Also a good artical that offers a somewhat optimistic view. You need a subscription so I posted it:
Experts seek to learn from similar blowout
By Javier Blas, Commodities Correspondent
Published: June 1 2010 05:59 | Last updated: June 1 2010 05:59
As BP struggles to contain the leaking Macondo oil well, engineers, policymakers and environmentalists are looking south in the Gulf of Mexico to a similar accident three decades ago for clues about solutions and the long-term damage from the spill.
The parallels are striking. In June 1979, Petróleos Mexicanos’ exploration well Ixtoc 1 suffered a massive blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, about 600 miles south of Houston. The uncontrolled well gushed oil and gas for nine months and 22 days, spilling about 3.3m barrels of crude until it was finally capped in March 1980.
The episode sets a sombre precedent because it shows that oil companies struggle with underwater blowouts. On the surface, Ixtoc 1 was an easier problem than Macondo: the Mexican well lay under just 150ft of water while BP’s oilfield is about 5,000ft down. But engineers say that, taking into account the differences in technology, Ixtoc was probably as difficult to tackle as Macondo is today.
Drawing conclusions from other accidents, the Obama administration and BP have warned that the Macondo leak could continue for months.
Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive, said over the weekend there was no doubt that “the ultimate solution lies on the relief well, which is in August”.
Carlos Morales, Pemex head of exploration, is sharing technical information with BP about the spill, the Mexican oil company said. Mr Morales has warned that it could take “four to five months” for a relief well to cap the spill.
As with BP in the current crisis, Pemex tried everything two decades ago, from the conventional to the radical, in its effort to contain the spill. Its efforts ranged from a cap or funnel above the well, or sombrero which largely failed, to pumping mud and debris in a “top kill” and “junk shoot” manoeuvre – a partial success – to relief wells.
The failure of the blowout preventer was critical – another parallel between the two incidents. After the blowout, Pemex tried to close the BOP by pumping in seawater, drilling fluids and chunks of rubber. For three hours, the operation was a success. But shortly afterwards, there was a large rupture underneath the BOP, according to the report “Ixtoc 1, Blowout and Control Operation” by Oscar Luis Ulloa and Ignacio Osorio, of Halliburton de México and Pemex, respectively.
“In view of this, it was decided to drill two directional wells in order to pump fluids to the formation and bring the well under control,” they wrote in their study, considered one of the best accounts of the incident.
“The drilling of the control wells Ixtoc 1-A and Ixtoc 1-B ... brought about the final plug operation.”
Beyond the parallels in dealing with the blowout, Ixtoc offers policymakers and scientists clues about the effects of the spill on the economy and the environment.
Surprisingly, marine life recovered swiftly from the spill.
Arne Jernelov, an expert on environmental catastrophes who studied Ixtoc, says that in the case of Macondo, it is a safe bet that shrimp and squid populations will suffer, as they did in the Ixtoc case, “but so is a close-to-complete recovery within a limited number of years”.
Other scientists who studied Ixtoc concluded that the recovery of marine life was in part due to the fact that a large amount of oil evaporated, dissolved in the hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico or sunk into the seabed, forming sediment. The studies were, however, largely supported by Pemex and the Mexican government 20 years ago, so it is impossible to ascertain their independence.
The Mexican Institute of Petroleum concluded in a report after the accident that Ixtoc’s crude oil broke down due to the effect of sunlight, hot water and weather conditions. “The tar oil landing on the beaches is largely innocuous,” it said.
The Ixtoc case also offers a warning about the potential cost of compensation claims. Oil from the Mexican well reached Texas, polluting beaches and hitting the US fishing and tourism industries, according to a report published at the time by the US interior department.
Washington asked for financial compensation from Pemex, but the Mexican government rejected the claim. The precedent could prove important if the Macondo spill continues for months and the oil reaches Mexico or Cuba.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9a13b73e-6d31-11df-921a-00144feab49a.html