Ameliorating for Excellence

Annular Blowout Preventer

Oil rigging may be one of the most profitable industries in the world; but it is also one of the most dangerous. Blowout preventers or BOPs as they are called in the industry; are the last defense for preventing a complete blowout on an oil rig.

When it comes to offshore drilling, rigs usually use both ram and annular Blow out preventers for more safety. BOPs are usually controlled by activating the hydraulic pressure in the BOP, which is monitored via remote control. While this may be the basic method, there are different ways in which a BOP can be controlled:

• Electrical signals sent via a control cable
• Remote operated vehicles to manually operate valves at deep surfaces
• Dead man switches, which is a fail-safe option during emergencies.

New technologies are constantly being developed to make the work easier and safer. Companies are expanding their product line of new remote monitoring and diagnostic technologies. This will help drillers to increase safety and performance, increase durability of products and optimize efficiency. A new technology that is making waves is a gas and drilling system. This is helping engineers to create up-to-date reports with detailed information on cycle counts, event sequences and machinery maintenance. 

New hardware is being produced to display the exact position of the ram blocks and the amount of pressure that is used to close it. This saves a lot of time in determining problems with the ram blocks and immediate action can be taken. Gas handler systems are also being developed to divert gases that have gone into the riser before the blowout preventer could be closed. They prevent gases from reaching the bottom of the rig, just below the wellhead. 

While these advancements are definitely making oil rigs a safer place to work, other bodies are taking steps to make the work safer. Greater scrutiny is going into the design of oil rigs. Some experts are suggesting placing more instrumentation on wellheads and BOPs to monitor what is going on underground or in sub sea.