Blowout (well drilling)
Encyclopedia
A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas
from an oil well
or gas well after pressure control systems have failed.
Prior to the advent of pressure control equipment in the 1920s, the uncontrolled release of oil and gas from a well while drilling was common and was known as an oil gusher, gusher or wild well.
Gushers were an icon of oil exploration
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During that era, the simple drilling techniques such as cable-tool drilling and the lack of blowout preventer
s meant that drillers could not control high-pressure reservoirs. When these high pressure zones were breached the hydrocarbon fluids would travel up the well at a high rate, forcing out the drill string and creating a gusher. A well which began as a gusher was said to have "blown in": for instance, the Lakeview Gusher
blew in in 1910. These uncapped wells could produce large amounts of oil, often shooting 200 feet (60 m) or higher into the air. A blowout primarily composed of natural gas was known as a gas gusher.
Despite being symbols of new-found wealth, gushers were dangerous and wasteful. They killed workmen involved in drilling, destroyed equipment, and coated the landscape with thousands of barrels of oil; additionally, the explosive concussion released by the well when it pierces an oil/gas reservoir has been responsible for a number of oilmen losing their hearing entirely; standing too near to the drilling rig at the moment it drills into the oil reservoir is extremely hazardous. The impact on wildlife is very hard to quantify, but can only be estimated to be mild in the most optimistic models — realistically, the ecological impact is estimated by scientists across the ideological spectrum to be severe, profound, and lasting.
To complicate matters further, the free flowing oil was — and is — in danger of igniting. One dramatic account of a blowout and fire reads,
The development of rotary drilling techniques where the density of the drilling fluid
is sufficient to overcome the downhole pressure of a newly penetrated zone meant that gushers became avoidable. If however the fluid density was not adequate or fluids were lost to the formation, then there was still a significant risk of a well blowout.
In 1924 the first successful blowout preventer
was brought to market. The BOP valve affixed to the wellhead
could be closed in the event of drilling into a high pressure zone, and the well fluids contained. Well control
techniques could be used to regain control of the well. As the technology developed, blowout preventers became standard equipment, and gushers became a thing of the past.
In the modern petroleum industry, uncontrollable wells became known as blowouts and are comparatively rare. There has been a significant improvement in technology, well control techniques and personnel training that has helped to prevent them occurring. From 1976 to 1981, 21 blowout reports are available.
Petroleum
or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, and other organic compounds, that are found in geologic formation
s beneath the Earth's surface. Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, they often migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until either reaching the surface or becoming trapped within porous rocks (known as reservoirs) by impermeable rocks above. However, the process is influenced by underground water flows, causing oil to migrate hundreds of kilometres horizontally or even short distances downward before becoming trapped in a reservoir. When hydrocarbons are concentrated in a trap, an oil field forms, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping. The down hole pressures experienced at the rock structures change depending upon the depth and the characteristic of the source rock
.
used. Should the balance of the drilling mud pressure be incorrect then formation fluids (oil, natural gas and/or water) begin to flow into the wellbore and up the annulus (the space between the outside of the drill string
and the walls of the open hole or the inside of the last casing string
set), and/or inside the drill pipe
. This is commonly called a kick. If the well is not shut in (common term for the closing of the blow-out preventer valves), a kick can quickly escalate into a blowout when the formation fluids reach the surface, especially when the influx contains gas that expands rapidly as it flows up the wellbore, further decreasing the effective weight of the fluid. In other petroleum engineering words, the formation pore pressure gradient exceeds the mud pressure gradient, even in some cases when the Equivalent Circulating Density ECD is imposed with the mud pumps on the rig.
Additional mechanical barriers such as blowout preventers (BOPs)
can be closed to isolate the well while the hydrostatic balance is regained through circulation of fluids in the well.
Early warning signs of a well kick are:
The primary means of detecting a kick is a relative change in the circulation rate back up to the surface into the mud pits. The drilling crew or mud engineer keeps track of the level in the mud pits and/or closely monitors the rate of mud returns versus the rate that is being pumped down the drill pipe. Upon encountering a zone of higher pressure than is being exerted by the hydrostatic head of the drilling mud at the bit, an increase in mud returns would be noticed as the formation fluid influx pushes the drilling mud toward the surface at a higher rate. Conversely, if the rate of returns is slower than expected, it means that a certain amount of the mud is being lost to a thief zone somewhere below the last casing shoe. This does not necessarily result in a kick (and may never become one); however, a drop in the mud level might allow influx of formation fluids from other zones if the hydrostatic head at depth is reduced to less than that of a full column of mud.
company). In the process, the influx fluids will be slowly circulated out in a controlled manner, taking care not to allow any gas to accelerate up the wellbore too quickly by controlling casing pressure with chokes on a predetermined schedule.
This effect will be minor if the influx fluid is mainly salt water. And with an oil-based drilling fluid it can be masked in the early stages of controlling a kick because gas influx may dissolve into the oil under pressure at depth, only to come out of solution and expand rather rapidly as the influx nears the surface. Once all the contaminant has been circulated out, the casing pressure should have reached zero.
