Whether it would have worked as perfectly in an actual blowout, or with a different type of drill pipe, was another matter.
Most commonly, this is for heavy fishing such as retrieving broken drill pipe.
The drill pipe twisted off on the first test, but the second was extremely successful.
The mud travels back to the surface around the outside of the drill pipe, called the annulus.
The networked drill pipe can transmit data acquired by most large service companies.
Another common reason for tripping is to replace damaged drill pipe.
At 1,500 feet, no oil was discovered, and the team ran short of drill pipe.
However, Heywood opted to order more drill pipe and continue to try.
On November 3, 1989, the 5-inch drill pipe had reached a depth of 3,707 feet.
By 0300 the drill pipe in the hole was hanging on the lower rams.