- The big question with regard to acoustic backup systems for BOPs is whether ambient noise associated with a seafloor blowout prevents the signal from being reliably received. The Macondo well would seem to provide an excellent opportunity for testing acoustic systems to see how effectively the signals are received under such challenging conditions. Too late?
- Still no regular relief well reports, but Admiral Allen commented yesterday that they only have about 200′ to drill. I’m assuming the 9 7/8″ liner has been set. If all this is accurate and there are no weather or technical delays, they should be ready to intercept the well bore soon (1-2 weeks?), even with the added time for special ranging and directional surveys.
- Unless the relief well is delayed, it doesn’t seem to make sense to change the LMRP cap at this time. Collection might improve somewhat with the new cap, but the well would be wide open during the change.
- Day 21 since the Montara report was delivered to the Ministry, and there are no recent news updates. No interest?
- Very good article in Platts as the media begins to show more interest in regulatory approaches.
Posts Tagged ‘acoustic BOP’
Acoustic switches, etc
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged acoustic BOP, Australia, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, Montara, well control on July 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Reader Input
Posted in accidents, well control incidents, tagged accidents, acoustic BOP, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, oil spill, safety, well control on May 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
A couple of points raised by our highly informed readers:
1. With regard to allegations about deficiencies in BP’s Atlantis (deepwater production facility), an industry source closely involved with the project (but not a BP employee) offered the following comment:
Atlantis was by far, in my opinion, the best of the bunch; proceeded as a normal construction project. The PMs were the best I’ve come across
2. While the absence of an acoustic backup system (BOP) no longer seems to be significant in this case, the effectiveness of such systems is an important point of discussion. Some readers have voiced support for acoustic backups. Others believe the ambient noise associated with a seafloor blowout would render these acoustic systems ineffective. Has the noise issue been evaluated? Should a Joint Industry Project be initiated to evaluate the performance of these systems?
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 