Matt Zborowski
Staff Writer
Wild Well Control Inc., a subsidiary of Superior Energy Services, has completed a subsea capping stack stationed in Singapore to serve the area during a deepwater well control incident. The company's first unit resides in Aberdeen.
The 18¾-in., 15,000-psi Singapore capping stack is available for a variety of offshore conditions and designed for use in as much as 10,000 ft of water.
Its four 5-1/8-in. flow outlets accommodate higher flow wells, and offset rigging pad eyes can accommodate landing the stack on a wellhead with an inclination of less than 3°. It has two blowout preventers. The Aberdeen unit, in comparison, has 3 blowout preventers and four 3-1/16 in. flow outlets.
The Singapore system-which represented $22 million in capital costs and receives $1 million/year-worth in maintenance and testing-is maintained in a state of readiness and can quickly be transported by sea or air.
Wild Well consortium
The capping stack is part of Wild Well's WellCONTAINED emergency response system, encompassing the physical capping stack and equipment along with technical planning, advanced engineering, and response training.
Wild Well's spill containment consortium is comprised of 38 members, including multinational companies such as US-based ExxonMobil Corp., Statoil ASA of Norway, France's Total SA, Italy's Eni SPA, and Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd., each of which has access to the capping stacks in the event of an incident.
Companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC have their own capping stacks, but different units vary in capability. Other well containment service providers include Oil Spill Response Ltd. (OSRL) and Oil Spill Prevention & Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG). Marine Well Containment Co. (MWCC) and Helix Energy Solutions Group serve the Gulf of Mexico.
During 2013, Wild Well responded to 31 well-control jobs worldwide offshore, of which 15 related to pressure control, 6 were surface blowouts, 1 was a surface blowout with fire, and 9 related to miscellaneous issues.
Importance of location
As with Aberdeen, the company chose the Singapore location because of its close proximity to airports, ports, and specialized engineers.
The full intervention system at each location includes a capping stack, debris removal shears, hardware kits for the subsea application of dispersant and inhibition fluids at a wellhead, and ancillary equipment.
"Since we now have two capping stacks geographically located in the northern and southern hemispheres, our team at Wild Well can provide an enhanced level of response to a client's well site," said Freddy Gebhardt, Wild Well president.
He explained that the company's flexibility to deploy from two strategic locations mitigates possible delays caused by deployment constraints. It typically takes 1.5-2 days to set up a capping stack after all parts have arrived onsite.
Gebhardt noted, however, that remote locations such as Colombia, Mozambique, and Tanzania would provide a particular challenge during an incident because of their lack of available relief rigs, transportation resources, and easily mobilized personnel in nearby areas.
