Kurt Ullman wrote:

In article , Some Guy wrote:

They could cut a slit into the pipe about 1/3 (more or
less) thru and then insert a metal plate configured to
the shape of the inside of the pipe to reduce the flow?

A week after the sinking of the rig, I was wondering why they didn't
pinch the pipe shut somewhere close to the well-head (maybe 10 or 20
feet from the well head) just to stop the flow and give them time to
figure out their next move. I posted this on another newsgroup, and
someone else figured out the pressures required - 435 tons (apparently
the pipe is 21" diameter and 1" thick wall). The pressures required
were within the capability of the remote equipment that they can send
down there.


Which is only part of the equation. In order to pinch it off, you
not only have to apply enough pressure to pinch off the pipe, but also
enough to overcome the pressure of the stuff running out. MUCH more to
work against that.

Hydraulics scale easily. Constructing a rig capable of pinching a ~2'
dia pipe off with 1,000T of force or more wouldn't be a big deal.