A Geologist’s Point of View

I am a trained but a practicing geologist. I guess not many people know this fact, simply that I hardly make use of this knowledge, except for my jade collection.
I have been following the broken Deep Horizons oil well for quite a while, but my sense is that this will not fade away in the foreseeable future. The flow is estimated at anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 barrrels per day based on satellite imagery as well as BP’s deep-sea rovers that can see the oil pouring out of the well. One thing for sure, the deepwater Horizon disaster off the coast of Lousiana is not the first oil spill, but it is becoming among the worst.

Oil spill clean-up crews are already on the job, doing their best to contain the oil, disperse it, burn it or skim it. Burning oil on the water surface, however, does very little to help and is more of a public relations stunt that an effective way to reduce the oil. As of April 29, BP said it had deployed 76,104 gallons of dispersant and had the 89,746 gallons available. The solvent mix with oil and break it down into fine droplets that then disperse with natural water currents. I know for a fact that dispersants are more effective on fresh oil as opposed to crude oil that has become emulsified with wave of action over time.

Relief drilling remains the best option but it will take time to stop oil gush. First, is to drill down to the same oil-bearing rock from which the leaking well is getting its oil, but we cannot go too near the original hole with the drill rig because oil is under pressure.

Once the rig is in location, the long, difficult process of drilling can begin. We are drilling through mostly rock. Once it reaches the broken well, sealing can be started by having seawater pumped into the rock through the relief well. If all goes according to plan, that water should make its way into the lower end of the leaking well, displacing oil. If that succeeds, the next step is to pump in a mineral mud, which follows the sea water up the broken well. Once that mud fills the well, concrete can be pumped into the relief well. Until that happens, there could be a lot of oil pouring into the ocean for some time.

Many ocean scientists are now raising concerns that a powerful current could spread the still-bubbling slick from the Florida Keys all the way to Cape Hatteras off North Carolina. There is a lot of shoreline to be protected so it is not possible to boom off the entire shoreline.