CASE APPLICATION: FOUNDATIONS OF CONTROL Deepwater in Deep Trouble When all is said and done‚ which may not be for many years‚ it’s likely to be one of the worst environmental disasters‚ if not the worst‚ in U.S. history.61 When British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon off-shore rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in a ball of flames on April 20‚ 2010‚ killing 11 employees‚ it set in motion frantic efforts to stop the flow of oil and to initiate the long and arduous cleanup process. Although
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DRILLING THEORY Principles of percussive drilling In percussive drilling‚ the energy required to break the rock is generated by a pneumatic or hydraulic rock drill. Machines of this kind build up a pressure which‚ on being released‚ drives the piston forward (Fig. 1). The piston strikes on the shank adaptor. The kinetic energy of the piston is converted into a stress wave which travels along the drill string to the rock. In order to obtain the best possible drilling economy the whole
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DRILLING FLUIDS The key to making the rotary drilling system work is the ability to circulate a fluid continuously down through the drill pipe‚ out through the bit nozzles and back to the surface. The drilling fluid can be air‚ foam (a combination of air and liquid or a liquid. Liquid drilling fluids are commonly called drilling mud. All drilling fluids‚ especially drilling mud‚ can have a wide range of chemical and physical properties. These properties are specifically designed for
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BC13541 REAE 5303 Spring 2013 Nepa Case Study Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (BP Oil Spill) On April 20‚ 2010 a catastrophic explosion on the Deepwater Horizon off shore drilling platform caused the largest single release to the environment due to oil drilling. This explosion killed 11 workers and injured 17. This oil spill is very controversial because it can be questioned if this spill could have been prevented and what exactly went wrong. There is much debate on who is to blame
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The National Commission on the BP Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released a report in January 2011 to the President of the United States indicating that the April 20th‚ 2011 Deep Water Horizon’s explosion and the resulting oil spill at the Macondo well was a foreseeable and preventable disaster. The Commission’s report indicated that a number of easily identifiable mistakes by British Petroleum‚ Transocean‚ and Halliburton ultimately led to the devastating oil spill which lasted
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replacing pipe from the well when it is necessary to change the bit or other piece of the drill string‚ or when preparing to run certain tests in the well bore. • Top drive o A mechanical device on a drilling rig that provides clockwise torque to the drill string to facilitate the process of drilling a borehole. • Kelly hose o is a flexible‚ steel reinforced‚ high pressure hose that connects the standpipe to the kelly. • Goose neck o A thick metal elbow connected to the swivel and standpipe
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English 102 Monday 6pm 2/13/2012 Domestic Oil Drilling: Benefits and Risks. Senator Everett Dirksen once noted “The oilcan is mightier than the sword”. In today’s world‚ it is easy to see why oil can be considered the most important resource to hold. Without oil‚ many of the common day occurrences we take for granted would be impossible. Oil is used for almost everything; from the fuel used to drive our vehicles‚ to the plastics used in every facet of life‚ and providing the heat needed to live
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everyone love swimming in the ocean and seeing all the pretty sea life? Some people do‚ and when people are offshore drilling they can cause a lot of problems if something goes wrong. The biggest concern by environmentalist is not a spill‚ but the pollution of the air and water‚ damage to the ocean bottom and debris that washes ashore from day-to-day operations of oil and gas rigs. Oil Drilling can lead to jobs being endangered‚ animals dying‚ and damaging the eco system. So many animals are dying because
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machinery. Oil has its benefits‚ but people seem to ignore the process of acquiring oil. Oil drilling is a dangerous and risky process. It runs the risk of contaminating the surrounding water and harming the organisms that live in it. The process also emits large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill‚ better known as the BP oil spill‚ was a prime example of how oil drilling is an extremely harmful process. An explosion on the rig caused it to spill 60‚000 barrels
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Offshore Drilling Does anything out weigh the importance of our planet’s health? You would be surprised by the number of people who look the other way when it comes to keeping the planet clean. Offshore drilling is just one of the major environmental issues that has existed for many years and still continues to be a problem. The topic of offshore drilling not only touches on environmental issues but also political‚ economic‚ and ethical issues. All of these tie into the huge debate over offshore
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