Blow out on Ensco 51

Working offshore Louisiana, the crew of the Ensco 51 had just set casing when the well experienced an uncontrolled flow, causing a blowout and fire.

Attempts were made to stem the increasing flow of gas and fluids from 10+ valve using sea water and weighted drilling mud, but sufficient volume could not be added to slow the flow. The flow continued to increase and the decision was made to abandon both the rig and platform at 0300 hours. The 10+ valve was opened to divert the flow of gas away from the rig and platform, and all 43 personnel were then safely evacuated via two lifeboats to Platform B.

Specialist personnel from Wild Well Control were called in to help with capping and killing operations, but the gas flow ignited in the early hours of 02 March, due to an unknown ignition source. The well partially bridged on 03 March, causing the fire to go out, and the well was subsequently killed. Production on the platform had been shut in during drilling ops, which probably prevented a greater fire.

During the fire, the Ensco 51’s derrick and substructure were completely destroyed, with the derrick collapsing onto the platform. The platform and its production equipment were also extensively damaged.

Task 2. Read the dialogue. Answer the questions:

Задание 2. Прочитайте диалог. Ответьте на вопросы:

What are the differences between this blowout and the one described in the Ensco 51 case study?

Which incident has the more serious consequences?

Paul Downey: Jose Miguel. How are you doing?

Jose Miguel: Not too good, Paul. We’ve got a big problem.

PD: Go on.

JM: Well, we’ve got a blowout on Number 5 rig.

PD: Number 5? I thought we’d completed on 5.

JM: No, not quite, we were just tripping out when we got a big kick.

PD: Is anybody hurt?

JM: Well, there are no fatalities at least. But Okie’s got a broken arm and both the others have got cuts and bruises.

PD: And you’re OK?

JM: I’m fine, Paul, but it’s a real mess here.

PD: And what about damage?

JM: Yes, there’s quite a lot. One corner of the derrick’s blown off and a big chunk of the drilling floor has gone.

PD: Any fire?

JM: Not so far, but we’re keeping a close watch.

PD: So, what happened exactly?

JM: Well, the string was around 200 metres from the surface and we got a warning from the loggers. We circulated kill mud, but it was obviously too late.

PD: Did you manage to close the BOP?

JM: No, we were just about to close it when it blew.

PD: And what’s happening at the moment?

JM: Well, there’s mud everywhere. The fire crew are standing by and the medics are looking after the guys. I’ve called for the helicopter to take Okie off to hospital.

PD: Have you called well control?

JM: No, I wanted to call you first. I’ll do that right away.

PD: Jose, I’ve got to get back to my meeting. I’d better tell them what’s going on - they’re paying after all! You’re doing a great job. There’s nothing more you can do. Keep me informed, won’t you.

JM: Yes, of course. Bye.

Task 3. These sentences are connected to the situations described in tasks 1 and 2. Choose the best verb to complete each sentence:

Задание 3. Эти предложения описывают ситуации из заданий 1 и 2. Выберите подходящий по смыслу глагол из предложенных в скобках:

1 The platform was _____ (bridged/killed/abandoned).

2 The well was _____ (killed / circulated / ignited).

3 Weighted mud was _____. (capped / circulated / blown off).

4 The crew were _____ (abandoned / evacuated / damages).

5 The derrick was _____ (hurt / opened / destroyed).

6 The valve was _____ (completed / cased / closed).

7 The roughneck's arm was _____ (broken / damaged / destroyed).

8 The decision was _____ (done / made / produced).

9 The gas was _____ (ignited / sparked / blown).

10 The well control team was _____ (called off / called in / called forward).

Task 4. Look at the following sentences. In each sentence there are two actions. Does the second action happen before, during or after the first action?:

Задание 4. Прочитайте предложения и определите последовательность совершения действий:

1. The crew had just set casing when the well experienced an uncontrolled flow.

2. As the flow continued to increase, the decision to abandon the platform was taken.

3. Production on the platform had been shut in during drilling ops, which probably prevented a greater fire.

4. We were just tripping out when we got a big kick.

5. We circulated kill mud when we got a kick warning from the loggers.

6. We were thinking about closing the BOP valve when the well blew.

Практическое занятие 16

Optimized Drilling

Оптимизированное бурение

slant drilling направленное наклонное бурение

reservoir месторождение, нефтеносный слой

wellbore ствол скважины

slimhole drilling бурение скважины малого диаметра

bottomhole забой

coiled tubing коил тюбинг

rubble обломки, галька

insulation изоляция, изолирование

conventional drilling обычное, стандартное бурение

multilateral многосторонний

cuttings обломки выбуренной породы

gas emission выделение газа

environment окружающая среда

directional drilling наклонное бурение

offshoot боковая ветвь

reel барабан

Task 1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: