Avoiding the Blowout
My very limited understanding of the situation is that the blowout preventers may have malfunctioned for several different reasons and it is likely that it is not just the result of a single fault.
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| Taken from Mechanical Engineering magazine by ASME |
Oil and natural gas in formation are under a lot of pressure. Well drilling operations will usually stop short of puncturing the reservoir and instead the well is cemented until production. In the case of an overpressurefrom reservoir forcing fluid up the pipe during drilling, blowout preventers are installed in order to seal off the drill pipe. Blowout preventers are hydraulic-powered shear rams which are meant to crush the drill pipe and form a seal.
In the Macondo blowout, the 450-ton, ten-year-old Cameron blowout preventer valves failed to function properly. The blowout preventer’s shear rams designed to cut through the drill pipe and seal it also failed to function. As a result, large volumes of oil and gas reached the rig floor and resulted in an explosion, loss of life, and sinking of the drilling rig. The continued escape of large volumes of hydrocarbons has created the massive oil spill that began hit the Louisiana coast in mid-May.
The possible reasons for this failure are numerous, but the few listed in Mechanical Engineering magazine include:
- Age - Although not a specific failure mode, ageing may contribute to wear and tear that may have not been identified during maintenance but lead to catastrophic failure.
- Modifications - I don't understand what modifications were done, but these may have introduced elements that do not have a predictable effect on system safety.
- Valve-failure - leakage of hydraulic fluid may have been sufficient to cause failure
- Drill Pipe - thicker than standard drill pipe required for use at such depths under water may have been beyond the power of the blowout preventer shear rams.
Such issues are ultimately preventable but it was the combination of failures in critical systems that doomed the Deepwater Horizon.
Spilling Blame
Now, just as the Mechanical Engineering article suggests, I agree that it is much too early to parcel out blame for the gulf disaster. However, when pressed to make the judgement call I had to provide a somewhat reasonable assessment.
I feel that ultimately, BP owns the well and essentially is responsible for the entire operation, although, separate components of the project were contracted to Transocean (drilling) and Halliburton (cementing). The faulty blowout preventer was likely a product under the supervision Transocean which faults them directly for the failure of the device. Such failure, however, is bound to happen when the predominant atmosphere regarding safety is lax and the focus has shifted to profitability.
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| Taken from Mechanical Engineering magazine by ASME |
Large oil companies, in order to meet unwavering consumer demand for their products, are driven economically to produce and do so with minimal delays, especially when bureaucratic delays plague efforts to drill off the coast of the US. In meeting these challenges however, oil companies seem to have blatantly chosen to abandon safety in favor of the bottom line: Some continually push for access to greater drilling resources behind a ruse that it can be done safely and and reliably. Meanwhile, countless offshore rigs and wells continuously leak oil into the ocean at a mind-blowing rate although most can be prevented with better management, maintenance and replacement of aged equipment. What this disaster has shown me is that though the technology behind finding and producing oil and gas is growing at an amazing rate, it is ultimately the individuals and the cultures surrounding the technology that will chart the course for safety in the future.
- There needs to be vigilant dedication to safety in all industries and at all levels
- Industry-leaders need to consider the global implications of each project in addressing operational strategies and in selecting contractors
- Public relations is a relationship, not just multi-million dollar ad campaigns. It is a dedication to safety in the product or service that is provided. It should start with engineering, not marketing.
So, this is not a time for blame. It is a time to remember that lives were lost as a result of ultimately preventable failures. It is a call to action and a call to change. This disaster has revealed major weaknesses in the strategies and technologies of the oil and gas industry. Action must be taken to improve awareness and dedication to safety and changes must be made to address the weaknesses in technology and response strategies in order to restore public confidence in off-shore drilling and petroleum engineering.
If you are interested in finding out more about deepwater drilling and the Macondo well blowout, download the TechStuff Oil Drilling podcast, and read the Avoiding the Blowout feature in Mechanical Engineering and the somewhat superfluous FAQ on drilling and the spill from SPE. To find the Oil drilling podcast online, in the widget below, click Podcasts then select Oil Drilling Tech from the list.
ENGENIUS CHALLENGE
The answer to last week's riddle: What am I?
A Snowflake!
Yeah, not a very tough riddle, but it's an original! I might try to write another someday soon.
For this week's challenge, head over to Fantastic Contraption and see how far you can get! I got to level 8 and could go further with more time. It is a really fun game but they have recently added ad-support which you will need to skip and live with - I wish they hadn't added so many ads.
