Deepwater Horizon is a very deep, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, this rig is commissioned by R & B Falcon (later Transocean assets), registered in Majuro, and leased to BP from 2001 to September 2013. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 feet (10,683 m) and a measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m) at the Tiber Oil Field in Keathley Canyon block 102, about 250 miles southeast of Houston, at 4,132 feet (1,259 m) of water.
On April 20, 2010, when drilling at Macondo Prospect, an uncontrollable explosion caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crew and triggered a fireball visible from a distance of 40 miles (64 km). The fire is indistinguishable and, two days later, on April 22, Horizon sank, leaving a well poured out on the seafloor and causing the largest oil spill in US waters.
Video Deepwater Horizon
Design
Deepwater Horizon is the fifth generation, RBS-8D design (ie model type), deepwater, dynamically positioned, removable offshore drilling unit, semi-submersible, designed to drill undersea wells for oil exploration and production using 18.75 in (476 mm), 15,000 psi (100,000 kPa) blowout prevention, and 21 at (530 mm) beyond the sea-raising diameter.
Deepwater Horizon is the second semi-submersible rig built of second class, although the Deepwater Nautilus , its predecessor, is not dynamically positioned. The rig is 396 x 256 (78 m) and capable of operating in waters up to a depth of 8,000 feet (2,400 m), to a maximum drill depth of 30,000 feet (9,100 m). In 2010 it is one of about 200 offshore rigs in the ocean capable of drilling in waters over 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The American Sailing Bureau's class notification (ABS) is "A1, Column Stabilized Drilling Unit, AMS, ACCU, DPS-3".
In 2002, the rig was upgraded with "e-drill", a drill monitoring system in which technical personnel based in Houston, Texas, received real-time drilling data from rigs and transmission maintenance and troubleshooting information.
The advanced system plays a key role in rig operations, from pressure and drill monitoring technology, to automated shutoff systems and modeling systems for cementing. The OptiCem cement modeling system, used by Halliburton in April 2010, plays an important part in the mixture of cement slurry and support decisions. This decision became the focus for explosive investigations on the rig of the month.
Maps Deepwater Horizon
History
Construction and ownership
Deepwater Horizon is built for R & amp; B Falcon (later part of Transocean) by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Construction began in December 1998, paid off on March 21, 2000, and the rig was delivered on February 23, 2001, following the acquisition of R & amp; B Falcon by Transocean. Until December 29, 2004, the rig was registered in the Republic of Panama.
Transocean, through its subsidiary in Steinhausen, Switzerland, Triton Asset Leasing GmbH, operates a rig under the Marshall comfort flag. The rig is leased to BP with a 3-year contract to be placed in the Gulf of Mexico after the construction. This rental was renewed in 2004 for one year, 2005 for 5 years, and 2009 for 3 years covering 2010 to 2013. Last contract valued at $ 544 million, or $ 496,800 a day, for "bare rigs", with crew, equipment and ships supporters are expected to cost the same.
According to R & amp; B Falcon to SEC in 2001, transfer documents between R & amp; B Falcon and Transocean was dated August 17, 2001, and the rig was designated "official registration number 29273-PEXT-1, IMO number 8764597, with gross tonnage 32,588 and net tonnage of 9,778" and the transfer value as US $ 340 million . In 2010, the rig was insured for US $ 560 million which includes the cost of replacing and destruction of the wreckage. Drilling operations
Deepwater Horizon works on wells in Atlantis (BP 56%, BHP Billiton 44%) and Thunder Horse oil field (BP 75%, ExxonMobil 25%). It is sometimes described as a "lucky" and "celebrated" rig, and in 2007 it is still described as "one of the most powerful rigs in the world". In 2006, he discovered oil in the Kaskida oil field, and in 2009 the Tiber field was "gigantic". The well on the Tiber field has a vertical depth of 35,050 feet (10,683 m) and a measurable depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m), under 4,132 feet (1,259 m) of water. The well is the world's deepest oil well, and more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) farther below the seabed than the official rig drilling specifications listed on the company's fleet list.
In February 2010, Deepwater Horizon began drilling exploration wells at Prospect Macondo (Mississippi Canyon Block 252), about 41 miles (66 km) off the southeastern coast of Louisiana, at a water depth of about 5,000 feet (1,500 m ). Exploration rights of Macondo exploration were acquired by BP in 2009, with prospects jointly owned by BP (65%), Anadarko (25%) and MOEX Offshore 2007 (10%). Deepwater Horizon was still working on the Macondo site on April 20, 2010, when a powerful explosion occurred that caused the destruction of the rig and resulted in an oil spill. The well was in the final stages of completion at the time; the cement casing is injected and hardened, and the rig will be immediately transferred to the next role as a semi-permanent production platform on the Tiber site followed by a return to the Kaskida field; crouched semi-permanently on top of a 50-mile oil dome off the coast of Louisiana. The exploration work is described as "inferred" and permission has been requested from MMS to cease operations on the Macondo site.
During its operational life, the active rig operates for 93% of its lifetime (2,896 of 3,131 days). The rest partly relates to the time spent between sites.
