BP caps spill

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by GMScud

My hope is that the pressure shift doesn't cause a rupture in the sea floor. Then BP/the Gov't would be helpless to stop billions of gallons from emptying. That would be far beyond catastrophic.

I admit I know nothing about the engineering involved. And yet I want to comment - go figure. It seems to me that the free flowing oil would have created more of a risk that way because when the well was working the oil was basically operating under a controlled pressure. Once the explosion occurred, there would have been a sudden drop of pressure under the ground and sinkholes could have occurred. Now that pressure has been restored I would think the system is back closer to its equilibrium point rather than a stress point.

That said, no sudden changes are ever good in pressurized situations.