oil rig mud pump explosion quotation

While drilling a coal seam gas well at 28 m the power end covers of the mud pump exploded. Some side cover fragments were ejected up to 8 m away from the mud pump, while other fragments from the drive side of the mud pump damaged the drive belts and cage. The top cover was flipped off, coming to rest upside down at the rear of the mud pump.

Fires were ignited both inside the mud pump and on the exhaust system of the mud pump engine and were extinguished using hand held fire extinguishers.

The internal oil lubrication hose became disconnected from its fitting causing the lubrication pump to dump oil into the sump (Figure 2). Internal piping then failed to lubricate and cool the pump bearings, pistons and crossheads.

Insufficient lubrication within the power end of the mud pump created hot spots (Figure 3) and oil vapour resulting in a low pressure/high volume oil vapour explosion.

Four months prior to the incident problems were experienced with fluctuating oil pressure in the mud pump. Upon inspection it was found that the oil lubrication hose had disconnected from its fitting. This hose was reconnected and tightened by the Rig Manager.

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G&C Coatings and Industrial Services blast and paint a large volume of Mud Pump Skids. They are typically very heavy. This one specifically weighed 130,000 lbs and was 12 feet wide x 45 feet long. These dimensions make the weight harder to distribute when maneuvering. It can take between 4-8 personnel to move it into a booth to prepare it for our blasting and coatings process.

During drilling in Oil and Gas exploration, drilling mud or Bentonite is pumped into boreholes for multiple reasons. Pumping drill mud into boreholes cools the drill bit as well as bringing drill cuttings to the surface as the way in which mud is pumped into boreholes forms a closed loop system. The use of drilling mud also provides hydrostatic pressure to prevent liquids such as oil and gas rising to the surface, as drilling mud is thixotropic meaning when it is not agitated it stiffens forming a mud which is an effective liquid and gas barrier.

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The Well Control System or the Blowout Prevention System on a drilling rig is the system that prevents the uncontrolled, catastrophic release of high-pressure fluids (oil, gas, or salt water) from subsurface formations. These uncontrolled releases of formation fluids are referred to as Blowouts. Due to the explosive nature of oil and gas, any spark on the surface can result in the ignition of the fluids and an explosion on the rig. An explosive blowout and the failure of the Well Control System were the causes of the Mocondo Well disaster that killed eleven of the rig crew on the Deep Water Horizon Rig on April 20, 2010 and resulted in 35,000 to 60,000 bbl/day of crude oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. We will discuss this later in the lesson.

The blowout preventers are the principal piece of equipment in the well control system and are operated hydraulically; pressurized fluids are used to operate pistons and cylinders to open or close the valves on the BOP. The Accumulators (Item 18 in Figure 9.02) are used to store pressurized, non-explosive gas and pressurized hydraulic fluid to run the hydraulics systems on the rig. The accumulators store enough compressed energy to operate the blowout preventers even if the Power System of the rig is not operating.

The blowout preventer is a large system of valves each of which is capable of isolating the subsurface of the well from the rig to provide control over the well. These valves are typically stacked as shown in the Figure 9.11 and sit below the rig floor on land wells or some offshore wells; or they may sit on the seabed on other offshore wells.

In the first objective re-quoted above, if we can keep the pressure exerted by the drilling mud greater than the pore pressure, then we know that fluids will flow in the direction of the mud to the formation. This cannot always be achieved. For example, if we drill through a natural fracture or if our mud density is too great and we inadvertently fracture one formation, then we may lose large quantities of the drilling fluid into the fracture (Lost Circulation). In this situation, instead of having the full weight of the mud column exerting pressure on a second (porous and permeable) formation, we may only have a fraction of the oil column height exerting a lower pressure on that second formation.

improper mud replacement during tripping: while tripping out of the hole mud volumes must be pumped into the wellbore at high enough rates to replace drill pipe being removed from the wellbore;

lost circulation: as discussed earlier if large volumes of drilling fluid enter the subsurface in (1) high permeability formations, natural fractures, or drilling-induced fractures, then the effect is a shortened height and weight of the mud column.

increase in the rate of flow of the drilling fluid returns at constant pump rates (primary indicator of a kick):The increased rate is caused by formation fluids entering the wellbore and is a strong indication of a kick. In addition, if it is a gas kick, due to the compressible nature of gas, as the gas bubble travels up-hole and hydrostatic pressures decrease, the volume of the bubble will increase due to expansion.

