Solo para Ingenieros - Academia Panamericana de Ingeniería

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Solo para Ingenieros
Ciencia y Tecnología
Dr. Arnoldo Bautista Corral
Sólo para ingenieros (15): Macondo Prospect
04/12/10
Clasificación: Ingeniería Petrolera
------------Estimados colegas y amigos:
Esta semana les presento un documento que nos envió, a varios colegas, a principios de julio de este año un
profesor de EUA relativo a los inicios de uno de los peores desastres en la historia de la industria petrolera y de
cuyos impactos tuvimos todos conocimiento a través de los medios de información.
El correo venía acompañado sólo de dos textos:
"A friend works for an oil and gas contractor and her boss sent the attached to all their employees:
Mike"
"Thanks, Mike. Isn't it a miracle that more of the crew wasn't lost?
Paul"
Incluyo información sobre el Proyecto Macondo Prospect que nos proporciona algunos datos sobre el sito y el
proyecto al que se refieren el material gráfico que nos envía nuestro colega.
Macondo Prospect
The Macondo Prospect (Mississippi Canyon Block 252, abbreviated MC252) is an oil and gas prospect in the
United States Exclusive Economic Zone of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. The prospect was the site
of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in April 2010 that led to a major oil spill in the region.
Name
The name Macondo is the same name as the fictitious cursed town in the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
by Colombian Nobel Prize‐winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.[1] Oil companies routinely assign code names
to offshore prospects early in the exploration effort. This practice helps ensure secrecy during the confidential pre‐
sale phase, and later provides convenient names for casual reference rather than the often similar‐sounding
official lease names denoted by, for example, the Minerals Management Service in the case of federal waters in
the USA. Names in a given year or area might follow a theme such as beverages (e.g., Cognac), heavenly bodies
(e.g., Mars), or even cartoon characters (e.g., Bullwinkle), but usually have no geological or geographical
significance to the prospect itself.
Location
The prospect is located in Mississippi Canyon Block 252 of the Gulf of Mexico. Multinational oil company BP is the
operator and principal developer of the oil field with 65% of interest, while 25% is owned by Anadarko Petroleum
Corporation, and 10% by MOEX Offshore 2007, a unit of Mitsui.[2] The prospect may have held 50 million barrels
(7.9°—106 m3) producible reserves of oil.[3]
History
A regional shallow hazards survey and study was carried out at the Macondo area by KC Offshore in 1998. High
resolution, 2D seismic data along with 3D exploration seismic data of the MC 252 was collected by Fugro
Palacio de Minería, Tacuba No.5, Centro, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal, C.P. 06000
http://www.academiapanamericanaingenieria.org
[email protected]
Geoservices in 2003. BP purchased the mineral rights to drill for oil in the Macondo Prospect at the Minerals
Management Service's lease sale in March 2008.[4] Mapping of the block was carried out by BP America in 2008
and 2009.[5] BP secured approval to drill the Macondo Prospect from MMS in March 2009. An exploration well
was scheduled to be drilled in 2009.[2] On 7 October 2009 the Transocean Marianas semi‐submersible rig
commenced drilling, but operations were halted at 4,023 feet (1,226 m) below the sea floor on 29 November 2009,
when the rig was damaged by Hurricane Ida.[6] The Transocean Deepwater Horizon rig resumed drilling
operations in February 2010.[2] [7]
Deepwater Horizon explosion and blowout
Main articles: Deepwater Horizon explosion and Deepwater Horizon oil spill An explosion on the drilling rig
Deepwater Horizon occurred on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers. The Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, 2010,
in water approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) deep, and has been located resting on the seafloor approximately
1,300 feet (400 m) (about a quarter of a mile) northwest of the well.[8][9][10] Following the rig explosion and
subsea blowout, BP started a relief well using Transocean's Development Driller III on May 2, 2010. The relief well
could potentially take up to three months to drill. BP started a second relief well using Transocean's GSF
Development Driller II on May 16, 2010.[11] The leak was successfully shut‐in on August 4, 2010 by a "static kill"
(injection of heavy fluids into the wellhead at the mudline). To
further ensure the plugging of the original well, the first relief well has connected further down the original well
bore (near total depth) and will proceed with the injection of heavy fluids from that point. These attempts should
completely seal off the Macondo Prospect well.
