by Shern-Min Chow / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on May 10, 2010 at 6:33 PM
HOUSTON -- A Houston company is offering BP a solution to the ice that has frozen its last attempt to stop the massive oil leak in the gulf.
Gaumer Process, headquartered on Hempstead Highway in Northwest Houston, says heat is the answer. The company has been in contact with BP geologists and has submitted a proposal. Gaumer makes industrial heaters for harsh environments and uses heating elements similar to the one in a conventional oven.
The proposal is to install a dozen of these massive heating units inside the frozen containment box.
“Oil, natural gas, and sea water would pass over the heaters and heat it so crystals aren’t forming as it goes up the pipeline to the tanker above," said Gaumer President Jeff McClanahan.
It’s an interesting idea and one of thousands presented to BP to stop the leak.
The bottom line at BP’s pencil-and-paper-only press briefing on Monday was no one knows for sure what will work. No cameras were allowed into their U.S. Headquarters, located in West Houston.
BP explained their next attempt is called a “Junk Shot," in which crews shoot junk into the blow out preventer to plug it up. The stuff shot is literally junk of all sizes, including golf balls and tire treads. BP hopes to execute this idea by the end of this week..
BP is also working on sending down a much smaller containment box, nicknamed the “Top Hat.” Crews plan on using gas, like an air bubble, to keep water out and ice from forming. But because the box is only 4 feet by 5 feet, it’s much smaller than the four story, 100-ton containment box that froze, and would cap much less of the leak.
BP says it is executing a lot of options simultaneously and Gaumer is just one company that hopes to assist. It recently developed a new heater that is capable of working much farther from its power source than conventional equipment.
The heating unit can use 4,160 volts compared to the next-nearest industry standard of 690 volts. The higher the voltage, the farther power can travel.
BP has repeatedly noted that none of its containment tactics have ever been tried at the one-mile depth, which dramatically complicates its efforts.
