Where the oil was

...and where it is now.

The oil was in a vast reservoir 20,000 feet below sea level.
Under 5,000 feet of water and another 15,000 feet into the ground.

The well drilling opened a small hole through the rock which kept the oil from floating to the surface.

Oil at that depth, due to heat in the earth's core, can turn to gas. When a liquid turns to gas it expands. If it has no room to expand it creates pressure.

When the drill bit cut through the rock it allowed the pressure an escape route and it escaped right up the drill hole.

Drillers expect this. They place valves on the drill hole to regulate the escaping pressure. Obviously, this valve failed, leaving an open avenue of escape.

At 5,000 feet deep under water the pressure there can be measured in thousands of pounds per square inch. As the gas escaped through the drill hole, relieving the pressure in the reservoir, it created a negative pressure gradient in the reservoir and the water rushed into the hole, forcing oil up and out of the reservoir into the Gulf.

All this mixing going on at great pressure 5,000 feet deep has mixed water with oil. It is called emulsifying. This is not a surface spill like the Exxon Valdez, this is like putting water and oil in a blender turned on high.

The pollution of the Gulf is hardly surficial: not much oil on the surface.
The oil is well mixed with the water. It will not be easily removed. Only nature will be able to purify the trillions of gallons of oil polluted water and it will take decades.

Man will not be able to fix this mistake. All we will be able to do is manage the edges.

Very informative. TransitJohn had some helpful information last night, also.

Aren't discussions great? Where would we be without good discussions?

Sometimes it's hard to have a discussion because you are supposed to know all the answers before-hand. Only stupid people ask questions. :-)

http://us.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/05/01/nr.ott.oil.debate.cnn

I would expect even less of the oil spilled to date will be recovered. The effectiveness of the proposed dome is still unknown...

She reminds me of an old girlfriend.. yowzaaaa

Anyway, she is a marine toxicologist.

She got me to thinking about where the oil is and where it will be.

It's not a pretty picture. The dead zone in the Gulf is gonna be bigger than anything we could imagine. Imo.

The EV's capacity was 62,000,000 gallons, it was carrying 54,000,000 gallons, and the spill size was just shy of 11,000,000 gallons.


Sid

thanks for the clarification.

Sid

I always had problems with oil/water emulsions in chemistry lab (and the kitchen). They can crack quickly and unexpectedly.

Will nature crack this accidental emulsion quickly and allow the oil to surface? Since the emulsion itself should be lighter than water, how long will it take for it to surface? What cracking catalysts (surfactants) might be safely used at that time?

So many questions; so little time.

K&R

Notice the brown nature of the surface streaks?

Brown is the color of water with a great deal of oil particles entrained.

Black is the color of straight oil floating separate from the water.

You back in the tower this summer?

How's it going? I really enjoyed your posts last summer and I'm looking forward to more this year.

-Hoot

and depressing one as well.

I have been working on a documentary regarding C02 for the past 2 years and as a result come across some insightful minds.

I will add you to that list.

Cheers!

Yeah. Having been depressed about this coming reality for so long just allows me to see through the smoke and be prepared for what's coming.

These are interesting times, eh?