Hey there! I am John. Welcome to another episode of Gear Up with Gregg's.
Oil Well blowouts are one of the most tragic and expensive accidents that can happen in
the petroleum industry. If a blowout occurs, it could ignite into a deadly firestorm.
This is why, in modern drilling operations there are many safe guards in place to prevent such things from happening.
This includes the blowout preventer system.
In this episode of Gear Up with Greggs we will be diving deep into the world of oil drilling
and the importance of blow out preventers.
Gregg Distributors carries many of the hydraulic components that connect to the Blowout Preventer
or BOP to ensure it's operational. Before we get into the components that we carry,
we need to have a basic understanding of drilling for oil and gas,
along with what a blowout is and how a BOP works to prevent a blowout.
Alberta is built on Oil, in fact there are pockets of Oil and Gas thousands of feet underneath
where we walk every day.
Once discovered, the process of drilling to extract it commences.
We see many types of oil rigs every day here in Alberta but I would be willing to bet that
most of us don't even have a clue as to how oil is extracted?!
Well there are many different ways that oil can be extracted from the earth.
One of the most common and straight forward methods is what we will highlight right now,
to give you some basic understanding of the drilling process and the challenges that come along with it.
The rig, as seen here, will start to drill into the earth.
As the drill bit gets deeper and deeper into the earth,
sections of steel pipe, also known as the casing, are placed into the hole.
Cement is placed between the outside of the casing and the drilled hole in the ground
to provide some stability to the hole; this is known as the wellbore.
As the drill bit gets deeper, the rock cuttings need to be removed and a constant pressure
needs to be maintained inside the wellbore.
This is done by pumping "drilling mud" down the drill pipe until it exits at the drill bit
It then overflows & exits at the top of the hole removing the rock cuttings with it.
Drilling mud is usually a mixture of water, clay, and weighting materials as well as some chemicals.
During setup and operation there are many problems that can arise, and one is the potential for a blowout.
As you can imagine, the process of drilling and extracting oil from the earth
is done under an extreme amount of pressure. The drilling process has counteracting measures,
such as the use of the mud we mentioned before, to keep the pressure balanced.
A blowout happens when the pressure becomes unbalanced.
Pressure can become unbalanced in a multitude of different situations.
This causes the oil or gas being extracted to be released uncontrollably and accidentally from the wellbore.
The oil can be so volatile that any open flame or even
a single spark can cause a potentially catastrophic disaster.
One of the first lines of defense when preventing such an accident is the Blowout Preventer System
or the B O P.
BOPs are used to cope with erratic pressures and uncontrolled flow.
In a blowout preventer stack, as seen here, there are usually multiple types of BOPs.
It is not important to go into the specific operation of the BOP's themselves but the
basic application of all of them is relatively the same.
The BOP's sit in a stack on top of the wellbore,
and work in different ways to achieve the same goal;
to seal off the well in the case of an emergency.
Most BOP's are operated by hydraulics and this is the area that Gregg Distributors gets most involved in.
Getting the hydraulic fluid from the reservoir and pumps to the BOPs.
This is done through specialized BOP Hose and then connected to the BOPs using specially rated fire fittings and couplers.
Why are all these components so special?
Well they are special due to the fact they may have to operate under extreme heat or even fire.
Because of these conditions
BOP hoses are designed far past any specification you will find in a standard hydraulic hose.
On the BOP stack itself these types of hoses are required to be installed
closest to the well.
So, what makes the BOP hose unique to other hydraulic hoses?
Let's identify a couple of key factors:
They are typically identified, but are not exclusively designed with a red or pink cover
They are usually stamped with the letters BOP
There is usually a red sleeve around the end of the hose for extra protection from heat and fire
They are built with an outside diameter that will measure larger than a typical hydraulic hose of the same size.
BOP hoses are built to Lloyds BOP flame resistance specifications that exceed the ratings found
on typical hydraulic hoses
Lloyd's register is an organization that provides quality assurance and certification for many
products in the energy sector.
They inspect and approve important components and aim to enhance the safety of life and the environment.
One way that Lloyd's provides quality assurance into the oil and gas industry
is the Lloyds fire certification.
Lloyds fire tests the hose to withstand a minimum of 5 minutes
of 700-degree Celsius flame temperature
at maximum working pressure without failure.
All of these designs are there for a reason. Identification is one of them, but the key
reason is extending the lifespan of the hose during a potential disaster.
If the hose were to fail during a fire, the well would open up under the pressure and the result would be an intense explosion.
The safeguards on the hoses do not make them fire proof but
instead allow the workers time to either get the fire under control
or flee the area with their lives.
To put it bluntly, the BOP system is a potential lifesaving system.
The hose and fitting side of the BOP system is where we come in at Gregg Distributors.
We offer 2 brands of B.O.P hose. First, we will talk about the Continental Prospector hose.
This hose is available in pressures up to 5000 PSI.
It is constructed with a black nitrile tube, 2 wire braid steel reinforcement, and a pink neoprene wrapped finish on the cover.
We offer this hose in inside diameter measurements of 3/8, all the way up to 1 inch.
The fitting styles offered with this hose are rigid male pipe straight fittings,
as well as JIC fittings in straight, 45, and 90-degree orientations.
We also carry NRP Jones Fire-Flex BOP hose.
We offer this line in both 3000 PSI and 5000 PSI options.
In 3000 series it is offered in 3/8th to 1 inch inside diameter
And on the 5000 we offer 3/8 all the way up to 2" inside diameter.
Like the Continental hose the Fire-Flex has a black nitrile tube,
and steel wire reinforcement.
The cover consists of red fiberglass impregnated, flame resistant specialty compound.
The fitting assortment consists of rigid straight male pipe ends,
as well as JIC in straight, 45, and 90 degree, as well as a long drop 90-degree orientation.
Now, if a quick connecting coupler is right for your BOP application we have you covered there too.
At Gregg's we carry the Eaton/Hansen and Perfecting BOP couplers.
The Hansen Fire Rated Blow Out Preventer Couplers are a Series B style found in many hydraulic applications.
The key difference being BOP series have the Lloyd's Certification for fire rating.
This give them a temperature rating of 700 degrees Celsius.
They are also stamped with BOP
and coloured red on both the coupler and the tip for identification.
The couplers are available in 3000 PSI in 1/2" and 3/4" sizing.
There is also a 1" option rated to 4000 PSI.
These make it very easy to connect and disconnect without the risk of cross threading
and to connect to the other hoses in the BOP unit.
The Perfecting series are a wing style coupler rated to 5000 PSI ranging in sizes from 3/4" all the way to 2".
Unlike the Hansen, they are a screw together style coupler with a winged female half.
But like the Hansen style they are Lloyds certified to 700 degrees Celsius.
Wow, that was a ton of info!! If you need to know any more about BOP hose and fittings,
blow past those other guys and come into any of our full-service hose shops,
we'd be happy to help you out.
Our hose shop is fully certified to make BOP hose assemblies and keep your jobsite safe.
From all of us Hoser's, thanks for keeping it Canadian and we will see you
on the next episode of Gear Up with Greggs.