Archive for the ‘drilling’ Category
Shale gas drilling linked to earthquakes in the UK
Posted in drilling, tagged earthquakes, shale gas, UK on June 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The people of Blackpool may have barely felt a shudder, but the repercussions could be wide-reaching.
Measuring just 1.5 on the Richter scale, the seaside town escaped a recent earthquake totally unscathed.
But it was the latest in a series of ‘natural’ disasters, that are not considered natural at all – they are man-made.
Now the UK’s only ‘shale’ gas drilling project has been suspended after it emerged that the controversial technique may have caused the tremors.
BOE Update: News and Views
Posted in accidents, cuba, drilling, Florida, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Australia, BOEMRE, BOP, Cairn, Coast Guard, FLNG, Greenland, hurricanes, Mariner Energy, NOAA, Shell on May 31, 2011| 1 Comment »
News: BOEMRE releases report on the September 2010 Mariner Fire in the Gulf of Mexico.
BOE Comments:
- Good report and relatively timely. Nice job by the team.
- Good discussion of the heater-treater and production safety issues.
- This was a very serious incident and lives were jeopardized. Sadly, no oil spill means no public attention.
- Why didn’t the Coast Guard participate in the investigation? Will they be reporting on the haphazard evacuation?
- Age old question: Is the rather extensive discussion of violations appropriate for an accident report? Should violations and enforcement actions be managed independently from accident investigations?
News: Shell takes a FLNG.
BOE: Floating liquefaction facilities open interesting possibilities for producing natural gas in remote offshore locations, possibly including the arctic. The first FLNG facility will be 488 m from bow to stern! Offshore to the future!
BOE: Lots of posturing and not much in the way of meaningful proposals from either party. Unlike Australia, the US has not responded to its blowout with necessary legislative action, most notably the establishment of a single offshore safety and pollution prevention regulator.
News: BOP innovation.
BOE: Engineers solve problems when given the opportunity and encouragement. JL Daeschler is busy at the drawing board!
News: Greenland rolls on. despite Greenpeace protests. Cairn Energy has begun a second summer of drilling.
Views: Last summer’s results must have been sufficiently encouraging to justify further exploration.
Views: Last summer’s results must have been sufficiently encouraging to justify further exploration.
News: Hurricane season officially begins tomorrow.
BOE: There has been surprisingly little public discussion about the offshore industry’s preparations. Hopefully, everyone is ready.
BOE: Where is the worldwide commitment from industry and government? This problem can and must be fixed!
Alan Spackman takes a look at the Scarabeo 9 and other 6th generation semisubmerisbles
Posted in cuba, drilling, tagged cuba, offshore drilling, Saipem, Scarabeo 9 on May 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This presentation from the IADC Environmental Conference in Trinidad is linked. The Scarabeo 9 is the Saipmen rig that is scheduled to drill offshore Cuba later this year.
Noble Energy forced to abandon Israeli offshore well because of shallow water flow
Posted in drilling, offshore, tagged Israel, Leviathan, Noble Energy, offshore drilling on May 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) announced today that it has ended drilling operations at the Leviathan #2 appraisal well location, offshore Israel. During the drilling process, the Company identified water flowing to the sea floor from the wellbore. The source is a water sand that flowed behind the surface casing. It has been monitored closely and there are no indications of any hydrocarbons in the produced water. Drilling in the Leviathan #2 well had not yet reached the depth of the targeted gas intervals discovered in the Leviathan #1 well. Noble Energy
Costly problem, but not terribly unusual.
President announces drilling initiatives
Posted in Alaska, drilling, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, leasing, offshore drilling, President Obama on May 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Positive measures announced by President Obama during today’s radio address:
- Hold a Gulf of Mexico lease sale this year and two next year
- Extend Gulf of Mexico and Alaska leases where drilling activity was suspended after the blowout
- Accelerate pre-sale seismic surveys in the Mid- and South Atlantic
- Conduct annual lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve
Kudos to IADC
Posted in conferences, cuba, drilling, tagged conference, cuba, IADC, offshore drilling, safety, Trinidad on May 11, 2011| 1 Comment »
While US politicians continue to gnash their teeth or express outrage, the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) has been busy promoting constructive dialogue about Cuban exploratory drilling. IADC has overcome major administrative obstacles and arranged for the participation of Cuban regulators in the Environmental Conference which begins tomorrow in Trinidad.
“This will pretty much be the first time the Cuban deepwater drilling project managers will make a presentation of what their regulatory requirements are going to be for the companies that drill in Cuban waters,” said Lee Hunt, president of the Houston-based International Association of Drilling Contractors, which is organizing the conference. Reuters
The Cuba session is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I look forward to seeing the news reports and posted presentations.
Compact drillship
Posted in drilling, Offshore Energy - General, tagged COSCO, drillship, Inocean, offshore drilling on May 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
COSCO and Inocean are partnering to build a more compact and cost-effective deepwater drillship.
INO-80 is a compact dynamically positioned drillship with large free deck areas, designed for year-around operations in ultra deep waters. The vessel has well planned utility arrangement with safe and reliable material handling. The hull is shaped for cost efficient and easy fabrication, as well as for challenging conditions during station keeping and transit. INO-80 features for exploration, appraisal and development drilling.
Judge orders action on six drilling applications
Posted in drilling, offshore, Regulation, tagged Ensco, Judge Feldman, offshore drilling, permits, Regulation on May 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans today ordered offshore energy regulators to act within 30 days on six pending permit applications filed by companies that have contracts with Ensco Offshore Co., the Louisiana drilling company leading the legal challenge to the government’s offshore drilling bans. Bloomberg
New BOP Concept from JL Daeschler
Posted in drilling, well control incidents, tagged BOP, design, JL Daeschler on May 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler, subsea engineer and inventor, sent me some preliminary drawings for a new BOP concept.
- JL’s design concept is based on 2 slab gate valves, one above the other, that move in the opposite direction and are beveled for shearing.
- The sealing element is fixed (solid, one-piece) to the main body of the BOP, does not move with the rams, and is fully protected in the drilling mode.
- The hydraulic system would retract the gate rather than close it (fail-safe closed).
- The upper and lower rams (gate valve type) are self-centered with a guiding system to minimize side movement and deflection.
- Well pressure assists in forcing the upper ram against the sealing element.
- JL is considering a similar concept (single shear) for xmas tree workover system.
