Thinkingabout the Oil Rig explosion in the Gulf Mexico last week. The difficulties in placing a cap over the leak.
The cap ultimately filling up with Clathrate crystals, which is basically Methane within ice crystals. One can understand the difficulties experienced by the Oil Companys, when you have an oil leak one mile below the surface
I started wondering just why or how, an oil rig tethered in the ocean could catch fire?
To my mind an Oil rig in the sea is less likely to catch fire than a land rig......or is it?
***My thoughts are
One land, Methane gas is dispersed into the atmosphere just as soon as it leaves the drill hole
In the sea, especially one mile underwater the bubble of Methane quickly grows larger and larger as it speeds up to the surface........its probable that it would follow the riser pipe, and even cling to it, (if the pipe was coated in oil) Meaning that the huge methane bubble would break the sea surface, in one go, covering the rig platform in Methane for a half a second...but long enough to get ignited by any electric motor/generator or tx radio on the rig.
So my thought is that Methane disperses on land but not in the sea.!!
Now there is a lot of Oil in the Artic, together with Clathrates, which can be seen to be bubbling on the sea surface continuously, by fishing boats etc.
Drilling in the Artic ocean should be banned until a safer technology is developed
Oil Spills in cold waters last much, much, longer!!
