Deepwater Horizon
 Deepwater Horizon, on fire after the explosion
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Deepwater Horizon |
| Owner | Transocean |
| Operator | Transocean |
| Port of registry |  Majuro |
| Route | Gulf of Mexico |
| Ordered | December 1998 |
| Builder | Hyundai Heavy Industries |
| Cost | US$350 million |
| Laid down | March 21, 2000 |
| Completed | 2001 |
| Acquired | February 23, 2001 |
| Maiden voyage | Ulsan, Korea–Freeport, Texas |
| Out of service | 2010 (exploded)[1] |
| Identification | IMO 8764597, Call V7HC9 |
| Fate | Exploded[1] |
| Status | Sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | American Bureau of Shipping |
| Tonnage | 32588 tonnes |
| Displacement | 52587 tonnes |
| Length | 112 m |
| Beam | 78 m |
| Height | 97.4 m |
| Draught | 23.0 m |
| Depth | 41.5 m |
| Installed power | 42 MW |
| Propulsion | Diesel electric |
| Speed | 4 kts |
| Crew | 146 |
| Notes | 8202 tonne Variable Deck Load, DP Class 3, 8 thrusters, 10,000 ft drilling water depth |
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig which sank on April 22, 2010, causing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The spill was the result of an explosion two days earlier where eleven crewmen died. Deepwater Horizon was built in 2001 in South Korea, is owned by Transocean and was leased to BP plc until September 2013. It was registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands. In September 2009, it drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 feet (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 feet (10,685 m). The oil spill may become one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States ever.[2]
History
Designed originally for R&B Falcon, Deepwater Horizon was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Construction started in December 1998 and was delivered in February 2001 after the acquisition of R&B Falcon by Transocean. She was the second semi-submersible rig constructed of a class of two, although the Deepwater Nautilus, her predecessor, is not dynamically positioned. Since arriving in the Gulf of Mexico, Deepwater Horizon was under contract to BP Exploration. Her work included wells in the Atlantis and Thunder Horse fields, a 2006 discovery in the Kaskida field, and the 2009 Tiber oilfield.[3][4] On September 2, 2009, Deepwater Horizon drilled on the Tiber oilfield the deepest oil and gas well ever drilled with a vertical depth of 35,050 feet (10,680 m) and measured depth of 35,055 feet (10,685 m), of which 4,132 feet (1,259 m) was water.[4][5][6]
In 2002, the rig was upgraded with "e-drill," a drill monitoring system whereby technicians based in Houston, Texas, received real-time drilling data from the rig and transmitted maintenance and troubleshooting information to it.[7]
Before the accident, Deepwater Horizon worked on BP's Mississippi Canyon Block 252, referred to as the Macondo Prospect.[3] The rig was last located 50 miles (80 km) off the southeast coast of Louisiana.[8] In October 2009, BP extended the contract for Deepwater Horizon by three years, to begin in September 2010.[9] The lease contract was worth US$544 million, a rate of $496,800 per day.[10]
Description
Deepwater Horizon was a fifth-generation,[11] RBS-8D design,[11] ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned,[11] column-stabilized, semi-submersible[11] drilling rig. This vessel is a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit and can drill subsea wells for oil exploration and production purposes. The rig was 396 feet (121 m) long and 256 feet (78 m) wide[11] and according to Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, was "one of the largest deep-water off-shore drilling rigs."[12]
Explosion and oil spill
The rig was in the final phases of drilling a well in which casing is cemented in place, reinforcing the well.[8] At approximately 10 p.m. CST on April 20, 2010 (0300 UTC, April 21, 2010), an explosion and fire occurred on the rig.[1] Eleven people were missing after the incident. Seven workers were airlifted to the Naval Air Station in New Orleans and were then taken to hospital.[1] Support ships sprayed the rig with water in an unsuccessful bid to douse the flames. Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, 2010, in water approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) deep, and has been located resting on the seafloor approximately 1,300 feet (400 m) (about a quarter of a mile) northwest of the well.[8][13][14] The oil slick spreading from the Deepwater Horizon disaster threatens fisheries, tourism and the habitat of hundreds of bird species.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c McGill, Kevin (April 21, 2010). "Evacuated workers sought after oil rig explosion". The Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ "Choppy Seas Hinder Effort To Contain Oil Spill", National Public Radio, April 30, 2010
- ^ a b "BP & Partners Make Discovery at Kaskida Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico" (Press release). Anadarko Petroleum. August 31, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "Rigzone" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil & Gas Well" (Press release). TransOcean. September 2, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
- ^ "BP drills oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico". Offshore Magazine. PennWell Corporation. September 2, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ Braden Reddall (September 2, 2009). "Transocean says well at BP discovery deepest ever". Reuters. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ "Monitoring system reduces rig downtime". Offshore Magazine. PennWell Corporation. November 1, 2002. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c Robertson, Cambell; Robbins, Liz (April 22, 2010). "Oil Rig Sinks in the Gulf of Mexico". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ "Deepwater Horizon contract extended". Offshore Magazine. PennWell Corporation. November 1, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ "The Well". Houston Chronicle. October 17, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Fleet Specifications, Deepwater Horizon", Transocean, retrieved May 12, 2010
- ^ Robertson, Cambell; Robbins, Liz (April 21, 2010). "Workers Missing After Oil Rig Blast". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ Resnick-Ault, Jessica; Klimasinska, Katarzyna (April 22, 2010). "Transocean Oil-Drilling Rig Sinks in Gulf of Mexico". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ "Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration. April 24, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ "Bird Habitats Threatened by Oil Spill". National Wildlife. National Wildlife Federation. April 30, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.