See also
• List of oil spills
• Deepwater Horizon
• Offshore oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico
References
1. ^ Gold, Russell (2010‐05‐27). "Unlikely Decisions Set Stage for BP Disaster". The Wall Street Journal.
http://rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=93841. Retrieved 2010‐05‐28.
2. ^ a b c "Offshore Field Development Projects: Macondo". Subsea.Org. http://www.subseaiq.com/Data/Project.aspx?project_Id=562. Retrieved 2010‐05‐18.
3. ^ Klump, Edward (2010‐05‐13). "Spill May Hit Anadarko Hardest as BP's Silent Partner". Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aawwCXDN1UsM. Retrieved 2010‐05‐19.
4. ^ "Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area Lease Sale 206 Information". US Minerals Management Service. 2008‐08‐08.
http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/lsesale/206/cgom206.html. Retrieved 2010‐06‐06.
5. ^ "Macondo Prospect, Gulf of Mexico, USA". offshore‐technology.com. Net Resources International. http://www.offshoretechnology.
com/projects/macondoprospect/. Retrieved 2010‐05‐18.
6. ^ "Documents show BP chose a less‐expensive, less‐reliable method for completing well in Gulf oil spill". Orlando Sentinel.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os‐florida‐oil‐spill‐unspoken‐risks‐20100522,0,4933693,full.story. Retrieved 2010‐05‐23.
7. ^ http://www.energytrainingresources.com/data/default/content/Macondo.pdf,
8. ^ Robertson, Cambell; Robbins, Liz (2010‐04‐22). "Oil Rig Sinks in the Gulf of Mexico". The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/us/23rig.html?hp. Retrieved 2010‐04‐22.
9. ^ Resnick‐Ault, Jessica; Klimasinska, Katarzyna (April 22, 2010). "Transocean Oil‐Drilling Rig Sinks in Gulf of Mexico". Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHylLWhmGcI0. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
10. ^ "Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration. 2010‐04‐24.
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id%28entry
_subtopic_topic%29=809&subtopic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=2&topic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=1. Retrieved 2010‐04‐25.
11. ^ BP (2010‐05‐24). "Update on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response ‐ 24 May". Press release.
http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062283. Retrieved 2010‐05‐24.
[edit] External links
• Griffitt, Michelle. "Initial Exploration Plan Mississippi Canyon Block 252 OCS‐G 32306" (PDF). BP Exploration and Production (New Orleans, Louisiana: Minerals
Management Service). http://www.gomr.mms.gov/PI/PDFImages/PLANS/29/29977.pdf.
About the accident
You may have heard the news in the last two days about the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which caught fire,
burned for two days, then sank in 5,000 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico. There are still 11 men missing, and they
are not expected to be found.
The rig belongs to Transocean, the world’s biggest offshore drilling contractor. The rig was originally contracted
[email protected]
through the year 2013 to BP and was working on BP’s Macondo exploration well when the fire broke out. The rig
costs about $500,000 per day to contract. The full drilling spread, with helicopters and support vessels and other
services, will cost closer to $1,000,000 per day to operate in the course of drilling for oil and gas. The rig cost
about $350,000,000 to build in 2001 and would cost at least double that to replace today.
The rig represents the cutting edge of drilling technology. It is a floating rig, capable of working in up to 10,000 ft
water depth. The rig is not moored; It does not use anchors because it would be too costly and too heavy to
suspend this mooring load from the floating structure. Rather, a triply-redundant computer system uses satellite
positioning to control powerful thrusters that keep the rig on station within a few feet of its intended location, at
all times. This is called Dynamic Positioning.
The rig had apparently just finished cementing steel casing in place at depths exceeding 18,000 ft. The next
operation was to suspend the well so that the rig could move to its next drilling location, the idea being that a rig
would return to this well later in order to complete the work necessary to bring the well into production.
It is thought that somehow formation fluids – oil /gas – got into the wellbore and were undetected until it was too
late to take action. With a floating drilling rig setup, because it moves with the waves, currents, and winds, all of
the main pressure control equipment sits on the seabed – the uppermost unmoving point in the well. This
pressure control equipment – the Blowout Preventers, or ‘BOP’s” as they’re called, are controlled with redundant
systems from the rig. In the event of a serious emergency, there are multiple Panic Buttons to hit, and even failsafe Dead man systems that should be automatically engaged when something of this proportion breaks out.
