Hello!
Today's our story is about offshore drilling platforms.
If you look at these two different ways of extracting oil, it will be pretty easy to
see where it will be more expensive to extract it.
Offshore oil rigs are inherently a more costly and risky method of extracting oil, but the
oceans no doubt store a huge portion of the world's oil reserves, so if cheap oil fields
start to disappear on land, companies go offshore to extract oil.
But before they get to work, these companies must decide where the mining will take place.
In these areas, the most important thing is the need to determine which specific location
has the greatest potential.
Therefore, at first, geologists conduct surveys using ships and satellite images.
As soon as the mining site is determined, the drilling rig will be towed here and installed.
An offshore oil platform is a large structure that is used to extract oil or natural gas
under the seabed.
Offshore oil platforms are one of the largest structures on the planet.
Some deep sea drilling rigs weigh up to 200,000 tons and can reach depths of up to 3,000 meters,
three times the height of the Burj Khalifa.
At depths up to 500 meters, stationary platforms are used.
Such a platform is held in place by large steel or concrete anchors that are attached
to the ocean floor.
At depths of 500 to 1500 meters, a higher base is built, called a tower.
In deep waters up to 3500 meters, floating oil rigs are used.
This type of floating drilling rig includes a semi-submersible oil drilling platform.
Afloat it is supported by large pontoons.
These pontoons provide buoyancy to the platform and allow it to be towed from one place to
another.
Some oil rigs are also fitted with propellers underneath the pontoons.
Anchors are used to secure the drilling rig to a specified location.
When the platform is set in place, the pontoons are slowly flooded to keep them below sea
level.
Working decks float above the water, while a significant part of their mass is below
the surface of the water.
Without submerging the pontoons, the platform will be unstable during rough seas.
Now let's see what is placed on the drilling platform.
First of all, this is a drilling rig.
It is used to lower and raise the drill string.
There are also cranes for loading supplies and equipment from the ship.
There are living quarters where the crew members of the drilling rig live.
Here they sleep and eat.
Helipad for receiving helicopters and life raft for evacuation.
There are tanks for storing liquids, primarily water and fuel.
Flare stacks are used to burn flammable gas, as the extracted oil may contain gas.
It separates and burns.
Oil lies under a large number of rock layers under the seabed.
To deliver a drill bit to the seabed, it is placed inside a large pipe called a casing
string.
This upper part of the casing is the wellhead.
When touching the bottom of the sea, the drill starts to drill down.
Pressurized water is pumped in and pushes all the dirt and stones through the casing.
When the casing is deep enough, it stays at that level and the drill bit continues to
drop further.
The bit is then pulled out of the well and a smaller casing is installed.
To strengthen the well, cement and drilling fluid are pumped.
A special cork is used to separate them.
It is pressed down and provides cement coating of the casing from the outside.
Thus the pipe is fixed and this process is repeated each time during the deepening.
When the drill approaches the oil layer, the role of a device called a blowout preventer
becomes very important.
It is installed at the top of the wellhead.
Its task is to prevent any accident caused by the release of oil under high pressure
from the ground.
Oil can come out with extreme pressure and this is called a blowout.
It can lead to a potentially catastrophic event.
Sealing the well with a preventer prevents open oil flow and, as a result, prevents the
occurrence of a fire or environmental pollution.
The produced oil is delivered to the shore through an underwater pipeline laid on the
seabed.
There is a whole network of such pipelines in the world.
Especially a lot of them are located in the Gulf of Mexico.
So how do these giant platforms get into the middle of the ocean?
It all starts with the construction of a drilling base on the shore.
Then infrastructure and living quarters are mounted on the base of the drilling rig.
Finally, the drilling rig is towed to the oil production site.
The type of rig used is critical, and it depends on whether it's just drilling or oil extraction,
and how deep the sea is at the location.
The weather conditions in the area are also of greater importance.
It can take weeks or even months to get offshore drilling rigs to the drilling site.
This is because its location may be on the other side of the globe from the construction
site.
So the giant semi-submersible drilling rig Appomattox, Shell's largest platform in the
Gulf of Mexico, made an epic journey of 23,335 kilometers.
It was delivered from its construction site in South Korea to the Gulf of Mexico, while
crossing 3 oceans.
It was not an easy journey.
One of the largest transport ships on the planet, Xin Guan Hua, carrying a platform,
had to escape from a super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean, as well as survive stormy winter
storms around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa.
However, the disastrous Hurricane Harvey nearly destroyed the Appomattox drilling rig in the
Gulf of Mexico.
But through careful planning, she was saved.
Such offshore oil platforms, once installed in one place, often remain without movement
for many years.
They are designed specifically for long-term work in one place.
Oil platforms work in a completely different way than ships.
Usually the shift on board the platform works 12 hours a day, and so every day for two or
three weeks.
These workers then go ashore for two or three weeks to rest.
This density of working hours means that fewer people are required on board to work at the
same time.
But this at the same time means that it is necessary to maintain constant communication
between the shore and the drilling rig.
Helicopters are used for this.
In recent decades, many large companies engaged in the maintenance of offshore oil rigs have
emerged.
The North Sea oil field, where most of the platforms are owned or operated by the UK,
is mainly linked to Aberdeen, Scotland, where the main regional airport is located.
