sbl

I am not an engineer--I am a scientist and I know chemistry and physics, we can probably get the info to make an estimate of the pressure--at the end of the pipe--based on the flow estimates (2.5 million gallons a day) and the diameter of the pipe--21 inches I think--I will see what I can find.

The pressure in the formation can also be estimated from flow resistance factors and the distance.

I doubt the suggestion of temps of 400 degrees and the possibility of explosion if water were to penetrate the well--as long as there is any pressure, water cannot go upstream against the pressure.

I do have serious concerns about what it will do to the environment and ecology of the Gulf. There could be fisheries that will be permanently destroyed. There will be added carcinogens in our food for decades. I am seriously disappointed with EPA for allowing the use of corexit to hide the spill--that is it's only function here. It is the reason there are huge underwater plumes that we can never remove--that will get into our food chain--that will suck the oxygen out of large masses of water in the Gulf--shame on EPA.


EDIT: I found an online calculator for pressure and flow--I also heard the the actual pipe diameter is only 8 inches--the casing is 21 inches. Plugging in the flow of 100,000 gal/hr in a 8 inch pipe 10,000 ft long shows a pressure drop of just about 300 psi. I seriously doubt that formation pressures are in the range of 20,000 to 70,000 psi.