Capping stacks are used for controlling blowouts. The cap is an open valve that is closed after bolted on.http://www.jwco.com/technical-litterature/p10.htm
, during production, or during workover
activities.
out of the well, and the force of the escaping fluid can be strong enough to damage the drilling rig
. In addition to oil, the output of a well blowout might include sand, mud, rocks, drilling fluid, natural gas, water, and other substances.
Blowouts will often be ignited by an ignition source, from sparks from rocks being ejected, or simply from heat generated by friction. A well control company will then need to extinguish the well fire or cap the well, and replace the casing head and hangars. The flowing gas may contain poisonous hydrogen sulfide
and the oil operator might decide to ignite the stream to convert this to less hazardous substances.
Sometimes, blowouts can be so forceful that they cannot be directly brought under control from the surface, particularly if there is so much energy in the flowing zone that it does not deplete significantly over the course of a blowout. In such cases, other wells (called relief well
s) may be drilled to intersect the well or pocket, in order to allow kill-weight fluids to be introduced at depth. When first drilled in the 1930s relief well were drilled to inject water into the main drill well hole. Contrary to what might be inferred from the term, such wells generally are not used to help relieve pressure using multiple outlets from the blowout zone.
wells have the wellhead
and pressure control equipment located on the seabed. They vary from depths of 10 feet (3 m) to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m). It is very difficult to deal with a blowout in very deep water because of the remoteness and limited experience with this type of situation.
The Deepwater Horizon well blowout
in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, in 5000 feet (1,524 m) water depth, is the deepest subsea well blowout to date.
was a pioneer in fighting oil well fires and blowouts. He developed many patents and designs for the tools and techniques of oil firefighting. His father, Karl T. Kinley, attempted to extinguish an oil well fire with the help of a massive explosion — a method that remains a common technique for fighting oil fires. The first oil well put out with explosives by Myron Kinley and his father, was in 1913. Kinley would later form the M.M. Kinley Company in 1923.
Paul N. "Red" Adair
joined the M.M. Kinley Company in 1946, and worked 14 years with Myron Kinley before starting his own company, Red Adair Co., Inc., in 1959. Asger "Boots" Hansen and Edward Owen "Coots" Matthews also begin their careers under Kinley.
Red Adair co. has helped in controlling many offshore blowouts, including;
In 1994, Adair retired and sold his company to Global Industries. Management of Adair's company left and created International Well Control (IWC). In 1997, they would buy the company Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc.
, which was founded by two former lieutenants of Red Adair in 1978.
in Urt-Bulak, an area about 80 kilometers from Bukhara
, Uzbekistan
, experienced blowouts on five natural gas wells. It was claimed in Komsomoloskaya Pravda that after years of burning uncontrollably they were able to stop them entirely. The Soviets lowered a specially made 30 kiloton nuclear bomb into a 6 kilometres (19,685 ft) borehole drilled 25 to 50 m (82 to 164 ft) away from the original (rapidly leaking) well. A nuclear explosive was deemed necessary because conventional explosive both lacked the necessary power and would also require a great deal more space underground. When the bomb was set off, it proceeded to crush the original pipe that was carrying the gas from the deep reservoir to the surface, as well as to glassify all the surrounding rock. This caused the leak and fire at the surface to cease within approximately one minute of the explosion, and proved over the years to have been a permanent solution. A second attempt on a similar well was not as successful and other tests were for such experiments as oil extraction enhancement (Stavropol, 1969) and the creation of gas storage reservoirs (Orenburg, 1970). As nuclear historian Robert S. Norris notes in the Times, all these Soviet nuclear blasts were on land and did not involve oil. That being the case, the general principles involved are the same.
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
from an oil well
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
or gas well after pressure control systems have failed.
Prior to the advent of pressure control equipment in the 1920s, the uncontrolled release of oil and gas from a well while drilling was common and was known as an oil gusher, gusher or wild well.
History
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During that era, the simple drilling techniques such as cable-tool drilling and the lack of blowout preventer
Blowout preventer
A blowout preventer is a large, specialized valve used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells. Blowout preventers were developed to cope with extreme erratic pressures and uncontrolled flow emanating from a well reservoir during drilling. Kicks can lead to a potentially catastrophic...
s meant that drillers could not control high-pressure reservoirs. When these high pressure zones were breached the hydrocarbon fluids would travel up the well at a high rate, forcing out the drill string and creating a gusher. A well which began as a gusher was said to have "blown in": for instance, the Lakeview Gusher
Lakeview Gusher
Lakeview Gusher Number One was an immense out-of-control pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, resulting in what is the largest single oil spill in history, lasting 18 months and releasing of crude oil. In what was one of the largest oil reserves in...
blew in in 1910. These uncapped wells could produce large amounts of oil, often shooting 200 feet (60 m) or higher into the air. A blowout primarily composed of natural gas was known as a gas gusher.
Despite being symbols of new-found wealth, gushers were dangerous and wasteful. They killed workmen involved in drilling, destroyed equipment, and coated the landscape with thousands of barrels of oil; additionally, the explosive concussion released by the well when it pierces an oil/gas reservoir has been responsible for a number of oilmen losing their hearing entirely; standing too near to the drilling rig at the moment it drills into the oil reservoir is extremely hazardous. The impact on wildlife is very hard to quantify, but can only be estimated to be mild in the most optimistic models — realistically, the ecological impact is estimated by scientists across the ideological spectrum to be severe, profound, and lasting.