volume of mud in the mud pit increases when no additional drilling fluids are added to the mud system (primary indicator of a kick):For the same reasons as mentioned above, if the volume of mud in the mud pits increases when no additional fluids have intentionally added, then the increased volume is caused by formation fluids entering the wellbore and is a strong indication of a kick.

drilling fluids returns continue to flow when the mud pumps are turned off (primary indicator of a kick):Drilling fluid returns when the mud pumps are shut-off indicate that formation fluids are entering the wellbore and displacing the mud.

improper wellbore fill-up/volume-balance on trips (primary indicator of a kick):If the drill pipe is removed from the wellbore, then the change in volume in the mud pits should equal the volume of the drill pipe removed from the hole. An improper volume balance is a strong indicator of a kick.

pump pressure decrease and pump stroke increase (secondary indicator of a kick):If low density fluids are displacing heavier drilling fluid in the annulus, then this will cause the pump pressure to decrease (the annular side of the u-tube is lighter than the drill pipe side of the u-tube which contains the mud pump pressure gauge). The imbalance in the u-tube, just described, will cause the heavier drilling fluid in the drill pipe to fall due to gravity, causing the mud pump to increase the number of strokes to keep up with the pressure imbalance.

change in the apparent weight-on-bit (secondary indicator of a kick):If the weight-on-bit indicator in the rig’s Dog House shows a change in the weight-on-bit that is not explainable by the current drilling operations, then this may be an indication of a kick. The apparent weight-on-bit is affected by the buoyance caused by the wellbore fluid, which in turn, is affected by the density of the wellbore fluid. If a lighter formation fluid begins to replace the heavier, more dense drilling fluid, then an apparent increase in the weight-on-bit will occur.

reduction in the mud weight (secondary indicator of a kick):The Mud Man may observe a reduction or Cut in the mud density at the rig-site mud laboratory. This again may be an indication of a kick.

Pick the drill bit off-bottom and Space Out (Spacing out refers to pulling the drill pipe out the hole so that the top connection – the thickest part of the drill string containing the threads and joints – is several feet above the rig floor. Spacing out ensures that the smaller diameter section of the drill string is inside the BOP, so that pipe rams can close and seat properly or blind rams or shear rams are opposite the smallest diameter section of steel. See Figure 9.15B)

Perhaps you remember the Macondo Blowout (Deep Water Horizon Rig) disaster. The name Macondo was the Prospect name (remember, we discussed prospects and well proposals in a previous lesson) while the Deep Water Horizon was the name of the rig. This was the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. When the disaster occurred, eleven members of the rig crew were killed by the explosion when the natural gas ignited.

After learning about offshore drilling rigs, drilling crews, components of the drilling rig, kicks, and blowouts, I would highly recommend watching the movie “Deep Water Horizon” and use your knowledge about oil and gas well drilling to identify some of the technical aspects of the film. Ask yourselves some technical questions:

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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.blowout preventers intended to prevent such an occurrence. An accidental spark during a blowout can lead to a catastrophic oil or gas fire.

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 preventers meant that drillers could not control high-pressure reservoirs. When these high-pressure zones were breached, the oil or natural gas 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 (61 m) or higher into the air.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.

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.

A blowout in 1815 resulted from an attempt to drill for salt rather than for oil. Joseph Eichar and his team were digging west of the town of Wooster, Ohio, US along Killbuck Creek, when they struck oil. In a written retelling by Eichar"s daughter, Eleanor, the strike produced "a spontaneous outburst, which shot up high as the tops of the highest trees!"

Oil drillers struck a number of gushers near Oil City, Pennsylvania, US in 1861. The most famous was the Little & Merrick well, which began gushing oil on 17 April 1861. The spectacle of the fountain of oil flowing out at about 3,000 barrels (480 m3) per day had drawn about 150 spectators by the time an hour later when the oil gusher burst into flames, raining fire down on the oil-soaked onlookers. Thirty people died. Other early gushers in northwest Pennsylvania were the Phillips #2 (4,000 barrels (640 m3) per day) in September 1861, and the Woodford well (3,000 barrels (480 m3) per day) in December 1861.

