BP Attempting Spill Cap With Subsea Oil Recovery System

The 125-ton Subsea Oil Recovery System (SORS), left, comprises a 14' x 24' x 40' water displacement structure that will be set on top of the largest leak source and act as a funnel for the leaking crude oil. The SORS is designed to collect oil from the well and pump it to a tanker at the surface, which will then be stored and shipped to shore. According to the unified command Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center, the SORS could be deployed within days.

The leak is located at the end of the riser (tubing), approximately 600 feet from the wellhead. Equipment at the top of the containment chamber is connected to a 5,000-foot, 6 5/8-inch drill pipe riser that will direct the oil to the Deepwater Enterprise surface ship where recovered hydrocarbons will be processed. Oil separated from water and gas will be shipped to a designated oil terminal onshore.

The Deepwater Enterprise can process 15,000 barrels of oil per day and store 139,000 barrels. A support barge capable of storing 137,000 barrels of oil will also be deployed. The containment system has never been used at the water depth in question, roughly one mile below the surface. [RigZone, 5/3/2010, picture & illustration courtesy unified command]