To complicate matters further, the free flowing oil was — and is — in danger of igniting. One dramatic account of a blowout and fire reads,
- "With a roar like a hundred express trains racing across the countryside, the well blew out, spewing oil in all directions. The derrick simply evaporated. Casings wilted like lettuce out of water, as heavy machinery writhed and twisted into grotesque shapes in the blazing inferno."
The development of rotary drilling techniques where the density of the drilling fluid
Drilling fluid
In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid is a fluid used to aid the drilling of boreholes into the earth. Often used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, drilling fluids are also used for much simpler boreholes, such as water wells. Liquid drilling fluid...
is sufficient to overcome the downhole pressure of a newly penetrated zone meant that gushers became avoidable. If however the fluid density was not adequate or fluids were lost to the formation, then there was still a significant risk of a well blowout.
In 1924 the first successful blowout preventer
Blowout preventer
A blowout preventer is a large, specialized valve used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells. Blowout preventers were developed to cope with extreme erratic pressures and uncontrolled flow emanating from a well reservoir during drilling. Kicks can lead to a potentially catastrophic...
was brought to market. The BOP valve affixed to the wellhead
Wellhead
A wellhead is a general term used to describe the component at the surface of an oil or gas well that provides the structural and pressure-containing interface for the drilling and production equipment....
could be closed in the event of drilling into a high pressure zone, and the well fluids contained. Well control
Well control
Well control is the technique used in oil and gas operations such as drilling, well workover, and well completions to maintaining the fluid column hydrostatic pressure and formation pressure to prevent influx of formation fluids into the wellbore.This technique involves the estimation of formation...
techniques could be used to regain control of the well. As the technology developed, blowout preventers became standard equipment, and gushers became a thing of the past.
In the modern petroleum industry, uncontrollable wells became known as blowouts and are comparatively rare. There has been a significant improvement in technology, well control techniques and personnel training that has helped to prevent them occurring. From 1976 to 1981, 21 blowout reports are available.
Notable gushers
- The Shaw Gusher in Oil Springs, OntarioOil Springs, OntarioOil Springs is a village in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada, located along Former Provincial Highway 21 south of Oil City. The village, an enclave within Enniskillen Township, is home to the Oil Museum of Canada....
, was North America's (and possibly the world's) first oil gusher. On January 16, 1862, it shot oil from over 60 metres (196.9 ft) below ground to above the treetops at a rate of 3000 barrels (477 m³) per day, triggering the oil boom in Lambton County. - Lucas Gusher at SpindletopSpindletopSpindletop is a salt dome oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil . The new oil field soon produced...
in Beaumont, TexasBeaumont, TexasBeaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
in 1901 flowed at 100000 barrels (15,898.7 m³) per day at its peak, but soon slowed and was capped within nine days. The well tripled U.S. oil production overnight and marked the start of the Texas oil industry. - Masjed Soleiman, IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in 1908 marked the first major oil strike recorded in the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. - Dos Bocas in the State of Veracruz, Mexico, was a famous Mexican blowout that formed a large crate, and leaked oil from the main reservoir for many years, even after Pemex nationalized the Mexican oil industry in March 1938.
- Lakeview GusherLakeview GusherLakeview Gusher Number One was an immense out-of-control pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, resulting in what is the largest single oil spill in history, lasting 18 months and releasing of crude oil. In what was one of the largest oil reserves in...
on the Midway-Sunset Oil FieldMidway-Sunset Oil FieldThe Midway-Sunset Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States. Discovered in 1894, and having a cumulative production of close to of oil at the end of 2006, it is the largest oil field in California and the third largest in the United States....
in Kern County, CaliforniaKern County, CaliforniaSpreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
of 1910 is believed to be the largest-ever U.S. gusher. At its peak, more than 100000 barrels (15,898.7 m³) of oil per day flowed out, reaching as high as 200 feet (60 m) in the air. It remained uncapped for 18 months, spilling over 9 Moilbbl of oil, less than half of which was recovered. - A short-lived gusher at Alamitos #1 in Signal Hill, CaliforniaSignal Hill, CaliforniaSignal Hill is a small city in California located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Signal Hill, completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach, was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil was discovered in Signal Hill. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
in 1921 marked the discovery of the Long Beach Oil FieldLong Beach Oil FieldThe Long Beach Oil Field is a large oil field underneath the cities of Long Beach and Signal Hill, California, in the United States. Discovered in 1921, the field was enormously productive in the 1920s, with hundreds of oil derricks covering Signal Hill and adjacent parts of Long Beach; largely...
, one of the most productive oil fields in the world. - The Barroso 2 well in CabimasCabimasCabimas is a town on the shore of Maracaibo Lake in Zulia State in northwestern Venezuela. Its current population is around 200,859 .Before 1900, Venezuela was known to possess commercial quantities of petroleum. One major find was the 'Zumaque 1' well in 1914, in the area of Mene Grande, about 50...
, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
in December 1922 flowed at around 100000 barrels (15,898.7 m³) per day for nine days, plus a large amount of natural gas. - Baba GurgurBaba GurgurBaba Gurgur is a large oil field near the city of Kirkuk which was the first to be discovered in Northern Iraq in 1927....
near KirkukKirkukKirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...
, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, an oilfield known since antiquityAncient historyAncient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
, erupted at a rate of 95000 barrels (15,103.8 m³) a day in 1927. - The Wild Mary Sudik gusher in Oklahoma City, OklahomaOklahoma City, OklahomaOklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
in 1930 flowed at a rate of 72000 barrels (11,447.1 m³) per day. - The Daisy Bradford gusher in 1930 marked the discovery of the East Texas Oil FieldEast Texas oil fieldThe East Texas Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in east Texas. Covering and parts of five counties, and having 30,340 historic and active oil wells, it is the largest oil field in the United States outside of Alaska, both in extent and in total volume of oil recovered since its discovery in...
, the largest oilfield in the contiguous United StatesContiguous United StatesThe contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
. - The largest known 'wildcatWildcatterA wildcatter is an American term for a person who drills wildcat wells, which are oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. A wildcatter notable for his success was Texan oil tycoon Glenn McCarthy....
' oil gusher blew near QomQomQom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
, Iran on August 26, 1956. The uncontrolled oil gushed to a height of 52 m (170 ft), at a rate of 120000 barrels (19,078.5 m³) per day. The gusher was closed after 90 days' work by Bagher Mostofi and Myron KinleyMyron M. KinleyMyron M. Kinley was the first pioneer in fighting oil well fires. He was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1898 and died May 12, 1978.During Myron’s life he developed many patents and designs for the tools and techniques of oil firefighting. He also trained others in their use, including...
(USA). - One of the most troublesome gushers happened on June 23, 1985 at the well #37 at the Tengiz fieldTengiz FieldTengiz field is an oil and gas field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea...
in AtyrauAtyrauAtyrau , known as Guryev until 1991, is a city in Kazakhstan, and the capital of Atyrau Province. It is located at the mouth of the Ural River, 2700 kilometers west of Almaty and 350 kilometers east of the Russian city of Astrakhan. Other transliterations include Aterau, Atirau, Atyraw, Atyraou,...
, Kazakh SSRKazakh SSRThe Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
, Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where the deep, 4209 metre well blew out and the 200-metres high gusher self-ignited two days later. Oil pressure up to 800 atmAtmosphere (unit)The standard atmosphere is an international reference pressure defined as 101325 Pa and formerly used as unit of pressure. For practical purposes it has been replaced by the bar which is 105 Pa...
and high hydrogen sulfideHydrogen sulfideHydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
content had led to the gusher being capped only on 27 July, 1986 when the well was closed by the shaped chargeShaped chargeA shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
. The total volume of erupted material measured at 4.3 millions metric tons of oil, 1.7 bn m³ of natural gasNatural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, and the burning gusher resulted in 890 tons of various mercaptans and more than 900000 tons of sootSootSoot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...
released into atmosphere. - The largest underwaterSubseaSubsea is a general term frequently used to refer to equipment, technology, and methods employed in marine biology, undersea geology, offshore oil and gas developments, underwater mining, and offshore wind power industries.- Oil and gas :...
blowout in U.S. history occurred on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
at the Macondo ProspectMacondo ProspectThe Macondo Prospect is an oil and gas prospect in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana...
oil field. The blowout caused the explosion of the Deepwater HorizonDeepwater HorizonDeepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro, Marshall...
, a mobile offshore drilling platform owned by TransoceanTransoceanTransocean Ltd. is one of the world's largest offshore drilling contractors. The company rents floating mobile drill rigs, along with the equipment and personnel for operations, to oil and gas companies at an average daily rate of US$282,700...
and under lease to BPBPBP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
at the time of the blowout. While the exact volume of oil spilledDeepwater Horizon oil spillThe Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
is unknown, , the United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
(USGS) Flow Rate Technical Group has placed the estimate at between 35000 to 60000 bbl (5,564.6 to 9,539.2 m3) of crude oil per day.
Reservoir pressure
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, and other organic compounds, that are found in geologic formation
Geologic formation
A formation or geological formation is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A formation consists of a certain number of rock strata that have a comparable lithology, facies or other similar properties...
s beneath the Earth's surface. Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, they often migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until either reaching the surface or becoming trapped within porous rocks (known as reservoirs) by impermeable rocks above. However, the process is influenced by underground water flows, causing oil to migrate hundreds of kilometres horizontally or even short distances downward before becoming trapped in a reservoir. When hydrocarbons are concentrated in a trap, an oil field forms, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping. The down hole pressures experienced at the rock structures change depending upon the depth and the characteristic of the source rock
Source rock
In petroleum geology, source rock refers to rocks from which hydrocarbons have been generated or are capable of being generated. They form one of the necessary elements of a working petroleum system. They are organic-rich sediments that may have been deposited in a variety of environments including...
.
