MMS Presentation on Deep Water Oil Spill Risks
-
Upload
firedoglake -
Category
News & Politics
-
view
2.286 -
download
0
Transcript of MMS Presentation on Deep Water Oil Spill Risks
Meeting the Challenge of Potential Deepwater Spills: Cooperative Research
Effort Between Industry and Government
by
Robert LaBelleU.S. Minerals Management Service
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Per
cen
t
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
Year
Oil
Gas
Deepwater Production(Percent of Total GOM OCS)
GOM Production GOM Production (percentage by depth)(percentage by depth)
WaterDepth 1997 2002 (est.) 2007 (est.)
0 - 650 ft 59% 39% 17%
650 ft - 2600 ft 13% 14% 14%
> 2600 ft 28% 47% 69%
Deep Water Spill Research
• What’s different about deep water?
• Why do we need a field experiment?
Ixtoc Blow-out, Gulf of Mexico
Deep Water Issues
• Complex ocean column
• Hard to track
• Oil/gas rises in hrs - days
• Phase changes (hydrates)
• Thin surface slicks
• No validated models
Why a calibrated model ?
• Oil spill contingency planning• Incident response• Environmental analyses Release of oil and gas, 815 m depth
650
700
750
800
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Distance downstream, m
Dep
th, m
~20 cm/s
Plume with entrained water, hydrate and
dissolved components
Rising oil droplets
Model simulations of expected behavior of release during experiments
entrainment
bottom sediment
current
near-field far-field
neutral buoyancy level
sea surface
jet
plume
hydrate formation
hydrate decomposition
gas dissolution into water
oil droplets
Deep Water Blowout
Cooperative MMS/IndustryResearch
Dec. 97
Workshop defines problem
Jul. 98
Start 3-D modeling
Aug. 98
Start lab studies
Feb. 99
Workshop to refine model /
lab work
UH Lab
Plume model
Jun. 99
Deep Spill feasibility
study
Jul. 99
Workshop to scope field experiment
Dec. 99
Start Deep Spill JIP June 00
Complete lab studies
June 00
Deep Spill field
experiment
June 01
Validated model
Deep Spill ParticipantsAgipBHPBP AmocoCNGChevronConocoDevonEEXElfEl PasoExxonMobilKerr-McGee
MarathonMarinerMMSMurphyNewfieldNorske HydroPhillipsShellStatoilTexacoUnocalVastar
Why a field experiment?• Collect realistic field data• Test & validate subsurface surveillance• Provide data to validate models• Input to environmental assessment documents
1996 Field shallow-water exp. off Norway
Trondheim
Kristiansund
Stavanger
Bergen
Helland Hansen
Kårstø
MongstadSture
Deep Spill Release Location
“Deep Spill” Status - 10/00
• Deep Spill experiment successful June 26 - 30, 2000
• Budget around $2 million
• MMS share is $600k
• 23 companies so far… approx. $67k/company
• Final report due November 2000
• Calibrated model due June 2001
• Raw data proprietary for 5 years