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Gold/Mining/Energy : Big Dog's Boom Boom Room

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To: Bearcatbob who wrote (134656)	6/11/2010 8:51:48 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) of 206199

As Aggie has previously pointed out, BOPs in deepwater wells are limited in their abilities in that they're not able to cut through the casing used, nor some of the tools used, nor sometimes the joins in the drill pipe. I'm so very sorry this comes as shocking news to you. Let's review what Chevron vice-president David MacInnis has said about the limitations of the BOPs used by the oil and gas industry in deep-water drilling. Chevron itself has been working since 2007 to develop a safer blowout preventer – one that would further reduce the risk of blowout by simplifying the system. But that system is not ready for deployment. Current blowout preventers employ a three-stage process in which the equipment must first slice through the drill pipe with shear rams, lift the pipe out of place, then activate seal rams that close the BOP stack and seal the well. Chevron’s “Alternative Well Kill System” would do the job in one step, reducing the potential for a malfunction. At the Senate committee hearing in Ottawa, Chevron executives conceded there are some extra-thick sections of the drill pipe that current blowout preventers would not be able to cut. In the event of an emergency, drillers would check the positioning of those “collars” and, if one was in the way, raise or lower it before the BOP could be activated and the well shut down. They rejected suggestions that the blowout preventers do not function as well in ultra-deep water due to the tremendous subsea pressure, arguing that the equipment is manufactured specifically to operate at such depths. Chevron says it ensures the blowout preventer will work in an emergency through proper well design and extensive training for drilling crews. The company also says it expects to avoid those emergency situations by following proper well control methods using cement casing and heavy drilling fluids – areas where BP has been criticized. “We are aware of the problems” with the BOPs. Chevron vice-president David MacInnis said in an interview. “We make sure we are designing the wells with those facts in mind.”

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