UNDERWATER BLOWOUT OIL COLLECTION

1977 ◽  
Vol 1977 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rich H. Westergaard
Keyword(s):  
Feasibility Study ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Offshore Drilling ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Surface Vessel

ABSTRACT Oil production in the North Sea and some other potentially important areas is much more difficult than offshore drilling was in the past. It is assumed that the difficulties are properly compensated so that blowout probability is not increased. The very much higher productivity of the wells, the expected longer duration of a blowout and the greater difficulties of surface containment obviously increase the probable oil spill volume. Exactly how much it is increased statistically is not known. A factor of 100 is suggested. For this reason, such areas need a much better oil spill defense than used in the past in other areas. The author is engaged in a feasibility study on underwater collection for control of underwater blowouts. The proposed equipment consists of a heavy submersible rig which can place a collection bell over the blowout orifice: the petroleum is then ducted from the bell to a surface vessel where the gas is burned and the oil collected or burned.

The Thirty-Ninth Thomas Lowe Gray Lecture: Offshore Drilling, with Particular Reference to the North Sea and the ‘Sea Quest’

1966 ◽  
Vol 181 (1) ◽  
pp. 848-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. S. Avery
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Essential Factor ◽  
Safety Equipment ◽  
Offshore Drilling ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The North ◽  
Drilling Equipment ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
Weight Problems ◽  
The North Sea

The origins of offshore drilling work and the development of structures used at sea are traced. Comparison of the various types illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of each. Tables show the numbers in operation, being built, and the apparent liability of each type to damage. Typical bore-hole structures are illustrated, the need for undersea well-heads explained and their development into a sea-bed completion is discussed. Much more research is necessary before this can be considered a practical proposition. The design of drilling barge equipment is compared with typical land rigs and the development of drilling equipment, including the sophisticated electric drive and turbo-drill, discussed. Rigs in various types of barge are compared. Fire precautions and other safety equipment are described. The problems associated with control by the driller lead to complications of motive power layout. The lecture describes in some detail the design of the semi-submersible drilling barge Sea Quest, illustrates the weight problems and their effect on floating stability and indicates the need for management decisions on the degree of resistance to damage. This is measured by the variable deck load of drilling equipment that can be held on board and the degree of weather deterioration that can be tolerated before disengaging the drill from the hole. The need for, and extent of, diving is discussed, with some comparison between diving vehicles. Weather too is an essential factor of work in the North Sea and both pre-surveys and day-to-day reporting are described.

DP Safety for Offshore Drilling and Well Intervention Vessels

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Chen ◽  
T. Moan
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Barrier Function ◽  
Dynamic Positioning ◽  
Barrier Method ◽  
Offshore Drilling ◽  
The North ◽  
Well Integrity ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Norwegian Continental Shelf ◽  
Barrier Model

Barrier method is used to model the safety of dynamic positioning (DP) operation for mobile drilling and well intervention vessels. Two barrier functions are identified which are aimed to prevent loss of position and to prevent loss of well integrity given a loss of position, respectively. The first barrier function is analyzed in this paper. Deficiencies are identified based on the DP incidents on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, and recommendations are proposed to strengthen each barrier element which can improve the safety of DP operations for drilling and well intervention vessels working in the North Sea. The barrier model and recommendations are also valid to DP operations on drilling and well intervention vessels worldwide.

Seabirds associated with oil production platforms in the North Sea

1986 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Tasker ◽  
Peter Hope Jones ◽  
Barry F. Blake ◽  
Tim J. Dixon ◽  
Andrew W. Wallis
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

scholarly journals Coastal archaeologies: settlement on the changing North Sea littoral

Antiquity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (358) ◽  
pp. 1095-1097
Author(s):  
Hans Peeters
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
North Sea ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Prehistoric Archaeology ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Many ◽  
Rising Sea Level

Over the past decade or so, the submerged prehistoric archaeology and landscapes in the area that is known to us today as the North Sea have received increasing attention from both archaeologists and earth scientists. For too long, this body of water was perceived as a socio-cultural obstacle between the prehistoric Continent and the British Isles, the rising sea level a threat to coastal settlers, and the North Sea floor itself an inaccessible submerged landscape. Notwithstanding the many pertinent and pervasive problems that the archaeology of the North Sea still needs to overcome, recent research has made clear that these rather uninspiring beliefs are misplaced.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Atlantic herring ( Clupea harengus ) recruitment in the North Sea for the past 455 years based on the δ 13 C from annual shell increments of the ocean quahog ( Arctica islandica )

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Estrella‐Martínez ◽  
Bernd R. Schöne ◽  
Ruth H. Thurstan ◽  
Elisa Capuzzo ◽  
James D. Scourse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Atlantic Herring ◽  
Arctica Islandica ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

scholarly journals A new balaenopterid species from the Southern North Sea Basin informs about phylogeny and taxonomy of Burtinopsis and Protororqualus (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Balaenopteridae)

