Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements Prepared for: BSEE Doc Ref: 100124.01-DG-RPT-0004 Rev: 0 Date: February 2016 Final Report Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements Final Report Limitations of the Report The scope of this report is limited to the matters explicitly covered and is prepared for the sole benefit of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). In preparing the report, Wood Group Kenny (WGK) relied on information provided by BSEE and third parties. WGK made no independent investigation as to the accuracy or completeness of such information and assumed that such information was accurate and complete. All recommendations, findings, and conclusions stated in this report are based on facts and circumstances as they existed at the time this report was prepared. A change in any fact or circumstance on which this report is based may adversely affect the recommendations, findings, and conclusions expressed in this report. 100124.01-DG-RPT-0004 | Rev 0 | February 2016 Page 3 of 188 Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements Final Report Executive Summary Since 2010, the industry has made great strides in increasing the capabilities for subsea well control response based on learnings from the Macondo incident. This study provides a detailed analysis of the subsea capping stack availability, storage locations, and technical capabilities. This study also reviews the regulations and standards and a draft Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) and a Potential Incident of Noncompliance (PINC) list for subsea capping stacks has been developed. The subsea capping stack is part of the Source Control and Containment Equipment (SCCE), along with the cap and flow system, the containment dome, and other subsea and surface devices, equipment, and vessels. The collective purpose of SCCE is to control a spill source and stop the flow of fluids into the environment. This study, which is specific to subsea capping stacks, does not consider other SCCE. Literature Review and Industry Surveys Wood Group Kenny (WGK) has conducted a detailed literature review to evaluate available U.S. regulations for source control and containment. It was determined that current U.S. regulations include no information related to SCCE. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) 2010-N10, which required Operators to demonstrate that they have access to capping and containment equipment to receive approval for the Application for Permit to Drill (APD). In April 2015, the BSEE published a Proposed Rule for well control that would consolidate the current regulations and NTLs. As part of the Proposed Rule, the BSEE provided a separate section for source control and containment. In February 2015, the Department of the Interior (DOI), acting through the BSEE and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), proposed regulations on requirements for exploratory drilling in the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This proposed Arctic regulation requires access to SCCE with a subsea capping stack positioned to arrive at a well within 24 hours after a loss of well control, and a cap and flow system and a containment dome positioned to arrive at the well within 7 days after a loss of well control. Currently, there are no active U.S. regulations or inspection criteria guidelines for subsea capping stacks. American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice (API RP) 17W provides guidelines for the design, manufacture, use, preservation, transportation, and maintenance procedures of subsea capping stacks. The development and delivery of subsea capping stacks began immediately following the Macondo incident in 2010, prior to the issuance of API RP 17W. The design of these systems was based on the existing subsea equipment (for example, Blowout Preventer [BOP] rams, valves, and chokes), for which industry standards were already established. The strategy for the design of subsea capping stacks was employed to allow for rapid delivery to industry, based on conventional components, field-proven track records, accepted reliability, 100124.01-DG-RPT-0004 | Rev 0 | February 2016 Page 4 of 188 Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements Final Report established technical knowledge base, and availability of spare parts. In addition, an objective of this strategy was to avoid the high costs and long lead times generally associated with the development of new safety equipment technology by shortening the process typically associated with its conception, design, fabrication, testing, and certification. Subsea Capping Stack Availability The consortiums and organizations that own subsea capping stacks are listed in the following table. No. of Subsea Name Type Staging Location Region Served Capping Stacks MWCC Consortium 3 Ingleside, TX U.S. Gulf of Mexico One in Houston, TX and HWCG Consortium 2 U.S. Gulf of Mexico another in Ingleside, TX OSPRAG Consortium 1 Aberdeen, Scotland U.K. Continental Shelf One at each location: OSRL Consortium 4 Brazil, Norway, Singapore, Global (except