Fri Jul 16 13:32:44 PDT 2010

Transcription of the teleconf w/ Admiral Allen provided by *smokebreak*

*  Thad: we will focus on the integrity test b/c some other admiral gave an ops briefing
*  we have broken down the hours of the test into 6, 24, and 48
*  we knew if in 6 hrs we weren't above 5k psi, the wellbore was damaged... above 6k, less than 7500 indicates ambiguity... 7500 + tells us the well has high integrity and low loss potential
*  we have acheived just a little over 6700 with the increasing pattern as we expected, just about leveled out
*  there have been a couple scenarios to explain:
*  (1) reservoir is depleted causing lower pressure
*  (2) "product" lost in the well due to integrity
*  there are plausible arguments for both
*  moving forward in 6 hr increments
*  they have completed 2 seismic runs - single paths
*  no anomaly detected in the seismic survey, but this is not a comprehensive survey with mutliple paths crossing
*  at the next 6 hr increment we are looking for four things from
BP:
*  (1) enhanced monitoring of seabed, acoustical sensing of wellhead
*  (2) additional seismic runs for a good x-section of the formation
*  (3) no anomalies during those monitoring sessions
*  (4) move an acoustic vessel into the area to detect methane bubbles
*  those four criteria will allow us to keep the well shut in
*  they will have to adjust the frequency of the acoustic monitoring to avoid cross-chatter
*  betwee the vessels in the area
*  generally this is good news - still uncertainty so we are taking close precautions to avoid "a situation that cannot be reversed"
*  in close contact with Steven Achoo
*  reiterating, Thad has personally OK'd the four points above
*  question time
*  he personally is kicking BP's ass
*  AP: If after 24 we had psi readings between 6k and 7.5k that indicates ambiguity.  we are still at 6700 after 24 hours.  so are you saying this is ambiguous and could indicate a leak?
*  Q: the pressure is slowly rising at 2-10 psi/h, consistent with a well that has integrity... trying to determine if that is caused by depletion or an ongoing escape path thru the wellbore
*  whoops, that is the answer
*  followup: so you're saying it could be depletion ORRRR you have a leak?
*  A: dude you can't trap me like that, i just told you what we're doing to determine if there is a leak
*  we are being prudent... does that make more sense?
*  Q: well just one more question... after the next 6 hours are you going to re-evaluate the test?
*  A: yes, according to the four conditions i outlined above
*  Thad is doing a great job sticking to his talking points
*  A: we are moving beyond the 24h horizon for the pressure gradient - we are trying to discount the idea of a "low probability, high consequence event"
*  CNN: how do you determine depletion vs. a "straight up breech" and would you possibly rescind the 24h test period?
*  A: answering the second question first, we are proceeding on an event-based horizon
*  A: there are conditions that would lead us to believe that the well has integrity.
*  sorry i missed a bit of what he was saying there. basically there is not an aquifer pushing up the formation
*  NBC: how concerned are you that there IS a leak, and the test is making this leak worse... given that 6700 is where we are hovering
*  A: there are reasons that we could be at 6700 without a well leak.  there are no indications of a leak on the seafloor.  we need every assurance that we can react if there IS a leak, hence the 4 conditions above
*  A: it's a good thing the well is shut in, clearly, but we are very mindful to not cause irreversible damage to the wellbore.  the purpose has always been containment - not shutting the well in - and the "Final Solution" is the kill bore
*  Miami Herald: can you give us an idea of how quickly you can respond if there is a seabed leak?
*  A: scenarios... if we detect methane or other hydrocarbons, we will immediately lower wellbore pressure by venting choke and kill lines from cappy
*  also would bring up HP and Q4000
*  that would occur immediately before a capping exercise
*  followup: is that minutes or hours? once you see it at the seafloor, isn't the damage already done?
*  A: one of the discussions we've had is whether this type of formation is a wizard that can self-heal with mud and rock that will collapse when the pressure is relieved.  we believe that is the type of formation we have
*  we can relieve the pressure the C/K lines immediately.  Q4000 will take some hours to come up
*  Times-Picayune: when does the current 6 hr period end?  when will the noaa vessel arrive to search for methane?
*  A: we just left the meeting - i called bob dudley with the 4 criteria just 2 minutes before this call
*  the noaa ship is only a few miles away, but the issue there will be adjusting the frequencies to avoid interference
*  6 hours is just a target, it could be 8
*  Bloomberg: could you specify the area/date/time when [inaudible]
*  A: the reason we'd do that is if we felt we couldn't learn any more from the integrity test, or if we reach a point where it is advisable to move to 80 kbbl/d.  that decision will be "conditions based"
*  Reuters: a couple days ago in houston you said 8-9k psi sustained would be your target... is 48h the ABSOLUTE cutoff for the test even if it doesn't reach 9k psi?
*  A: some of the info we've seen, particularly the pressure curve to reach 6700, suggests that the well has overall integrity
*  A: we are moving to a conditions-based process that is basically gather data, analyze, discuss, move forward.  We are continuing because we have "positive indicators" of the well's overall integrity
*  Final question
*  AP: just trying to figure out if uh, whether, you were uhm, i think you've already answered this, like, if the leak is going to, i mean, uh, is the oil going to go back into the ocean, or will you uh be able to capture the uh oil from ummm the helix producer
*  A: we will immediately vent the choke/kill lines.  it will take time to bring up HP and Q4000 but some oil will escape into the environment.  if we produce again we are going to aim for 80kbbl/d - to do that we need to finish setting up a second freestanding riser which would occur within a week
*  call over