Today, Aberdeen Airport turns out to be the busiest heliport in the world.
Every day, about 100 large helicopters take off from here, mostly flying to the North
Sea.
In the North Sea, oil from drilling rigs is brought ashore via an underwater pipeline,
so there is no problem with the oil.
But it is necessary to replenish stocks of food and everything necessary for people frequently,
as well as to provide spare parts and equipment for drilling rigs.
There are essentially three types of jobs on board the platform: production jobs are
those who are directly involved in oil production and refining.
Maintenance is those who keep facilities and equipment in working order.
And, finally, service maintenance - these are those who cook food or clean the premises,
provide services to the rest of the team members.
Oil rig companies always strive to keep the number of people working on board as small
as possible.
First of all, it is expensive to transport and provide these workers, and their salaries
are much higher than those received by oil workers working on land.
The average salary of workers on drilling platforms in the UK is about 60-70 thousand
dollars a year, which is almost twice the average salary in the country.
And such high salaries are justified.
Platform work requires high precision, so drillers are usually highly trained petroleum
or mechanical engineers.
They are required to complete basic maritime safety and emergency training.
It is not for nothing that companies are investing heavily to keep people safe on these platforms.
Each platform is equipped with a fire room, and all workers are properly trained in the
use of rescue fire equipment and first aid skills.
Whenever there is a fire danger, a special alarm is triggered.
Workers head to the gathering place wearing warm, bright orange clothing.
In the event that there is a need to leave the drilling rig urgently, all platforms are
mandatory equipped with closed lifeboats that can be easily thrown into the ocean.
To do this, workers are taught how to escape from the oil platform, as well as how to evacuate
using a helicopter.
They are learning how to survive on the high seas.
In addition, all rig owners must also strictly adhere to a number of technical and operational
requirements for planning and conducting evacuations.
From the inside, these platforms are very similar to ships.
Drilling rigs operate around the clock.
This means that two teams of workers work on it every day in 12-hour shifts.
To keep workers as comfortable as possible after hours, most rigs have game rooms, movie
theaters and gyms.
There is also a laundry service and a cafe with snacks and drinks.
There is at least one common dining room.
There is never a dull moment on an offshore rig because its occupants are either on shift
or using whatever recreational facilities are available.
Each cabin typically has two to four bunk beds and a shared cabin bathroom.
All of these help relieve stress.
After all, isolation at sea for several weeks can affect mental health.
And there should be no mistakes in the workplace.
Mistakes can be fatal to all workers on board.
So, one of the drilling platforms was equipped for oil production, but later the company
decided to adapt it also for natural gas production.
On July 6, 1988, an accident occurred.
A series of explosions simply tore the platform apart.
The reason is that it was not designed and equipped to deal with gas accidents.
The drilling rig crashed into the North Sea, killing 167 people.
It often happens that getting to the drilling rig is not at all easy.
This is because oil platforms are often located in isolated areas where severe storms are
not uncommon.
In the ocean, nature can be very cruel.
Offshore drilling rigs face hurricanes and icy winds.
Be aware that deep sea oil rigs are extremely dangerous places to work.
They are taller than some of the tallest skyscrapers built on land and designed to withstand the
worst hurricanes at sea.
Floating semi-submersible drilling rigs that drill at a depth of 500 to 3500 meters are
subject to the invasion of huge waves.
They also encounter seaweed, and in bad weather they run the risk of colliding with passing
ships.
Therefore, rig owners do not want to risk heavy vessels that could hit the sides of
the platform in heavy seas.
For this reason, small work boats are used to transport labor from shore to the oil platform.
Although their use is also not easy.
One way to transfer workers from the platform to the boat and back is to use a special lifting
basket.
Helicopters are quite expensive to use, they are most often used when the weather is bad
at sea, and it is necessary to carry out a change of work teams.
Therefore, most modern oil platforms are equipped with landing pads for helicopters.
Guaranteeing a safe delivery to the platform is very important for the workers, because
here they have to perform various complex tasks.
The platform employs workers of various specialties.
In addition to industrial professions, an important role, for example, belongs to the
medical personnel who serve the equipped infirmary.
On an oil rig, medics typically work 12-hour shifts while remaining on 24-hour communications.
Every two weeks they return to the ground after the end of
the shift.
Managers, engineers and cooks also work at the rig.
But the bulk are laborers responsible for various areas of work.
These workers keep the rig running smoothly day in and day out.
Workers control the viscosity and density of the drilling fluid while adding chemicals
and petroleum-based fluids.
One of the most important professions is the dispatcher of the drilling rig operation service.
He is responsible for all offshore activities on the drilling platform, including drilling
maintenance planning and personnel training.
Employees are trained on
how to deal with emergencies and stay healthy.
Offshore drilling rigs can operate for up to 40 years.
At the end of their use, they must be safely disposed of.
All wells must be sealed and workers returned to shore.
The top platform must be removed.
Dismantling is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking.
Often, when the topside of the structure is removed, the bottomside is preserved and becomes
the framework for
the reefs.
For dismantling, workers cut the foundation that connects the upper platform to the base.
Then a special larger ship must raise the platform intact.
He will transport her to the shore, where she will be dismantled.
This transportation must be carefully planned, because any miscalculation can lead
to disaster.
That's all.
If you liked this video please like and subscribe to the channel.
See you again.