Gulf Oil Spill: Ultradeep Repair Rig in Place, Begins to Drill Relief Well

Call the new oil rig in place in the Gulf what you want, but it's typed by the oil industry as an ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig. Ultra deepwater it will need to be, seeing that Gulf waters at the leak are 5,000' deep, and the seabed below, to the oil reservoir, 18,000' thick.

BP may install a dome over the leak. Or it may drill a relief well. Regardless, this is the rig they'll use to complete either - or both - jobs. The rig is called Development Drill III; it began drilling the relief well in the Gulf on Monday.

Relief wells are designed to drill down to and intersect existing well bores, like the one causing the leak now. The crew will then pump in heavy fluids and cement to plug the leak.

NOAA met immediately upon receiving notice of the explosion, catastrophic collapse and sinking of the Gulf oi rig. Look here at a NOAA official's hand-drawn chart, indicating latitude, longitude and nautical miles, estimating the movement and density of the Gulf oil spill slick. Note also compass rose just visible on the nautical chart beneath the notebook.

BP's potential legal liability for the Gulf oil leak is enormous. Recently-released claims summaries indicate that the range of potential claimants can legally include not only business that lose revenue, but state, county and city governments that suffer tax revenue losses, state and federal agencies whose holdings (nature preserves, wildlife refuges, and so on) that suffer condition losses, as well as other stakeholders.