Formation kick
The downhole fluid pressures are controlled in modern wells through the balancing of the hydrostatic pressure provided by the mudDrilling fluid
In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid is a fluid used to aid the drilling of boreholes into the earth. Often used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, drilling fluids are also used for much simpler boreholes, such as water wells. Liquid drilling fluid...
used. Should the balance of the drilling mud pressure be incorrect then formation fluids (oil, natural gas and/or water) begin to flow into the wellbore and up the annulus (the space between the outside of the drill string
Drill string
A drill string on a drilling rig is a column, or string, of drill pipe that transmits drilling fluid and torque to the drill bit. The term is loosely applied as the assembled collection of the drill pipe, drill collars, tools and drill bit...
and the walls of the open hole or the inside of the last casing string
Casing string
Casing string is a long section of connected oilfield pipe that is lowered into a wellbore and cemented. The pipe segments are typically about in length, male threaded on each end and connected with short lengths of double-female threaded pipe called couplings...
set), and/or inside the drill pipe
Drill pipe
Drill pipe, is hollow, thick-walled, steel piping that is used on drilling rigs to facilitate the drilling of a wellbore and comes in a variety of sizes, strengths, and weights but are typically 30 to 33 feet in length...
. This is commonly called a kick. If the well is not shut in (common term for the closing of the blow-out preventer valves), a kick can quickly escalate into a blowout when the formation fluids reach the surface, especially when the influx contains gas that expands rapidly as it flows up the wellbore, further decreasing the effective weight of the fluid. In other petroleum engineering words, the formation pore pressure gradient exceeds the mud pressure gradient, even in some cases when the Equivalent Circulating Density ECD is imposed with the mud pumps on the rig.
Additional mechanical barriers such as blowout preventers (BOPs)
Blowout preventer
A blowout preventer is a large, specialized valve used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells. Blowout preventers were developed to cope with extreme erratic pressures and uncontrolled flow emanating from a well reservoir during drilling. Kicks can lead to a potentially catastrophic...
can be closed to isolate the well while the hydrostatic balance is regained through circulation of fluids in the well.
Early warning signs of a well kick are:
- Sudden change in drilling rate;
- Change in surface fluid rate;
- Change in pump pressure;
- Reduction in drillpipe weight;
- Surface mud cut by gas, oil or water;
- Connection gases, high background gas units, and high bottoms up gas units in the mudlogging unit.
The primary means of detecting a kick is a relative change in the circulation rate back up to the surface into the mud pits. The drilling crew or mud engineer keeps track of the level in the mud pits and/or closely monitors the rate of mud returns versus the rate that is being pumped down the drill pipe. Upon encountering a zone of higher pressure than is being exerted by the hydrostatic head of the drilling mud at the bit, an increase in mud returns would be noticed as the formation fluid influx pushes the drilling mud toward the surface at a higher rate. Conversely, if the rate of returns is slower than expected, it means that a certain amount of the mud is being lost to a thief zone somewhere below the last casing shoe. This does not necessarily result in a kick (and may never become one); however, a drop in the mud level might allow influx of formation fluids from other zones if the hydrostatic head at depth is reduced to less than that of a full column of mud.
Well control
The first response to detecting a kick would be to isolate the wellbore from the surface by activating the blow-out preventers and closing in the well. Then the drilling crew would attempt to circulate in a heavier kill fluid to increase the hydrostatic pressure (sometimes with the assistance of a well controlWell control
Well control is the technique used in oil and gas operations such as drilling, well workover, and well completions to maintaining the fluid column hydrostatic pressure and formation pressure to prevent influx of formation fluids into the wellbore.This technique involves the estimation of formation...
company). In the process, the influx fluids will be slowly circulated out in a controlled manner, taking care not to allow any gas to accelerate up the wellbore too quickly by controlling casing pressure with chokes on a predetermined schedule.
This effect will be minor if the influx fluid is mainly salt water. And with an oil-based drilling fluid it can be masked in the early stages of controlling a kick because gas influx may dissolve into the oil under pressure at depth, only to come out of solution and expand rather rapidly as the influx nears the surface. Once all the contaminant has been circulated out, the casing pressure should have reached zero.
Capping stacks are used for controlling blowouts. The cap is an open valve that is closed after bolted on.http://www.jwco.com/technical-litterature/p10.htm
Types of blowouts
Well blowouts can occur during the drilling phase, during well testing, during well completionCompletion (oil and gas wells)
In petroleum production, completion is the process of making a well ready for production . This principally involves preparing the bottom of the hole to the required specifications, running in the production tubing and its associated down hole tools as well as perforating and stimulating as...
, during production, or during workover
Workover
The term workover is used to refer to any kind of oil well intervention involving invasive techniques, such as wireline, coiled tubing or snubbing. More specifically though, it will refer to the expensive process of pulling and replacing a completion....
activities.
Surface blowouts
Blowouts can eject the drill stringDrill string
A drill string on a drilling rig is a column, or string, of drill pipe that transmits drilling fluid and torque to the drill bit. The term is loosely applied as the assembled collection of the drill pipe, drill collars, tools and drill bit...
out of the well, and the force of the escaping fluid can be strong enough to damage the drilling rig
Drilling rig
A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person...