Regulations, security, and inspections
The Mineral Management Service (renamed June 18, 2010 to the Bureau of Marine Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, or Bureau of Marine Energy (BOE)) is a regulatory and supervisory body for offshore drilling and rigs in the United States. According to an Associated Press investigation, certain safety documentation and emergency procedure information, including documentation for subsequent incidents, do not exist. The exact number of required monthly inspections varies from time to time; inspections were performed as required during the first 40 months, but afterwards about 25% of the inspections were omitted, although the investigation noted this was partly expected, due to circumstances such as weather and movement that preclude examination. Reports of the last three inspections for 2010 are provided under the Freedom of Information Act. Each of these inspections takes two hours or less.
During his lifetime the rig received 5 citations for noncompliance, 4 of which were in 2002 (safety, including blowout prevention) and others in 2003 (pollution). The sixth quote in 2007 related to non-grounded electrical equipment was withdrawn when the equipment was determined to comply with the regulations. Overall, the Deepwater Horizon safety record is "robust" according to the drilling consultant who reviews the information. In 2009 the Mineral Management Service "proclaimed the Deepwater Horizon as an industry model for safety". According to the AP investigation, "his notes are highly exemplary, according to MMS officials, that the rig was never on the informal oversight list 'for' problem rigs. '
Explosion and oil spill
At CDT on April 20, 2010, during the final phase of exploration well drilling in Macondo, a sea water fountain erupts from sea riders to rigs, firing 240Ã, ft (73 m) into the air. This was soon followed by the eruption of a combination of mud mud, methane gas, and liquid water. The gas component of the liquid is rapidly diverted to a state of full gas and then ignited into a series of explosions and then a fire storm. An attempt was made to activate the blowout preventer, but failed. The last defense to prevent an oil spill, a device known as a blind shear trap, is switched on but fails to install the well.
At the time of the explosion, there were 126 crew members; seven are BP employees, 79 from Transocean, there are also employees from various other companies involved in rig operations, including Anadarko, Halliburton and M-I SWACO. Eleven workers allegedly killed in the initial blast. The rig was evacuated, with the injured worker being flown to a medical facility. After about 36 hours, the Deepwater Horizon drowned on April 22, 2010. The remains of the rig are located on the seabed about 5,000 ft (1,500 m) at the site, and about 1,300 feet. (400 m) (quarter mile) to the northwest of the well.
The resulting oil spill continues until July 15 when it is closed by a hat. The relief wells are used to cover the wells permanently, which are declared "dead effectively" on September 19, 2010.
Aftermath
Transocean received a preliminary partial insurance settlement for a total loss of US $ 401 million Horizon Deepwater around May 5, 2010. Financial analysts noted that insurance recovery tends to outweigh the value of the rig (though not necessarily the value of its replacement) and any liability - the latter is estimated to be up to US $ 200 million .
The litigation process, the highest reprisals, and the coverage of the final insurance recovery were all unknown in June 2010, with analysts reporting a result of unprecedented scale and complexity compared to previous disasters that took years to unravel and resolve. An analysis in July 2010 by the Financial Times in part after quoting a legal source said that "at some point the litigation scale becomes so large that it is completely new" that "the situation may become more complicated because of the possibilities case means it will be difficult to put it into what is called class action "and that there is" no way to put this in the historical context because we have never faced anything like this before ". As with the Exxon Valdez disaster, litigation is being discussed within 20 years.
In January 2013, Transocean agreed to pay US $ 1.4 billion for violations of the US Clean Water Act. BP previously agreed to pay $ 2.4 billion but faced additional penalties that could range from $ 5 billion to $ 20 billion. In September 2014, Halliburton agreed to settle most of the legal claims against them by paying $ 1.1 billion into trust through three installments over two years. On September 4, 2014, US District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that BP was guilty of deliberate omissions and errors under the Clean Water Act (CWA). He described BP's actions as "reckless," while he said Transocean and Halliburton's actions were "negligent." He shared 67% error due to spill to BP, 30% to Transocean, and 3% to Halliburton. BP issued a statement strongly disagreeing with the findings, saying the court's decision would be appealed.
On December 8, 2014, the US Supreme Court rejected BP's lawsuit for a compensation deal on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill 2010. The settlement agreement has no limits, but BP initially estimated it would pay about $ 7.8 billion to compensate victims.
In popular culture
The episode of the film was released in the US on September 30, 2016 (directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg), showing off the explosion.
See also
- Ixtoc I oil spill
- Ocean Ranger
- Piper Alpha
References
External links
- Transocean's official website
- Deepwater Horizon details on the Transocean website and at RigZone.com
- Photo Deepwater Horizon in 2004 at Geographic.org
- Griffitt, Michelle. "Mississippi Canyon Initial Block Exploration Plan 252 OCS-G 32306" (PDF) . Exploration and Production BP . New Orleans, Louisiana: Mineral Management Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2010.
- Washburn, Mark (May 14, 2010). "A huff and a boom ending good luck Deepwater Horizon". McClatchy Company . Retrieved June 18 2010 . Ã, - a detailed media description of the event on the day of the Deepwater Horizon explosion (yahoo news mirror)
- Photo history of fire and loss
- BOEM reading room on Deepwater Horizon, including the Freedom of Information publication
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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