Spill exposes unprepared industry
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The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now thought to be the worst in US history, has exposed the industry’s lack of readiness for the risks of deep-water exploration.
The Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on 20 April, causing oil to gush out of the well head, was operating under extreme conditions in waters more than two miles deep and drilling a further 6.5 miles below the seabed.
Since then, efforts to contain the leak have been unsuccessful and the situation has become much worse. The Obama administration has given it the status of ‘a spill of national significance’, providing the option to use military resources as necessary.
Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University believes that a crisis such as this was inevitable. ‘BP are in the unfortunate position of having to pioneer ways of dealing with it that are new and untested, and this will take weeks, if not months,’ he said.
BP, lease operater of the rig, has begun a three-month project to drill a relief well in 5,000ft of water to intercept and isolate the existing well at around 13,000ft below the seabed.
It is also carrying out an experimental technique that involves injection of dispersants directly into the oil flow at the point that it flows out of the riser. The method is intended to break up and disperse the oil, allowing it to degrade naturally and reduce surface impact.
Simon Rickaby, managing director of London-based oil-spill-response group, Braemar Howells, has been placed on standby by the US authorities in case added support is needed to contain the spill. He believes that traditional techniques will not be enough to contain the oil.
‘Containment-recovery operations need favourable weather conditions and a rate of encounter that cannot be achieved with thin films of oil,’ he said.
‘The same considerations make it difficult to coral oil with sufficient thickness in fireproof booms for sustained in-situ burning. Subject to amenability of the oil to treatment, dispersant spraying is effective but there is a question as to how long spraying operations should be continued and supplies are not limitless.’
In response to these concerns, BP is looking at a more radical approach and has constructed a 14 x 24 x 40ft steel canopy (cofferdam) to contain the spill. Once lowered over the leak site and connected by pipe, the canopy will channel the flow of oil from the subsea to the surface, where it could be processed and stored.
‘This, in theory, should be possible, but has never been done before at such depths,’ said Rickaby. ‘It could be a good solution if the technical problems can be resolved, allowing time for a relief well to be drilled. BP is working on this and, if there is no other breakthrough, it may be the best hope.’
Another technique that Rickaby proposes is to ‘crimp’ the riser below points of leakage, however the approach is untried and high-risk. ‘The engineering challenges would be huge and, if failure were to result in an unrestricted flow, the rate at which the oil is spilling could increase by a factor potentially of 10 or even more,’ he said.
The full extent of the ecological impact remains to be seen but, as Boxall puts it: ‘At 1,500m the head is as easy to get to as if it were on the moon. We just need to hope that the winds blow offshore and that oil engineers can come up with a solution to cap the well soon.’
Source: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response
Crewmen aboard the motor vessel Joe Griffin guide a cofferdam onto the deck. The chamber is designed to contain the oil discharge before it reaches the surface. Photo credit: Patrick Kelley
Oil spill update
- A cofferdam has been loaded aboard a transport vessel at Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The 40x24x14 feet device is expected to be lowered to the seabed today, May 6 2010.
- A valve that had been attached to the end of a broken drill pipe, one of the three points from which oil was leaking, was closed. This has stopped the flow from this point, but is not expected to affect the overall rate of flow from the well. BP continues to use remotely operated vehicles to monitor the flow of oil from the other two leak points.
- The drilling of the first relief well, which began on Sunday May 2, continues. It is estimated that it will take some three months to complete.
Source: BP
Readers' comments (6)
J | 5 May 2010 3:34 pm
Agreed with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has withdrawn his support for expanding oil exploration off the California coast.
BP and the rest will only understand if all such drilling is stopped immediately, until they sort this one, and then keep the equipment available on every such oil field. Not to say, design better cut-off valves, and duplication/redundancy so that if one item breaks or malfunctions, the next will work.
Come back Cousteau & co, or Ballard, or other outfits capable of work on the deep ocean bed. Also, more rigs capable of working from the ocean surface. We know less, and are less capable, than in "space".
"Document: BP didn't plan for major oil spill ABC News – Stopping the Oil Spill
By Cain Burdeau and Holbrook Mohr, Associated Press Writers – Sat 1 Apl – British Petroleum once downplayed the possibility of a catastrophic accident at an offshore rig that exploded……
In its 2009 exploration plan and environmental impact analysis for the well, BP suggested it was unlikely, or virtually impossible, for an accident to occur that would lead to a giant crude oil spill and serious damage to beaches, fish and mammals. . . ..
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RAVI P MALHOTRA | 5 May 2010 4:11 pm
The need of humans in developed nations to have oil as a fuel is a tremendous form of greed. Cheaper fuel from sea beds or earth is always going to be tapped. The environmental effects of such accidents are never foreseen because that may hamper the project itself in incubancy stage.
Cost of losing sea wealth of life will never be considered. We feel our right over the universe because we are humans needs to be challenged. We are virtually destroying our mother earth by our senseless growth. Honestly we have become visionless greedy humans.
Governments should sit down and cut oil consumptions to half or less by force and some serious international laws. Our economies are moving in our false perceptions of growths whereas reality seems to be erosion at some place or the other.
This oil spill should be an eye opener and all sea oil exploration should be banned. Million Barrel Question is WHO IS GOING TO BELL THE OIL.
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Simon Martin | 5 May 2010 4:52 pm
I was always under the impression(possibly misguided) that all well heads were fitted with a number of safety devices, these being blow back measures and various valves to shut off the well head in an emergency.
If this is not the case then here we have an engineering opportunity for the UK; develop and market such devices, in the wake of such an incident, sales would surely follow. If we develop such items we should also ensure legislation is changed, worldwide, for their fitment.
As engineers, this is not an unsurmountable problem.
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Peter Clark | 6 May 2010 7:41 am
Is this the result of skills shortages?
The technologists seems to be spread much nore thinly around the petroleum industry than when I worked in it.
What responsibility have the industry accountants who seem to pull the strings more and more for the seeming shortages?
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kwik kawarider | 6 May 2010 9:27 am
I beleive that there were "fail safe" systems that obviously didn't work. Bleeding hearts preaching that all exploration and drilling should cease forthwith are deluded and I cannot believe they fully understand the consequences of a world without oil. It's not only a fuel for cars and planes. Desperation will be the mother of invention in this case, let's just hope that the consequences on the environment and habitats of the life around the world will be limited and foremost in the minds of those fighting to contain and disperse this catastrophe.
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Kwik kawarider | 6 May 2010 9:32 am
Peter Clark: What responsibility have the industry accountants who seem to pull the strings more and more for the seeming shortages?
Excellent point Peter. The share holders are more and more the drivers in every industry and poor returns for their investment drives companies to become "more efficient" (with the money not the business) Perhaps not so much skills shortages as skills reduction!
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