. In addition to oil, the output of a well blowout might include sand, mud, rocks, drilling fluid, natural gas, water, and other substances.
Blowouts will often be ignited by an ignition source, from sparks from rocks being ejected, or simply from heat generated by friction. A well control company will then need to extinguish the well fire or cap the well, and replace the casing head and hangars. The flowing gas may contain poisonous hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
and the oil operator might decide to ignite the stream to convert this to less hazardous substances.
Sometimes, blowouts can be so forceful that they cannot be directly brought under control from the surface, particularly if there is so much energy in the flowing zone that it does not deplete significantly over the course of a blowout. In such cases, other wells (called relief well
Relief well
A relief well is a well drilled to intersect an oil or gas well that has experienced a blowout. Specialized liquid, such as heavy drilling mud followed by cement, can then be pumped down the relief well in order to stop the flow from the reservoir in the damaged well.The first use of a relief well...
s) may be drilled to intersect the well or pocket, in order to allow kill-weight fluids to be introduced at depth. When first drilled in the 1930s relief well were drilled to inject water into the main drill well hole. Contrary to what might be inferred from the term, such wells generally are not used to help relieve pressure using multiple outlets from the blowout zone.
Subsea blowouts
SubseaSubsea
Subsea is a general term frequently used to refer to equipment, technology, and methods employed in marine biology, undersea geology, offshore oil and gas developments, underwater mining, and offshore wind power industries.- Oil and gas :...
wells have the wellhead
Wellhead
A wellhead is a general term used to describe the component at the surface of an oil or gas well that provides the structural and pressure-containing interface for the drilling and production equipment....
and pressure control equipment located on the seabed. They vary from depths of 10 feet (3 m) to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m). It is very difficult to deal with a blowout in very deep water because of the remoteness and limited experience with this type of situation.
The Deepwater Horizon well blowout
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, in 5000 feet (1,524 m) water depth, is the deepest subsea well blowout to date.
Underground blowouts
An underground blowout is a special situation where fluids from high pressure zones flow uncontrolled to lower pressure zones within the wellbore. Usually this is from deeper higher pressure zones to shallower lower pressure formations. There may be no escaping fluid flow at the wellhead. Underground blowouts can be very difficult to bring under control, and if left unchecked the fluids may find their way to the surface or ocean floor nearby.Blowout control expertise
Myron M. KinleyMyron M. Kinley
Myron M. Kinley was the first pioneer in fighting oil well fires. He was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1898 and died May 12, 1978.During Myron’s life he developed many patents and designs for the tools and techniques of oil firefighting. He also trained others in their use, including...
was a pioneer in fighting oil well fires and blowouts. He developed many patents and designs for the tools and techniques of oil firefighting. His father, Karl T. Kinley, attempted to extinguish an oil well fire with the help of a massive explosion — a method that remains a common technique for fighting oil fires. The first oil well put out with explosives by Myron Kinley and his father, was in 1913. Kinley would later form the M.M. Kinley Company in 1923.
Paul N. "Red" Adair
Red Adair
Paul Neal "Red" Adair was an American oil well firefighter. He became world notable as an innovator in the highly specialized and extremely hazardous profession of extinguishing and capping blazing, erupting oil well blowouts, both land-based and offshore.-Life and career:Adair was born in...
joined the M.M. Kinley Company in 1946, and worked 14 years with Myron Kinley before starting his own company, Red Adair Co., Inc., in 1959. Asger "Boots" Hansen and Edward Owen "Coots" Matthews also begin their careers under Kinley.
Red Adair co. has helped in controlling many offshore blowouts, including;
- CATCO fire in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
in 1959 - "The Devil's Cigarette Lighter" in 1962 in Gassi Touil, Algeria, in the Sahara Desert
- The Ixtoc I oil spill in Mexico's Bay of CampecheBay of CampecheThe Bay of Campeche is the southern bight of the Gulf of Mexico. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. It was named by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba and Antonio de Alaminos during their expedition in 1517...
in 1979 - The Piper AlphaPiper AlphaPiper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum Ltd. The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167 men, with only 61...
disaster in the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
in 1988 - The Kuwaiti oil firesKuwaiti oil firesThe Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by Iraqi military forces setting fire to 700 oil wells as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 after invading the country but being driven out by Coalition military forces...
following the Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1991.
In 1994, Adair retired and sold his company to Global Industries. Management of Adair's company left and created International Well Control (IWC). In 1997, they would buy the company Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc.
Boots & Coots
Boots & Coots/IWC is one of the world's premier well control companies. Founded in 1978 by Red Adair's lieutenants, Asger "Boots" Hansen and the late Ed "Coots" Matthews, Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc...
, which was founded by two former lieutenants of Red Adair in 1978.
