Potential North Sea Oil Disaster

Here is some information from back in the day.
More videos can be found by searching Ninian Central Platform on youtube.

reply to post by Kester

I spent some time on the Ninian Central in 1990 and even back then there were concerns about potential cracking in the central concrete support pillar,I also belive that it is well past it's decommisioning date,so it really would not surprise me if Chevron let it go down "naturally!" rather than pay the massive costs associated with decomissioning.Mind you if Cameron BOP stacks are fitted it could be virtually guaranteed!

Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13

Originally posted by Kester
reply to post by Ophiuchus 13

 

Thank you so much. You responded as I was typing my plea for support!

Anytime my friend and 1 appreciates your care for EA*RTH and its inhabitants.

Greetings:

Aha!

There you are, good friend. Almost lost you through your avatar evolution... we like this one.

We had followed Kester from another thread to here and immediately became hooked, not only on the well-presented subject matter, but the obvious tenacity exhibited by esteemed member Kester in his perseverance and obvious love for Mother Earth with little, if any, support.

We know the feeling - just look at any of our signature threads relating to sounding the "radiation" alarm.


Star & Flag, OP.

Continue to give 'em hell!

There are probably many more people who read this that are on your side and perhaps appear unsupportive by letting you carry the ball alone but probably are not privy to critical information to make a credible addition to the thread, as in our case. If we can be of any service, as in research to help your cause, please feel free to ask.

Thank both of you for your time, consideration and participation.

This is what makes ATS the best learning experience on the InterWeb.

Ophiuchus 13, this may be of interest to you, as we too, are interested in saving our planet and are receptive to all input.

EARTH AID


Peace Love Light
tfw
[align=center][color=magenta]Liberty & Equality or Revolution[/align]

We have a development.

From marinelink.com we hear....

"The UK oil and gas industry will be looking for a firm step towards resolving the fiscal uncertainty surrounding North Sea decommissioning when Chancellor George Osborne delivers his 2012 Budget on March 21....
...Over the next decade, the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) can expect to see a number of fields and installations cease production and commence decommissioning, potentially leading to the loss of critical infrastructure.
Long term, over the next 30 years, almost 500 platforms, 8,000 wells, 4 million tons of steel and several hundred subsea wells, manifolds and pipelines will need to be decommissioned in the North Sea area*.
With UK costs projected to be between $40bn and $50bn........"

From oilvoice.com we hear....

"Larger oil companies such as BP Plc over the years have been scaling back their operations as profit margins narrow. These companies then sell their fields to smaller firms to whom they are more valuable and who could then tap the remaining reserves.

However, this transition has been held back because oil and gas companies are liable for the cost of decommissioning, plugging old wells and removing production platforms and pipelines once the oil and gas reserves have been pumped out."

Read more: www.oilvoice.com...

From brookson.co.uk we hear with refreshing directness....

"Treasury sources also claimed that the Budget will see the government deliver certainty over who will foot the £30 billion bill for dismantling old platforms in the North Sea........"

From paystream.co.uk.....

"Limited company contractors with specialist skills in the oil and gas sector could be among those set to benefit this week as chancellor George Osborne announces his Budget.

According to reports, he is set to encourage growth in the North Sea market by ensuring current tax relief of between 50 and 75 per cent on rig decommissioning costs is set in stone for years to come.

Ministers believe that it will help create investment to the sum of £20 billion in the future and is likely to boost work opportunities in the sector.

Mike Tholen, of industry body Oil & Gas UK, said: "The additional recovery of the UK’s oil and gas would drive growth by securing highly skilled jobs, supporting energy security and driving additional capital investment, in our view, to the tune of tens of billions of pounds."

It comes after Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond reiterated the potential of the North Sea's oil resources, saying there could be as many as £1 trillion worth of supplies located there."


Regarding the continued use of the disaster waiting to happen known as the Ninian Central Platform, oilonline.com tells us....

"Iona Energy is moving ahead with its plan to re-develop the Staffa field (28/16) after renaming it KELLS. Those with long memories will recall the original Lasmo development which saw the pipeline waxed up twice before finally being abandoned.

