IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE UNIVERSAL PREVENTOR

Abstract

This article will describe and analyze the two last parts of an accident at an offshore drilling facility – total loss of control and post accidental work, specifically emergency operation of a BOP. BOP operation methods that will be discussed here are applicable both for the accidents and generally for the events where the BOP functions should be activated when the system cannot be controlled from the host facility. Tasks to be performed in the current work: Acquire background technical expertise in BOP systems and their controls. Acquire background technical expertise in ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) systems and their controls. Acquire background information on Macondo well accident and similar accidents, where the emergency BOP control was required. Discuss the response and work done to get the control over the BOPs in these accidents. Develop possible methods to control the BOP in emergencies. Discuss and compare different methods systematically. Come up with further recommendations. Most information for this work was found on the web, using the search and databases such as Google Scholar and One Petro. Standards were provided by the university library, however NORSOK standards were free available from the internet. A large input came from the interviews with professionals within oil and gas. Keywords: bop, control system, valve.