As I understand things, there is a blowout preventer on the sea bottom.
How does that device work? Is the presence of 5000 feet of well
casing sticking out of the preventer and crumpled all over the floor of
the gulf capable of keeping the pressures and flows regulated enough
that the BOP thinks everything is OK?

What would be the method of converting the floating drill rig activities
into some kind of permanent production facility?