The Shaw Gusher in Oil Springs, Ontario, was Canada"s first oil gusher. On January 16, 1862, it shot oil from over 60 metres (200 ft) below ground to above the treetops at a rate of 3,000 barrels (480 m3) per day, triggering the oil boom in Lambton County.

Lucas Gusher at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas, US in 1901 flowed at 100,000 barrels (16,000 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.

Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, US of 1910 is believed to be the largest-ever U.S. gusher. At its peak, more than 100,000 barrels (16,000 m3) of oil per day flowed out, reaching as high as 200 feet (61 m) in the air. It remained uncapped for 18 months, spilling over 9 million barrels (1,400,000 m3) of oil, less than half of which was recovered.

A short-lived gusher at Alamitos #1 in Signal Hill, California, US in 1921 marked the discovery of the Long Beach Oil Field, one of the most productive oil fields in the world.

The Yates #30-A in Pecos County, Texas, US gushing 80 feet through the fifteen-inch casing, produced a world record 204,682 barrels of oil a day from a depth of 1,070 feet on 23 September 1929.

The largest known "wildcat" oil gusher blew near Qom, Iran, on 26 August 1956. The uncontrolled oil gushed to a height of 52 m (171 ft), at a rate of 120,000 barrels (19,000 m3) per day. The gusher was closed after 90 days" work by Bagher Mostofi and Myron Kinley (USA).

One of the most troublesome gushers happened on 23 June 1985, at well #37 at the Tengiz field in Atyrau, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union, where the 4,209-metre deep well blew out and the 200-metre high gusher self-ignited two days later. Oil pressure up to 800 atm and high hydrogen sulfide content had led to the gusher being capped only on 27 July 1986. The total volume of erupted material measured at 4.3 million metric tons of oil and 1.7 billion m³ of natural gas, and the burning gusher resulted in 890 tons of various mercaptans and more than 900,000 tons of soot released into the atmosphere.

underwater blowout in U.S. history occurred on 20 April 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico at the Macondo Prospect oil field. The blowout caused the explosion of the Transocean and under lease to BP at the time of the blowout. While the exact volume of oil spilled is unknown, as of June 3, 2010United States Geological Survey Flow Rate Technical Group has placed the estimate at between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels (5,600 to 9,500 m3) of crude oil per day.

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, found in geologic formations beneath the Earth"s surface. Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, they often migrate upward and occasionally laterally through adjacent rock layers until either reaching the surface or becoming trapped within porous rocks (known as reservoirs) by impermeable rocks above. When hydrocarbons are concentrated in a trap, an oil field forms, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping. The downhole pressure in the rock structures changes depending upon the depth and the characteristics of the source rock.Natural gas (mostly methane) may be present also, usually above the oil within the reservoir, but sometimes dissolved in the oil at reservoir pressure and temperature. Dissolved gas typically comes out of solution as free gas as the pressure is reduced either under controlled production operations or in a kick, or in an uncontrolled blowout. The hydrocarbon in some reservoirs may be essentially all natural gas.

The downhole fluid pressures are controlled in modern wells through the balancing of the hydrostatic pressure provided by the mud column. Should the balance of the drilling mud pressure be incorrect (i.e., the mud pressure gradient is less than the formation pore pressure gradient), then formation fluids (oil, natural gas, and/or water) can begin to flow into the wellbore and up the annulus (the space between the outside of the drill string and the wall of the open hole or the inside of the casing), and/or inside the drill pipe. This is commonly called a kick. Ideally, 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. But if the well is not shut in (common term for the closing of the blow-out preventer), a kick can quickly escalate into a blowout when the formation fluids reach the surface, especially when the influx contains gas that expands rapidly with the reduced pressure as it flows up the wellbore, further decreasing the effective weight of the fluid.

The primary means of detecting a kick while drilling 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 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 (including the small additional frictional head while circulating) at the bit, an increase in mud return rate would be noticed as the formation fluid influx blends in with the circulating drilling mud. 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 is reduced to less than that of a full column of mud.

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 shut-in casing pressure should have reached zero.

Blowouts can eject the drill string 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 natural gas, water, drilling fluid, mud, sand, rocks, and other substances.

Blowouts will often be ignited from sparks from rocks being ejected, or simply from heat generated by friction. A well control company then will need to extinguish the well fire or cap the well, and replace the casing head and other surface equipment. If the flowing gas contains poisonous hydrogen sulfide, the oil operator might decide to ignite the stream to convert this to less hazardous substances.

