Following the same steps as above, calculate what the pressure (in PSI) would ha
ID: 110709 • Letter: F
Question
Following the same steps as above, calculate what the pressure (in PSI) would have been at the bottom of the well after the driller replaced the mud with seawater. Here the height of the fluid column will again be 5485 m (18,000 ft), but its density is now 1025 kg/m^3 (8.6 lbs/gal). a) How much did the pressure decline at the bottom of the well when the driller replaced the mud with seawater? b) Explain how the reduced pressure within the well bore combined with the failure of the blowout preventer are related to the catastrophic fire and release of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.Explanation / Answer
Hydrostatic Pressure = Density of Sea water (lbs/gal) x 0.052 (lb.gal/sqin/ft) x True Vertical Depth (ft)
Density of sea water is given as 8.6 lbs/gal
and the vertical depth is 18000 ft
Therefore,
Hydrostatic Pressure = 8.6* 0.052 * 18000 = 8049.6 psi
Therefore, the pressure at the bottom of the well is 8049.6 psi.