U.S. waters) and South Africa One in Aberdeen, Scotland Global (inclusive of U.S. WellCONTAINED Organization 2 and another in Singapore waters) One in Alaska; others in Global (Shell operations Shell Operator 3 Aberdeen, Scotland, and only) Singapore Houston stack (Global BP operations) One in Houston and BP Operator 2 another in Angola Angola stack (BP operations only in Angolan waters) For the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM), it is mandatory for Operators conducting subsea drilling operations to demonstrate access to a subsea capping stack and the necessary expertise and assets to mobilize and install the stack offshore. Five subsea capping stacks to facilitate compliance with this requirement are staged within the Gulf Coast region. Two consortiums and one organization support the U.S. GOM. The Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) is a consortium that provides access to three subsea capping stacks, and HWCG LLC is a consortium that provides access to two subsea capping stacks. In addition, WellCONTAINED 100124.01-DG-RPT-0004 | Rev 0 | February 2016 Page 5 of 188 Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements Final Report organization maintains two subsea capping stacks outside of the U.S. These stacks can be mobilized to U.S. GOM if needed. Currently, WellCONTAINED does not support Operators in obtaining permits to drill in the U.S. GOM region. For the U.K. Continental Shelf (UKCS), three subsea capping stacks are staged within the region. The Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) is a consortium that has one subsea capping stack staged in Aberdeen, U.K. The WellCONTAINED organization has one subsea capping stack staged in the U.K., which is available for global use. The Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) consortium has one subsea capping stack staged in Norway that is available for global use. Outside of the U.S. and U.K. regions, excluding Operator-owned stacks, the industry has access to six subsea capping stack systems that are made available through the OSRL consortium and the WellCONTAINED organization. The OSRL consortium has a total of four subsea capping stacks that are available for use outside of U.S. waters; they are staged in Norway, Brazil, Singapore and South Africa. The WellCONTAINED organization has two subsea capping stacks available for use globally; they are staged in the U.K. and Singapore. In summary, the U.S. and U.K. are the only regions with dedicated consortiums (e.g., MWCC, HWCG, and OSRPAG) to support subsea capping stack response. However, there is subsea capping stack access for all regions of the world through the OSRL consortium and the WellCONTAINED organization. The caveat to this statement is that most of the countries do not have regional access to a subsea capping stack, and they are dependent on the consortium or the organization-owned capping solutions staged at varying strategic locations around the world. It can be surmised that these regions and countries will likely have longer response times because of the length of time associated with marine transport of the subsea capping stack from their storage locations to the incident sites. Recommended CFR and PINC List WGK has worked with the Well Containment Consortiums (MWCC, HWCG LLC, and OSRL) and a manufacturing company (Trendsetter Engineering) to draft regulations for subsea capping stacks based on global learnings and experience with subsea capping stacks. WGK recommends that the drafted Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) be incorporated as part of 30 CFR 250 Subpart D. WGK also drafted the PINC List for subsea capping stacks in accordance with the format included in the National PINC Guideline List. WGK participated in a workshop with the Well Containment Consortiums to review the draft PINC List and to get their feedback. WGK recommends that the PINC List be appended to the current Drilling PINCs. BSEE personnel can use this PINC List for inspection in the field and at onshore support bases. 100124.01-DG-RPT-0004 | Rev 0 | February 2016 Page 6 of 188 Subsea Capping Stack Technology Requirements Final Report The subsea capping stack CFR and the PINC List are only recommendations to BSEE: BSEE may modify and use them in the future. Recommendations: Evaluate subsea capping stack components that can accommodate weight savings. This could involve using gate valves instead of BOP rams for smaller bore sizes. The gate valves can provide the same pressure rating as BOP rams. The benefits associated with the use of gate valves include improved sealing reliability (metal-metal sealing surface), reduction in weight, and simplified operation, thereby avoiding the need for Subsea Accumulator Module (SAM) units. Because of the geographic distances between subsea capping stack storage locations and potential incident sites, it is recommended that a specific subsea capping stack should be identified prior to the commencement of operations within each deep water drilling region and the associated mobilization planning that is conducted to determine the estimated response time.