Methods of quenching blowouts
Although several experimental methods exist which attempt to capture as much oil as possible from a blown out well, they are very far from perfect, capturing between 20% - 50% of the leaking oil, by optimistic estimates. Ideally, the well could be made to stop gushing oil entirely - thus putting a stop to the cumulating pollution.Use of nuclear explosions
On Sep. 30, 1966 the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in Urt-Bulak, an area about 80 kilometers from Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, experienced blowouts on five natural gas wells. It was claimed in Komsomoloskaya Pravda that after years of burning uncontrollably they were able to stop them entirely. The Soviets lowered a specially made 30 kiloton nuclear bomb into a 6 kilometres (19,685 ft) borehole drilled 25 to 50 m (82 to 164 ft) away from the original (rapidly leaking) well. A nuclear explosive was deemed necessary because conventional explosive both lacked the necessary power and would also require a great deal more space underground. When the bomb was set off, it proceeded to crush the original pipe that was carrying the gas from the deep reservoir to the surface, as well as to glassify all the surrounding rock. This caused the leak and fire at the surface to cease within approximately one minute of the explosion, and proved over the years to have been a permanent solution. A second attempt on a similar well was not as successful and other tests were for such experiments as oil extraction enhancement (Stavropol, 1969) and the creation of gas storage reservoirs (Orenburg, 1970). As nuclear historian Robert S. Norris notes in the Times, all these Soviet nuclear blasts were on land and did not involve oil. That being the case, the general principles involved are the same.
Notable offshore well blowouts
Data from industry information.| Year | Rig Name | Rig Owner | Type | Damage / details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | S-44 | Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,... |
Sub Recessed pontoons | Blowout and fire. Returned to service. |
| 1959 | C. T. Thornton | Reading & Bates | Jackup | Blowout and fire damage. |
| 1964 | C. P. Baker | Reading & Bates | Drill barge | Blowout in Gulf of Mexico, vessel capsized, 22 killed. |
| 1965 | Trion | Royal Dutch Shell Royal Dutch Shell Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six... |
Jackup | Destroyed by blowout. |
| 1965 | Paguro | SNAM | Jackup | Destroyed by blowout and fire. |
| 1968 | Little Bob | Coral | Jackup | Blowout and fire, killed 7. |
| 1969 | Wodeco III | Floor drilling | Drilling barge | Blowout |
| 1969 | Sedco 135G | Sedco Inc | Semi-submersible | Blowout damage |
| 1969 | Rimrick Tidelands | ODECO ODECO Ocean Drilling & Exploration Company was a pioneering offshore drilling company formed by Alden J. "Doc" LaBorde and John Hayward in May 1953.-Early years:... |
Submersible | Blowout in Gulf of Mexico |
| 1970 | Stormdrill III | Storm Drilling | Jackup | Blowout and fire damage. |
| 1970 | Discoverer III | Offshore Co. | Drillship | Blowout (S. China Seas) |
| 1971 | Big John | Atwood Oceanics | Drill barge | Blowout and fire. |
| 1971 | Unknown | Floor Drilling | Drill barge | Blowout and fire off Peru, 7 killed. |
| 1972 | J. Storm II | Marine Drilling Co. | Jackup | Blowout in Gulf of Mexico |
| 1972 | M. G. Hulme | Reading & Bates | Jackup | Blowout and capsize in Java Sea. |
| 1972 | Rig 20 | Transworld Drilling | Jackup | Blowout in Gulf of Martaban. |
| 1973 | Mariner I | Sante Fe Drilling | Semi-sub | Blowout off Trinidad, 3 killed. |
| 1975 | Mariner II | Sante Fe Drilling | Semi-submersible | Lost BOP during blowout. |
| 1975 | J. Storm II | Marine Drilling Co. | Jackup | Blowout in Gulf of Mexico. |
| 1976 | Petrobras III | Petrobras Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market... |
Jackup | No info. |
| 1976 | W. D. Kent | Reading & Bates | Jackup | Damage while drilling relief well. |
| 1977 | Maersk Explorer | Maersk Drilling | Jackup | Blowout and fire in North Sea |
| 1977 | Ekofisk Bravo Ekofisk oil field Ekofisk is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about southwest of Stavanger. Discovered in 1969, it remains one of the most important oil fields in the North Sea. Production began in 1971 after the construction of a series of off-shore platforms by Phillips Petroleum Company... |
Phillips Petroleum Phillips Petroleum Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Their younger brother Waite Phillips was the benefactor of Philmont Scout Ranch.... |
Platform | Blowout during well workover. |
| 1978 | Scan Bay | Scan Drilling | Jackup | Blowout and fire in the Persion Gulf. |
| 1979 | Salenergy II | Salen Offshore | Jackup | Blowout in Gulf of Mexico |
| 1979 | Sedco 135F | Sedco Drilling | Semi-submersible | Blowout and fire in Bay of Campeche Ixtoc I Ixtoc I Ixtoc I was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig Sedco 135-F in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters deep... well. |
| 1980 | Sedco 135G | Sedco Drilling | Semi-submersible | Blowout and fire of Nigeria. |
| 1980 | Discoverer 534 | Offshore Co. | Drillship | Gas escape caught fire. |
| 1980 | Ron Tappmeyer | Reading & Bates | Jackup | Blowout in Persian Gulf, 5 killed. |
| 1980 | Nanhai II | Peoples Republic of China | Jackup | Blowout of Hainan Island. |
| 1980 | Maersk Endurer | Maersk Drilling | Jackup | Blowout in Red Sea, 2 killed. |
