Raising fears that d Macondo well,might be leak ?
Emo_CutE_GiRl_ 2013/07/20 15:05
Emo_CutE_GiRl_ 2013/07/20 15:05
In mid-September 2012, oil sheens were reported by British Petroleum to the US Coast Guard, raising fears that the Macondo well, which was capped in July 2010, might be leaking. Researchers, however, are now affirming that neither the Macondo well nor the natural oil seeps common to the Gulf of Mexico appear to be the cause.
Because every oil sample contains chemical clues pointing to the reservoir it came from, researchersused a recently patented two-dimensionalgas chromatography methodto measure the extent to which gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens, and compared this information to other samples to determine if they shared a common source.
While they first confirmed that the sheens do contain oil from the Macondo well, because of the presence of olefins -which are industrial chemicals usedin drilling operations, andwhich are not present naturally in crude oil- they believe the cause of the sheens to be a slow leak from equipment found aboard the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig.
Because every oil sample contains chemical clues pointing to the reservoir it came from, researchersused a recently patented two-dimensionalgas chromatography methodto measure the extent to which gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens, and compared this information to other samples to determine if they shared a common source.
While they first confirmed that the sheens do contain oil from the Macondo well, because of the presence of olefins -which are industrial chemicals usedin drilling operations, andwhich are not present naturally in crude oil- they believe the cause of the sheens to be a slow leak from equipment found aboard the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig.
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Emo_CutE_GiRl_ 2013/07/20 15:06
While still not good, it at least means that there is a limit to the pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage.
The chemical makeup was also found to match debris found in 2010, which had come from therig itself and was coated with oil that was contaminated by drilling mud olefins.
While still not good, it at least means that there is a limit to the pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage.
The chemical makeup was also found to match debris found in 2010, which had come from therig itself and was coated with oil that was contaminated by drilling mud olefins.
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