Cameron ram-type blowout preventer
Encyclopedia
The Cameron ram-type blowout preventer was the first successful blowout preventer
(BOP) for oil well
s. It was developed by James S. Abercrombie and Harry S. Cameron in 1922. The device was issued on January 12, 1926. The blowout preventer was designated as a Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 2003.
is lined with a casing
. The drill string
runs through the casing. The annular (ring-shaped) region between the casing and the drill stem is filled with drilling mud which provides hydrostatic pressure to keep the formation fluid
from coming up the wellbore. If the pressure of the formation fluid exceeds the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the oil or gas can blow out
of the wellbore. This has caused spills of large quantities of oil and fires on drilling rigs. The blowout of the Lucas well at the Spindletop
field in 1901 lasted for over nine days and spilled over 500000 barrels (59,620,236 l) of oil.
James Smither Abercrombie (1891–1975), a Texas oil driller, and Harry S. Cameron (1872–1928), who operated a machine shop, formed the Cameron Iron Works in 1920.
Abercrombie had an idea for a blowout preventer and took it to Cameron. They designed and built the device at the Cameron Iron works. This resulted in the first ram-type blowout preventer, which they called the MO BOP.
Cameron Iron Works successfully marketed their blowout preventer and developed other tools for petroleum exploration. In 1990, Cooper Industries
acquired the company. Cooper's petroleum divisions were transferred into the Cooper Cameron Corporation. This company is now called Cameron International Corporation
.
When the rams are retracted, there is a passage for the drilling mud. If a blowout begins, the drill string is stopped. Then wrenches are used to manually close the rams around the drill string to seal the wellbore. The MO BOP was tested to withstand 3000 pound per square inches (20,684.3 kPa).
The device had a lateral valve below the rams on its bottom section. In case of a blowout, a mud pump could be used to pump drilling mud into the wellbore to control the blowout.
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...
(BOP) for 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...
s. It was developed by James S. Abercrombie and Harry S. Cameron in 1922. The device was issued on January 12, 1926. The blowout preventer was designated as a Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 2003.
History
While drilling an oil or gas well, the top of the wellboreWellbore
A wellbore is any hole drilled for the purpose of exploration or extraction of natural resources such as water, gas or oil where a well may be produced and a resource is extracted for a protracted period of time....
is lined with a casing
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...
. 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...
runs through the casing. The annular (ring-shaped) region between the casing and the drill stem is filled with drilling mud which provides hydrostatic pressure to keep the formation fluid
Formation fluid
Formation fluid refers to the naturally occurring liquids and gases contained in geologic formations. Fluids introduced during the drilling process are called drilling fluids. Fluids in an oil or gas reservoir are called reservoir fluids. The fluids flowing from the wellhead of an oil or gas well...
from coming up the wellbore. If the pressure of the formation fluid exceeds the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the oil or gas can blow out
Blowout (well drilling)
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....
of the wellbore. This has caused spills of large quantities of oil and fires on drilling rigs. The blowout of the Lucas well at the Spindletop
Spindletop
Spindletop 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...
field in 1901 lasted for over nine days and spilled over 500000 barrels (59,620,236 l) of oil.
James Smither Abercrombie (1891–1975), a Texas oil driller, and Harry S. Cameron (1872–1928), who operated a machine shop, formed the Cameron Iron Works in 1920.
Abercrombie had an idea for a blowout preventer and took it to Cameron. They designed and built the device at the Cameron Iron works. This resulted in the first ram-type blowout preventer, which they called the MO BOP.
Cameron Iron Works successfully marketed their blowout preventer and developed other tools for petroleum exploration. In 1990, Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries is a former US-based company that in 2009 switched its incorporation office from Bermuda to Ireland, maintaining its chief operational offices in Houston, Texas. It produces transformers, tools and electrical equipment, employing 29,000 staff around the world. Revenue in 2007 was...
acquired the company. Cooper's petroleum divisions were transferred into the Cooper Cameron Corporation. This company is now called Cameron International Corporation
Cameron International Corporation
Cameron International Corporation , , is a Fortune 500 company and a global provider of pressure control, processing, flow control and compression systems as well as project management and aftermarket services for the oil and gas and process industries...
.
Design
The blowout preventer is a T-shaped coupling that is screwed onto the top of the casing. It has a passage through the coupling for the drill string. There is a ram with a concave, semi-circular face in each arm of the tee. Each ram is moved in or out by turning its valve stem, which extends beyond the coupling. The ends of the stems are squared off.When the rams are retracted, there is a passage for the drilling mud. If a blowout begins, the drill string is stopped. Then wrenches are used to manually close the rams around the drill string to seal the wellbore. The MO BOP was tested to withstand 3000 pound per square inches (20,684.3 kPa).
The device had a lateral valve below the rams on its bottom section. In case of a blowout, a mud pump could be used to pump drilling mud into the wellbore to control the blowout.