| 1980 | Ocean King | ODECO ODECO Ocean Drilling & Exploration Company was a pioneering offshore drilling company formed by Alden J. "Doc" LaBorde and John Hayward in May 1953.-Early years:... |
Jackup | Blowout and fire in Gulf of Mexico, 5 killed. |
| 1980 | Marlin 14 | Marlin Drilling | Jackup | Blowout in Gulf of Mexico |
| 1981 | Penrod 50 | Penrod Drilling | Submersible | Blowout and fire in Gulf of Mexico. |
| 1985 | West Vanguard | Smedvig Smedvig Smedvig ASA, , was a Norwegian offshore oil rig company headquartered in Stavanger until it was acquired by rig newcomer SeaDrill. At time of the merger Smedvig operated two semi submersibles, one drillship and one jack up rig in the Norwegian and British sector of the North Sea... |
Semi-submersible | Shallow gas blowout and fire in Norwegian sea, 1 fatality. |
| 1981 | Petromar V | Petromar | Drillship | Gas blowout and capsize in S. China seas. |
| 1988 | Ocean Odyssey Ocean Odyssey |-External links:*... |
Diamond Offshore Drilling Diamond Offshore Drilling Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. is a deepwater drilling contractor which provides drilling services to the oil and gas industry. The company's headquarters are located in Houston, Texas, but they have offices in Metairie, Louisiana, Africa, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Scotland, Singapore, Norway... |
Semi-submersible | Gas blowout at BOP Blowout preventer A blowout preventer is a large, specialized valve used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells. Blowout preventers were developed to cope with extreme erratic pressures and uncontrolled flow emanating from a well reservoir during drilling. Kicks can lead to a potentially catastrophic... and fire in the UK North Sea, 1 killed. |
| 1989 | Al Baz | Sante Fe | Jackup | Shallow gas blowout and fire in Nigeria, 5 killed. |
| 1993 | Actinia | Transocean | Semi-submersible | Sub-sea blowout in Vietnam. . |
| 2001 | Ensco 51 | Ensco | Jackup | Gas blowout and fire, Gulf of Mexico, no casualties |
| 2002 | Arabdrill 19 | Arabian Drilling Co. | Jackup | Structural collapse, blowout, fire and sinking. |
| 2004 | Adriatic IV | Global Sante Fe | Jackup | Blowout and fire at Temsah platform, Mediterranean Sea |
| 2007 | Usumacinta | PEMEX Pemex Petróleos Mexicanos or Pemex is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. As of 2010, with a total asset worth of $415.75 billion, it is the second non-publicly listed largest company in the world by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009... |
Jackup | Storm force rig to move, causing well blowout on Kab 101 Kab 101 Kab 101 is a Sea Pony-type minimum-facilities light-production oil platform operated by Mexican state-owned oil company PEMEX, and installed about off the coast of Tabasco, near the port of Dos Bocas, in 1994. The platform was designed by British engineering firm SLP Engineering Limited. The... platform, 22 killed. |
| 2009 | West Atlas / Montara | Seadrill SeaDrill Seadrill is a Norwegian-Bermudan offshore drilling company with operations in Angola, Brunei, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The company operates Semi-submersibles, Jack ups, Tender rigs, Semi-Tenders and Drillships. The company is... |
Jackup / Platform | Blowout and fire on rig and platform in Australia. |
| 2010 | Deepwater Horizon Deepwater Horizon Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro, Marshall... |
Transocean Transocean Transocean Ltd. is one of the world's largest offshore drilling contractors. The company rents floating mobile drill rigs, along with the equipment and personnel for operations, to oil and gas companies at an average daily rate of US$282,700... |
Semi-submersible | Blowout and fire on the rig, subsea well blowout, killed 11 in explosion. |
| 2010 | Vermilion Block 380 Vermilion Block 380 platform The Vermilion Block 380 A Platform is a fixed offshore platform located in of water approximately off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform was originally installed as an oil and gas drilling and production platform in early 1980.... |
Mariner Energy | Platform | Blowout and fire, 13 survivors, 1 injured. |
See also
- Petroleum geologyPetroleum geologyPetroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons .-Sedimentary basin analysis:...
- Oil well fireOil well fireOil well fires is the common term for oil or gas wells that have caught on fire and burn. Oil well fires can be the result of human actions, such as accidents or arson, or natural events, such as lightning...
- Drilling mud
- Drilling rigDrilling rigA drilling rig is a machine which creates holes or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person...
- Oil platformOil platformAn oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
- Oil wellOil wellAn oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
- List of oil spills
- Underbalanced drillingUnderbalanced drillingUnderbalanced drilling, or UBD, is a procedure used to drill oil and gas wells where the pressure in the wellbore is kept lower than the fluid pressure in the formation being drilled. As the well is being drilled, formation fluid flows into the wellbore and up to the surface...
- Oil well controlOil well controlOil well control is the management of the dangerous effects caused by unexpected high pressures upon surface equipment of oil or gas drilling rigs. Technically, oil well control involves preventing Formation fluid, usually referred to as kick, from entering into the Wellbore during drilling...