Blowout control. Part 1. Surface kill procedures use existing equipment for control
Procedures for controlling both underground and surface blowouts are expensive, difficult to implement, and not always successful. The primary concern is environmental protection, but if toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide are involved, the safety of human life becomes the paramount consideration. The cost of a blowout includes losses of equipment and hydrocarbons, personnel and equipment costs incurred in regaining control of the well, and the expenses involved in protecting the surrounding area. Proper planning in every phase of surface-kill procedure is essential to its speed and success. A special task force should coordinate all activities during the kill operation. All of the available surface-kill techniques involve pumping a sufficient quantity of fluids such as mud or cement into the well to overbalance the formation pressure of the flowing zones. Shut-in at the surface is preferable, but drilling an intersecting relief well can become necessary if the casing string is not accessible. Usually, the operation will require special equipment such as explosives, sheets of corrugated iron, and asbestos suits. For an annular blowout, the kill procedure involves either installing new control equipment or repairing the existing blowout preventers, then shutting in or capping the well and pumping mud into it.
- OSTI ID:
- 6650802
- Journal Information:
- Oil Gas J.; (United States), Vol. 78
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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