming! Even if BP isn’t listening, the crowd is.
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I’m a Subsea Control System Engineer and I wish put on the table two ideas:
First: freeze some meter of pipe trying to change the oil property in order to make hydrate within the pipe. After that there is time to operate with flange on the pipe.
To freeze the pipe could be used some
Second: use a system like those used to terminate the hoses. Put on the tube just close the oil coming out a collar with two guide, insert within the pipe where the oil coming out some meter of tube (with Out Diameter can be into the broken oil tube) flanged on the middle with a flexible riser at the end.
Insert the flanged tube within the oil tube using the guide collar.
During this operation oil shall be go out from the flexible riser.
Put an additional collar could be filled with cement over the previous installed collar and clamp, use the other end of the flexible riser as necessary to collect oil or terminate with valve.
I hoop this could be the bases to develop a system.
In case need help to develop the detail of this idea do not hesitate to contact me, I could have support of a big Subsea engineering department.
I am an engineer in the Alaska oil industry and I have an idea that might have some merit in dealing with the oil spewing from the well. My idea is to run a hose from the surface and through it inject 50% hydrogen peroxide solution in the vicinity of the oil where it will oxidize rather rapidly creating heat and CO2. The excess heat will be readily absorbed by the surrounding ocean and the CO2 should remain in solution until the sea water pressure allows its release as currents bring it to the surface. The idea won’t stop the flow of oil but it should mitigate the amount of free oil reaching the surface. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen which obviously is innocuous. Peroxide would be toxic to marine life in its concentrated form but it quickly oxidizes when it encounters organics which is why it should work well once it encounters the oil. Unreacted peroxide should quickly decompose as it encounters organic matter naturlly in the water and well before it reaches the upper levels of the ocean. There are safety concerns with dealing with industrial strength peroxide but it is managable since we use it at our facility every day.
Why cant they just insert a pipe into the spewing pipe with an inflatabul cuff to seal off between the larger and smaller diameters .It could work by inserting an inflatabul cuff around the spewing pipe to seal off the differance betwen it and a larger pipe around it as well . It would have to be a cuff made of tire rubber able to withstand the pressure but you can make the air pressure inside the cuff what ever you need it to be . You could even have a valve you could open and close on the new pipe.
I have a very simple remedy. I recently changed out the faucet in my kitchen, and not being overly knowledgeable of just how to do it, I went to Home Depot and asked for help.
The rep walked me through the use of a compression nut. The method worked nicely and no more leaks.
BP has already demonstrated the ability to cut the pipe.
They should be able use the same method to stop the flow of oil from the existing pipe. This time place a compression nut and other needed parts over the existing pipe. Attach a new length of pipe, with one end presealed, and tighten the compression nut accordingly.
Worked for me with my sink, cannot imagine that it would not work here.
why not inflate a secure exstremly heavey duty rubber ballon into the gash, then install releafe valves below it to realse the gas as the pressue builds up? just like we have on our hot water heaters.
Remove the now useless hydraulic pistons from the shear ram BOP with the circular saw (that was used to try to cut the riser). This leaves the ram shafts exposed. Now use a modified shear (such as was used to finally cut the riser), with half couplings replacing the cutting tips, and compress the cutting rams; thereby shearing the pipe in the BOP and stopping the oil flow.
So where are our Deep Sea Submersibles? As you mention a few manned Navy vehicles exist as well as “Alvin” (federally funded). Americans have been operating at twice the depth of the well-head for forty years!
Don’t discount the value of expert eyes on the scene vs. the actionable intelligence provided over the last 6weeks from 2D video screens.
As for Gov’t capability – the scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI)are preparing this week (50 days later) to sail to the rescue as leading experts in oceans and oil pollution. Watch for more government 1st responders in coming weeks!
there is something fishy here. you can stop an 80 psi pipe by freezing it. have they never given any thought to this or is it to simple of an idea. I am no engineer but you can freeze anything if you have the right amount and enough hose to get to the casing. like i said something fishy going on here. sometimes the simplest thing can work, at least temporarily. where are all the back up plans . I need them in my business. why dont they?
1) Construct a mile long steel pipe with a twenty foot diameter.
2) Float the pipe with flotation bags.
3) Weld on padeyes for rigging attachment points top and bottom.
4) Attach cables to padeyes at the bottom of the pipe and feed them through attachments to anchors on the sea floor at four points 90 degrees apart.
5) Deflate floatation bags at the bottom of the pipe gradually until it floats vertically.
6) Attach cables to padeyes on the top of the pipe to winches on tugs to stabilize the top of the pipe.
7) Attach a valve to the top of the pipe from which to pump the oil and gas. It may be necessary to place a smaller diameter pipe down so that the point from which oil is extracted is below the ocean surface in order to maintain stability and allow gas extraction from a separate valve at the top of the pipe.
9) Begin venting gas and pumping oil out of the top of the pipe.
As long as the gas and oil are pumped off of the top at a sufficient rate, there will be no need for containment at the bottom of the pipe.
My suggestion is to freeze the leak and pipes with liquid nitrogen or helium. Since the surrounding water will also freeze, a form or mold with a specific shape should be used to create a large block. After the leaking has been contained, a steel container with the same shape of the block can be applied and clamped to the pipe to provide a permanent patch.
This concept can be easily tested to verify its feasibility.
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