Managing the Dangers of High Pressure High Temperature Wells
In our search for fossil fuels we have needed to go deeper and deeper into the earth’s surface. While this has made it possible to increase our fuel reserves it has also brought us into danger. One of the most challenging factors of this type of work has been dealing with high pressure high temperature wells. In the past our failure to manage this type of well properly has led to disastrous consequences.
The Piper Alpha Disaster
The Piper Alpha disaster occurred in the North Sea in 1988. It was the worst disaster of its kind and the cause of event was high pressure high temperature wells. The loss of life from this event was 167 people and the financial impact is believed to have been £1.7 billion. The build of pressure in the pipe led to a huge explosion and this along with human error led to a disaster that shocked the world. There was a huge outcry after this event, and a lot of pressure was put on those involved in drilling to improve their safety standards; particularly where it comes to these wells that are notoriously unsafe.
There has been a lot of time and effort put into reducing the risks of drilling and things are probably a lot safer than they were in the past. This focus on improving the technology for drilling and researching the problem is paying off, but it will probably be many years before we can feel safe from any disasters associated with drilling high pressure high temperature wells.
Drilling has always been a risky business and we have needed to adapt our drilling methods to suit different well types. It can be a costly learning experience and a lot of the advancements in technology have come in the wake of disasters. Hopefully in the future we can improve our understanding without the need for any more lost lives. The good news is that those companies responsible for drilling do seem to be taking the issue very seriously.
Some Final Thoughts on High Pressure High Temperature Wells
At the moment we are very dependent on fossil fuels, and we need to work harder to find and excavate these resources. It does seem that the deeper into the earth’s crust we go the more risks are involved. The good news is that we do seem to be doing well at producing technology that can help us manage these risks safely. Perhaps in the future with the rise of alternative fuel sources we won’t need to keep on pushing down further and further; or perhaps we will just find newer technology that will almost completely eliminate the risks – if this is possible.