WELL CONTROL & PRESSURE CONTROL EQUIPMENT
Figure 5: The system hardware of the Wireless Remote BOP Control System.

operation) depends on having sufficient
hydraulic pressure at the time it’s needed.

It was concluded after an incident inves-
tigation from a blowout fire in 2018 in
Oklahoma that the hydraulic hoses link-
ing the accumulator unit to the BOPs had
failed due to high temperatures before
the BOPs were attempted to be closed. In
attempting to function the BOPs, the tool-
pusher and companyman had put them-
selves in a dangerous situation for what
was, ultimately, a futile endeavor.

Referring back to Figure 2, the point D
at which the system is no longer operable
in a rig fire due to failure of equipment
can be just a few minutes. In order for this
system to work as intended in a burning
rig scenario and to buy the crew as much
time as possible to shut in the well from a
remote location, possible weak links need
to be eliminated.

Prompted by the findings of the report,
the research team looked at the existing
specifications for the hoses (API 16D) and
found them to require a survival time of
5 minutes at a temperature of 704°C. This
spec was considered to be too conservative
given that a hydrocarbon fire can reach
1100°C very quickly. The location of the
hoses and likely fuel source during a well
Figure 6: Base control station and display of the Wireless Remote BOP Control Sys-
tem. The base station is situated at the rig site.

30 blowout means that a hose needs to be
able to withstand the higher temperature
and, if possible, for longer than 5 minute s.

Evidence from independent third-party
testing and from the incident report sug-
gested that the current hose configuration
would fail at the 5-minute mark or earlier
in a hydrocarbon fire. At the current lower
API specification temperature of 704°C, the
hose easily exceeded the requirements .

The company tested a commercially
available hose design from a global manu-
facturer to establish the benchmark per-
formance at the two temperatures and a
number of new designs incorporating a
silica-based material. The new material
was again commercially available and is
currently used for protecting pipework
from extreme fire and heat.

Testing was done under API 16D quali-
fication conditions. In total, four new
configurations were tested, and the best
exceeded 15 minutes before failure. This
tripled the requirements of the specifica-
tion at 704°C at the new elevated tem-
perature of 1100°C, and this should provide
sufficient time for the rig crew to get to a
remote wireless box and shut in the well.

The research team also believes this time
can be pushed out with further design
tweaks to the hoses.

In conclusion
Ensuring a well can be shut in is of para-
mount importance to protect the rig and its
crew. The three technology advances pre-
sented in this article improve the chances
of a successful shut-in by tackling differ-
ent aspects of the problem.

The Auto Well Space-Out removes
guesswork and relieves pressure from the
driller in stressful situations. Additional
functionality can also apply safety fea-
tures designed to prevent accidental clo-
sure of the wrong valve by tying into the
rig system.

The Remote Wireless BOP Controller
and the upgrades to the hydraulic hoses
buy the crew extra time and allow them
to leave the rig at an earlier juncture.

Removing them from the rig will reduce
the chances of serious injury whilst the
ability to secure the well remains.

Although currently applied to land drill-
ing , these technologies can be easily trans-
ferred to the offshore environment. DC
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR