Oil well fire
Encyclopedia
Oil 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
. They can exist on a small scale, such as an oil field spill catching fire, or on a huge scale, as in geyser
-like jets of flames from ignited high pressure
wells.
supply for the fire. In fighting a fire at a wellhead
, typically high explosives, such as dynamite
, are used to consume all the local atmospheric oxygen and snuff the flame out. Doing so removes the oxygen necessary for the fire to burn, but the fire's fuel, whether it be natural gas or oil, is still present and oil can shower down upon the working crew.
After snuffing, the wellhead must be capped to stop the flow of oil. During this time, the fuel and oxygen required to create another inferno is present in copious amounts. At this perilous stage, one small spark (perhaps from a steel or iron tool striking a stone) or other heat source might re-ignite the oil.
To prevent re-ignition, brass
or bronze
tools, which do not strike sparks, or paraffin
coated tools are used during the capping process. Meticulous care is used to avoid heat and sparks, or any other ignition source. The explosive re-ignition of a wellhead may take the form of an extremely powerful explosion, possibly even worse than the original blowout
.
Due to recent advances in technology as well as environmental concerns, many wells today are capped while they burn. High-powered water sprays and Purple K dry chemical (a potassium bicarbonate mixture) are used to extinguish the wells.
There are several techniques used to put out oil well fires, which vary by resources available and the characteristics of the fire itself.
In essence the trade was started by Myron M. Kinley
, who dominated the field in the early years. His lieutenant, Red Adair
, went on to become the most famous of oil well firefighters.
Techniques include:
Special vehicles called "Athey wagons" as well as the typical bulldozer
protected by corrugated steel sheeting are normally used in the process.
of crude oil per day. Combined with the ecological problems caused by the large amounts of smoke and unburnt petroleum falling back to earth, oil well fires such as those seen in Kuwait
can cause enormous economic losses.
Smoke from burnt crude oil contains many chemicals, including sulfur dioxide
, carbon monoxide
, soot
, benzopyrene
, Poly aromatic hydrocarbons
, and dioxins. Exposure to oil well fires is commonly cited as a cause of the Gulf War Syndrome
, however, studies have indicated that the firemen who capped the wells did not report any of the symptoms suffered by the soldiers.
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and burn
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
. Oil well fires can be the result of human actions, such as accidents or arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, or natural events, such as lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. They can exist on a small scale, such as an oil field spill catching fire, or on a huge scale, as in geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
-like jets of flames from ignited high pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
wells.
Extinguishing the fires
Oil well fires are more difficult to extinguish than regular fires due to the enormous fuelFuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
supply for the fire. In fighting a fire at a 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....
, typically high explosives, such as dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, are used to consume all the local atmospheric oxygen and snuff the flame out. Doing so removes the oxygen necessary for the fire to burn, but the fire's fuel, whether it be natural gas or oil, is still present and oil can shower down upon the working crew.
After snuffing, the wellhead must be capped to stop the flow of oil. During this time, the fuel and oxygen required to create another inferno is present in copious amounts. At this perilous stage, one small spark (perhaps from a steel or iron tool striking a stone) or other heat source might re-ignite the oil.
To prevent re-ignition, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
or bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
tools, which do not strike sparks, or paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
coated tools are used during the capping process. Meticulous care is used to avoid heat and sparks, or any other ignition source. The explosive re-ignition of a wellhead may take the form of an extremely powerful explosion, possibly even worse than the original blowout
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....
.
Due to recent advances in technology as well as environmental concerns, many wells today are capped while they burn. High-powered water sprays and Purple K dry chemical (a potassium bicarbonate mixture) are used to extinguish the wells.
There are several techniques used to put out oil well fires, which vary by resources available and the characteristics of the fire itself.
In essence the trade was started by Myron M. Kinley
Myron 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...
, who dominated the field in the early years. His lieutenant, 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...
, went on to become the most famous of oil well firefighters.
Techniques include:
- Dousing with copious amounts of water
- Raising the plume- Inserting one metal casing 30 to 40 feet high over the well head (thus raising the flame above the ground). Liquid nitrogen or water is then forced in at the bottom to reduce the oxygen supply and put out the fire.
- Drill relief wellRelief wellA 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 into the producing zone to redirect some of the oil and make the fire smaller. (However, most relief wells are used to pump heavy mud and cement deep into the wild well.) The first relief wells were drilled in Texas in the mid 1930s. - Using a gas turbine to blast a fine mist at the fire. Water is injected to the compressor section of the turbine in large quantities. This does not harm the turbine. This technique is also used for cleaning turbines.
- Using dynamite to 'blow out' the fire by blasting fuel and oxygen from the flame and consuming oxygen in the combustion. This was one of the earliest effective methods and is still widely used. The first use was by Myron Kinley's father in California in 1913
- Dry Chemical (mainly Purple K) can be used on small well fires such as those in refineries.
- In the 1930s mechanical jaws were developed for smaller well fires which clamp off the pipe below the fire. Rarely used. The design became the bases for the safety device used on off shore wells
Special vehicles called "Athey wagons" as well as the typical bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
protected by corrugated steel sheeting are normally used in the process.
Effects
Oil well fires can cause the loss of millions of barrelsBarrel (unit)
A barrel is one of several units of volume, with dry barrels, fluid barrels , oil barrel, etc...
of crude oil per day. Combined with the ecological problems caused by the large amounts of smoke and unburnt petroleum falling back to earth, oil well fires such as those seen in Kuwait
Kuwaiti oil fires
The 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...
can cause enormous economic losses.
Smoke from burnt crude oil contains many chemicals, including sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
, carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
, soot
Soot
Soot 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,...
, benzopyrene
Benzopyrene
Benzo[a]pyrene, C20H12, is a five-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon whose metabolites are mutagenic and highly carcinogenic. Benzo[a]pyrene is listed as a Group 1 carcinogen by the IARC. It belongs to a class of polycyclic aromatic compounds known as benzopyrenes, which consist of a benzene...
, Poly aromatic hydrocarbons
Aromatic hydrocarbon
An aromatic hydrocarbon or arene is a hydrocarbon with alternating double and single bonds between carbon atoms. The term 'aromatic' was assigned before the physical mechanism determining aromaticity was discovered, and was derived from the fact that many of the compounds have a sweet scent...
, and dioxins. Exposure to oil well fires is commonly cited as a cause of the Gulf War Syndrome
Gulf War syndrome
Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness describes a medical condition that affected veterans and civilians who were near conflicts during or downwind of chemical weapons depot demolition, after the 1991 Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have included fatigue, musculoskeletal...
, however, studies have indicated that the firemen who capped the wells did not report any of the symptoms suffered by the soldiers.
Famous fires
- 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...
- 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...
, an oil 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...
that caught fire
See also
- Red AdairRed AdairPaul 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...
, a famous oil well firefighter - Safety BossSafety BossSafetyBOSS is an oil well fire fighting company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.The company and its CEO, Mike Miller, became most famous by becoming the number one fire-fighting company in Kuwait after the 1991 Gulf War. The company doused 180 out of the 600 fires, more than any other company...
, an oil-well-fire-fighting company