None of them were apparently activated, suggesting that the blowout was especially swift to escalate at the
surface. The flames were visible up to about 35 miles away. Not the glow – the flames. They were 200 – 300 ft
high.
All of this will be investigated and it will be some months before all of the particulars are known. For now, it is
enough to say that this marvel of modern technology, which had been operating with an excellent safety record,
has burned up and sunk taking souls with it. The well still is apparently flowing oil, which is appearing at the
surface as a slick. They have been working with remotely operated vehicles, or ROV’s which are essentially
tethered miniature submarines with manipulator arms and other equipment that can perform work underwater
while the operator sits on a vessel. These are what were used to explore the Titanic, among other things. Every
floating rig has one on board and they are in constant use. In this case, they are deploying ROV’s from dedicated
service vessels. They have been trying to close the well in using a specialized port on the BOP’s and a pumping
arrangement on their ROV’s. They have been unsuccessful so far. Specialized pollution control vessels have been
scrambled to start working the spill, skimming the oil up.
In the coming weeks they will move in at least one other rig to drill a fresh well that will intersect the blowing one
at its pay zone. They will use technology that is capable of drilling from a floating rig, over 3 miles deep to an
exact specific point in the earth – with a target radius of just a few feet plus or minus. Once they intersect their
target, a heavy fluid will be pumped that exceeds the formation’s pressure, thus causing the flow to cease and
rendering the well safe at last. It will take at least a couple of months to get this done, bringing all available
technology to bear. It will be an ecological disaster if the well flows all of the while; Optimistically, it could bridge
off downhole.
It’s a sad day when something like this happens to any rig, but even more so when it happens to something on
the cutting edge of our capabilities. The photos that follow show the progression of events over the 36 hours
from catching fire to sinking.
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A sister rig, the
Nautilus, being
transported on a
Heavy-Lift vessel
L and R, the
Deepwater
Horizon on
location in better
days
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Taken shortly after the rig caught fire – the mast is still there
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The drilling mast has toppled over here – they usually melt pretty fast when fire breaks out
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Support vessels using their fire fighting gear to cool the rig
From about 10 miles away – dawn of Day 1
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Support vessels using their fire fighting gear to cool the rig – note the list developing
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About noon Day 1 – List is pronounced now
From a satellite, overhead
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Early morning Day 2 – Note the hole burned through the aluminum helideck
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Day 2, morning – settling quite low in the water now – fuel and oil slick forming
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Agradezco las contribuciones enviadas.
No. de ingenieros en la lista de distribución: 79
No. de envío: 15
Bienvenidos comentarios sobre los envíos.
Saludos, que tengan una excelente semana!
Arnoldo
PD Les comparto algunos de los comentarios sobre el envío de la semana pasada...
----------------------------------------------------------Hola Arnoldo,
Se ve muy padre este sistema, pero cómo ves los costos: alrededor de 180USD una botella para 4K litros. Este el precio comercial para
llevártela de excursión; desde luego sería más barata para atender desastres humanitarios. Luego se requerirían 140USD para reemplazar
el filtro principal. (Hay que reemplazar los filtros de carbón además, pero me imagino que eso es muy barato). Si lo comparas con el costo
del agua tratada/entubada creo que es otra escala. ¿Será viable? El argumento de comparar con el total de ayuda humanitaria puede ser
algo falaz, pues hay otro tipo de ayudas, aunque con agua limpia se disminuirían mucho otros costos humanitarios. No estoy seguro qué
[email protected]
pensar. Qué opinas tú. A mí sí me gustaría comprar una para excursiones...
Saludos,
Luis
----------------------------------------------------------Muchas gracias por su correo doctor.
Es impresionante la tecnología usada en una botella de agua para producir agua purificada en tan solo unos instantes.
Carlos Astorga
----------------------------------------------------------Estimadísimo Arnoldo, tus aportaciones siempre han sido resultado de tu inquietud e insatisfacción de diversas situaciones en las cuales no
te sientas a quejarte, gracias por compartir con un servidor entre otros, ya sea tus conocimientos o tus encuentros.
Estoy enviando a mi familia inicialmente copia de este.
hgc
[email protected]

Solo para Ingenieros - Academia Panamericana de Ingeniería

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