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelangelo Bisconti ◽  
Mark E.J. Bosselaers
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Species ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Sea ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Morphological Transformations ◽  
The 19Th Century

Background An extensive radiation can be inferred among balaenopterid mysticetes in the last 10 million years based on a rich fossil record. Many extinct genera and species have been established in the past by the study of fossil rorquals from northern and southern hemispheres. In many cases, the new fossils are used to create new genera. However, in very recent times, new species of known genera have been described that help our understanding of the speciation processes and the biogeography of these whales. Here, a new species of balaenopterid whales is described in order to better understand the past diversity of Balaenopteridae and to analyze its paleobiogeographical implications. As the new species closely resembles a taxon established in the 19th century (i.e., Burtinopsis), a detailed analysis of this taxon was necessary to support the new taxonomic statements of this article. Methods A new partial skeleton including skull and earbones is described and compared to an extended sample of living and fossil mysticete species. A phylogenetic analysis including 355 character states scored in 88 taxa was performed to understand its relationships within the genus Protororqualus, to allow paleobiogeographic inferences and to better understand the relationships of Protororqualus within Balaenopteridae. Maximum parsimony analyses of character evolution were performed to understand morphological transformations within Balaenopteridae. The revision of Burtinopsis was carried out based on detailed descriptions and comparisons of the type materials that were figured and measured. Results Protororqualus wilfriedneesi sp. nov. was established based on a comparative analysis of the skull and earbone morphology. The specimen is dated back to the Zanclean (Lower Pliocene, between c. 5.3 and 3.6 Ma). A taphonomical study of the holotype skeleton revealed evidence of interactions with sharks and fishes before the definitive burial of the carcass. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, the monophyly of the genus Protororqualus was confirmed. Protororqualus wilfriedneesi sp. nov. was more derived than Protororqualus cuvieri suggesting that it resulted from an invasion of the North Sea Basin (and the North Atlantic ocean) from the Mediterranean basin. Several specimens from western and eastern sides of the Atlantic Ocean are described that suggest that Protororqualus wilfriedneesi had a trans-Atlantic distribution in the Pliocene.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF THE NORTH SEA OIL RESOURCES IN NORWAY’S ECONOMY

2015 ◽  
pp. 263-270
Author(s):  
D. A. Talagaeva ◽  
A. A. Trashchenko
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
Oil Resources ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Oil Revenues ◽  
State Revenues

Today Norway is a highly developed country with a predominantly service sector in the economic structure. However, oil continues to play a major role in the life of the state and society as one third of state revenues is based on oil resources, while export of raw materials totals more than a half of the country's overall export. However, it is not quite possible to cover the entire oil sector in Norway within the scope of one piece of work due to the differences in the characteristics of each of the three sources of the country's oil. In this context, the resources of the Norwegian and Barents Seas are associated with the problems of the Arctic and the Arctic law. At the same time, the North Sea is the most regulated area, besides it is the so called "homeland" of the oil production in Norway. Thus, this paper analyzes the role of the North Sea oil in the economy of Norway, which is the basis of its economic prosperity. Due to its oil revenues, Norway was once able to build a welfare state. Also the unique system of accumulation of oil revenues, which is reflected in the functioning of the Government Pension Fund of Norway, is a relevant issue as well. The article deals with the emergence of the oil industry in the country from a historical perspective, and analyzes its current state, including a detailed analysis of the existing fields and pipelines. Furthermore, the authors propose the estimation of state revenues from the oil production in the North Sea.

scholarly journals New records from the southern North Sea and first records from the Baltic Sea of Kornmannia leptoderma

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Florian Weinberger ◽  
Sophie Steinhagen ◽  
Dmitry F. Afanasyev ◽  
Rolf Karez
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
North Sea ◽  
New Records ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Green Algal ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract Combined genetic, morphological and ontogenetic observations show that the circumarctic boreal green algal macrophyte Kornmannia leptoderma has expanded its distribution range into the Baltic Sea, on a German coastal section of 220 km length. The species is also again (or still) established at its former extreme southern distribution limit in the North Sea, the German island of Helgoland, where it has not been detected during the last four decades. Macroscopic visible sporophytes of K. leptoderma are nowadays present in the Baltic Sea and at Helgoland from February to September, while they were in the past only detected from February to May at Helgoland. This capacity for formation of sporophytes in summer correlates with the circumstance that K. leptoderma from the Baltic Sea can complete its life cycle at 15°C while several studies conducted decades ago with material from Helgoland and from Pacific coasts consistently reported an inhibition of the algal gametogenesis at temperatures that exceed 12°C. Possibly K. leptoderma has undergone adaptations that facilitate its spread into warmer environments, unless the Kornmannia present in the Baltic Sea and on Helgoland today represents a newly introduced cryptic species.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document