Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Relief Well, Bottom Kill, Static Kill, What?

A caricature made in protest of the
spill in the Gulf of Mexico along Louisiana
Highway 1, in Lafourche, La.
(Photo by Nicholas Moroni)

Due to the gulf spill, industry terminology is now part of the public discourse; but, what does "bottom kill" mean?

By Nicholas Moroni

Four months after the disastrous explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in Gulf of Mexico waters off the coast of Louisiana - one that led to a failed oil well that was only recently tamed - both BP and the federal response have supplemented news coverage of the oil spill with a slew of industry terminology. But, what is the difference between a "static kill" and "bottom kill?" And, didn't they already try the latter? No, that was the failed "top kill" method."

Provided below is a list of some of the methodologies employed in the wake of the spill, concise definitions, and whether or not they were successful in stanching the 4.9 billion gallons of crude that gushed into the gulf between April 20 and July 15.


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