Abstract
Technologies addressing subsea source control incidents have advanced over the years, but certain assumptions regarding the capabilities necessary to land a capping stack on a blowing well have not changed. Further research into the forces that must be overcome and the methodology to address those forces during deployment of a capping stack have revealed some startling aspects previously unrecognized.
During a subsea blowout when buoyant, multiphase fluid is released into the environment, accurate prediction of flow dynamics is necessary to evaluate capping stack intervention. To understand the capability necessary to land a capping stack onto a blowing well, the incorporation of flow rate, gas/oil ratio, exit geometry, and metocean conditions are required to create a high-fidelity analysis.
Landing dynamics assessments must incorporate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for multiphase simulations of release and jet interaction. Years of refining the predictive methodology and simulation have been evaluated against full-scale field experiences. Conventional methodology to deploy and land a capping stack, using vertical or offset deployment, assumes a number of factors except the effects of the flowfield velocities, turbulence, and mixing produced by a blowing well.
The adoption of ongoing research principles into plume-force dynamics, using methodology developed by NASA, has produced a cutting edge approach to analyzing the hydrodynamic flowfield produced by a subsea blowout, adding vital information to the process and successful execution of a subsea capping operation.
This paper offers insight into the high-resolution, high-fidelity plume-force modeling that provides vital information necessary to successfully land a capping stack in shallow or deep water environments.
