An Overview of Deepwater Well Integrity Developments After the Blowout of Macondo

摘要

Well integrity undeniably is considered one of the most important topics of the petroleum industry. Failure in not keeping a well integrity system functioning adequately may result in disastrous accidents called blowouts with all tragic consequences that they may bring: loss of human lives, loss of drilling equipment or production facilities, loss of hydrocarbon reserves and pollution. Also, well integrity issues may lead to substantial financial losses during the entire well life cycle as a result of non-productive operational time and/or remedial solutions. The situation is aggravated when considering deepwater scenarios. Unfortunately, in 2010 the oil industry faced its worth accident caused by the loss of well integrity: the blowout of Macondo in the Gulf of Mexico with devastating consequences to the oil industry. The accident has been demanding from all players (operators, drilling contractors, service companies, regulators, industry organizations, academia and training providers) a huge amount of effort to minimize the risk of having this kind of accident repeated. Originally, those efforts were aimed at deepwater drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico but with time they were disseminated throughout the oil industry activities all over the world. Significant progress has been done to enhance the safety during all phases of the well life cycle since the Macondo blowout. This paper intends to present and discuss with actual examples the latest technical and managerial developments with emphasis in deepwater situations since the tragic blowout of Macondo happened. Particular attention is given to the following aspects: operational guidelines, regulations, well control equipment, training and competency assurance, well integrity management systems, novel technologies and research.