Even with blowout prevention equipment and processes in place, operators must be prepared to respond to a blowout should one occur. Before drilling a well, a detailed well construction design plan, an Oil Spill Response Plan as well as a Well Containment Plan must be submitted, reviewed and approved by BSEE and is contingent upon access to adequate well containment resources in accordance to NTL 2010-N10.

Myron M. Kinley 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 still in common use for fighting oil fires. Myron and Karl Kinley first successfully used explosives to extinguish an oil well fire in 1913.

After the Macondo-1 blowout on the Deepwater Horizon, the offshore industry collaborated with government regulators to develop a framework to respond to future subsea incidents. As a result, all energy companies operating in the deep-water U.S. Gulf of Mexico must submit an OPA 90 required Oil Spill Response Plan with the addition of a Regional Containment Demonstration Plan prior to any drilling activity.

In order to regain control of a subsea well, the Responsible Party would first secure the safety of all personnel on board the rig and then begin a detailed evaluation of the incident site. Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) would be dispatched to inspect the condition of the wellhead, Blowout Preventer (BOP) and other subsea well equipment. The debris removal process would begin immediately to provide clear access for a capping stack.

The Responsible Party works in collaboration with BSEE and the United States Coast Guard to oversee response efforts, including source control, recovering discharged oil and mitigating environmental impact.

On Sep. 30, 1966, the Soviet Union experienced blowouts on five natural gas wells in Urta-Bulak, an area about 80 kilometers from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. It was claimed in Komsomoloskaya Pravda that after years of burning uncontrollably they were able to stop them entirely.physics package into a 6-kilometre (20,000 ft) borehole drilled 25 to 50 metres (82 to 164 ft) away from the original (rapidly leaking) well. A nuclear explosive was deemed necessary because conventional explosives both lacked the necessary power and would also require a great deal more space underground. When the device was detonated, it crushed the original pipe that was carrying the gas from the deep reservoir to the surface and vitrified the surrounding rock. This caused the leak and fire at the surface to cease within approximately one minute of the explosion, and proved to be a permanent solution. An attempt on a similar well was not as successful. Other tests were for such experiments as oil extraction enhancement (Stavropol, 1969) and the creation of gas storage reservoirs (Orenburg, 1970).

Walsh, Bryan (2010-05-19). "Gulf Oil Spill: Scientists Escalate Environmental Warnings". Time. Archived from the original on June 29, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

Douglass, Ben (1878). "Chapter XVI". History of Wayne County, Ohio, from the Days of the First Settlers to the Present Time. Indianapolis, Ind.: Robert Douglass, publisher. pp. 233–235. OCLC 4721800. Retrieved 2013-07-16. One of the greatest obstacles they met with when boring was the striking a strong vein of oil, a spontaneous outburst, which shot up high as the tops of the highest trees!

Rundell, Walter.p (1982). Oil in West Texas and New Mexico : a pictorial history of the Permian Basin (1st ed.). College Station: Published for the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Library, and Hall of Fame, Midland, Texas, by Texas A & M University Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-89096-125-5. OCLC 8110608.

Whipple, Tom (2005-03-15). "Full steam ahead for BC offshore oil drilling". Energybulletin.net. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2016-01-30.

"East Texas Oil Museum at Kilgore College – History". Easttexasoilmuseum.com. 1930-10-03. Archived from the original on 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-01-30.

Norris Mcwhirter; Donald McFarlan (1989). the Guinness Book of Records 1990. Guinness Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85112-341-7. Archived from the original on 2018-05-03.

Christopher Pala (2001-10-23). "Kazakhstan Field"s Riches Come With a Price". Vol. 82, no. 715. The St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2009-10-12.

"NTL No. 2010-N10". BSEE.gov. US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30.

Madrid, Mauricio; Matson, Anthony (2014). "How Offshore Capping Stacks Work" (PDF). Society of Petroleum Engineers: The Way Ahead. 10 (1). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-11-29.

CineGraphic (4 July 2009). "An Atomic Bomb will stop the Gulf Oil Leak, LOOK!". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018 – via YouTube.

Masterblasters provided technical advice to ensure the correct coating system was applied to protect against corrosion and extend the life span of the Drillquip engineered pump.

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