Explosive Technology A New Tool In Offshore Operations

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This paper was prepared for the 41st Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Dallas, Tex., Oct. 2–5, 1966. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines. Abstract Hurricanes Carla (1961) Hilda (1964), and Betsy (1965) played havoc with the offshore oil industry. Physical damage has been estimated over $200 million, excluding loss of production estimated at 10 million barrels resulting from Hurricane Betsy alone. Resulting navigation hazards also necessitate temporary and later permanent salvage or removal of thousands of tons of debris from drilling and production facilities. In many areas use of conventional methods to repair damage or clear away debris was not feasible due to safety precautions or physical condition of the structures. Technological advances in the use of explosives have permitted their successful use for restoration of wells and salvage of equipment in underwater operations. This paper covers development and field applications of new explosive devices and techniques which resulted in a safe, time reducing, and economical method of remedial well applications and debris removal. Details of operations covering the successful control of blowing wells are presented. Also discussed are applications and procedures using explosive devices to remove conductor strings and platform pilings for abandonment remove hurricane damaged structures, and salvage underwater pipelines. The potential of explosive devices in other offshore and underwater operations is covered, emphasizing the variety of applications of underwater explosive technology as a safe, economical, and useful tool in offshore operations. Introduction Offshore petroleum activities have prompted development of radically new equipment, tools, and operating procedures. This development has been accelerated with worldwide offshore activities now being conducted in over 60 countries. Occasionally some unforeseen and dramatic event occurs which acts as a catalyst in the development tools and equipment.