BP乫s Prudhoe Bay,Alaska Wells Investigated

摘要

The Alaska(USA)Oil and Gas Conservation Commission(AOGCC)will investigate all of the oil and natural gas wells operated by BP Exploration Alaska,Inc.(BP)at the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska乫s North Slope following a small spill from a shut-in oil well.BP is cooperating with AOGCCs review of the mechanical integrity of the wells.The recent spill comes from one of 14 wells BP shut in following an April 2017 oil spill(see OSIR,8 June 2017).The April 2017 spill sprayed crude oil over 1 acre(0.4 hectare)and allowed natural gas to vent for days.That well failure was caused by permafrost thaw:when normally frozen soil thawed it triggered movement that pushed the well up about 4 feet(1.2 meters),breaking a pressure gauge and resulting in the spill.At that time,the AOGCC issued a review of all North Slope wells.BP identified 14 wells with similarly vulnerable designs and shut them in.