It turns out that the crude has issues not just with wax, but with hydrates and asphaltenes as well. Strangely enough, the original pipeline apparently had no insulation at all, according to someone familiar with the new phase of the project.

The redevelopment will have two producers, phased 18 months apart, with a 13km 6in-in-10in PIP system linking the field to CNR's Ninian Central platform to prevent any reoccurence of the blockage issues.

Field economics are based on recovering 1.2mtoe which translates into about 7,600b/d and a small amount of gas which will likely be used for fuel on the platform.

This proposed scheme was the only economic scenario with all others either too expensive for the small reserves with alternative hosts either further away or in need of substantial additional modifications."



The Ninian Central was built quickly using the methods and materials available at the time. Those methods and materials have evolved, lessons were learnt as a result of the less than optimal end result. There is a great deal of pride associated with the construction of the Ninian Central. That pride cannot be allowed to blind us to the reality. The reality is no one knows how to decommission it. There's a lot of money involved and the intention is to turn a blind eye to the dangers and run it till it breaks.



These websites give an idea of the current state of the decommissioning industry.

www.decomplatform.com...

www.shetlanddecommissioning.com...

This song was written to celebrate those who built the Ninian Central.



KISHORN COMMANDOS
(Gordon Menzies)

Chorus:
We're the Kishorn Commandos way up in Wester Ross
We never had a gaffer; we've never had a boss
But, we'll build the biggest oil rig you've ever come across
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos

Oh, every single morning we get wakened by a shout
Get up you idle buggers won't you get your fingers out
And what do get for breakfast, seven pints of stout
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos

Digging down a dusty hole till we can hardly speak
Summer sunshine, rain or snow we seldom stop to sleep
We work for 40 hours a day, at fourteen days a week
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos

We're the toughest gang of workers that you have ever met
We'll work and fight with anyone and you can lay a bet
There may be some men tougher, but we haven't found them yet
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos

We never joined the navy; we'd never joined the RAF
We never joined the army, we're not so bloody daffed
We'd rather come to Kishorn and get paid for skiven aff
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos

You're welcome here in Kishorn if you know how to work
We've Geordies here from Africa and Paddies from New York
We've Scowsers, Jocks and Taffies all from the County Cork
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos

And when the job is over we'll up and pack our bags
We'll spend our money on the booze the women and the nags
But until then we'll have to do with Navvys dressed in drag
Remember we're the Kishorn Commandos



Live version here.....




What song are we going to write about those who take it apart?

www.abovetopsecret.com...


"You wouldn't want to be going anywhere near a huge gas leak like that, basically this sort of situation is unheard of in the North Sea," an industry source who asked not to be named told Channel 4 News.

The interactive investor tells us this.......

"The platform accounts for some 5.5% of Britain's total oil production and about 3% of its natural gas output."

From BloombergBusinessweek.......

"The Elgin deposit, started in 2001, has a temperature of about 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit), compared with about 90 degrees at other North Sea deposits. Pressure is almost four times that at similar fields, according to Total."

The Ocean Odyssey blew out in 1988.

This excellent source, home.versatel.nl..., tells us...

"For a number of years after the Odyssey accident, the UK Dept. of Energy effectively banned drilling in areas with anticipated reservoir pressures in excess of 10,000 psi."

10,000 psi = approximately 689 bar


This excellent source, www.offshore-technology.com..., tells us

"Elgin-Franklin is the world's largest High-Pressure / High-Temperature (HP / HT) development. Due to the extreme reservoir conditions – an initial pressure of approximately 1,100bar and temperatures of 190°C and complex geological structures – the fields pose a considerable development challenge."

And also this.....

"In 2003 a new, record-breaking well was developed from the Elgin-Franklin platform to the West Franklin reservoir, which is the hottest, highest-pressure reservoir in the world. The well was drilled to a depth of 6,100m and stepped out 1.5km to tap an accumulation with a temperature of 197°C and a pressure of 1,155bar."

They're using every trick to strip out the oil and gas, meanwhile equipment failure is simply seen as an unfortunate event.

This is our mission.

To aid the prompt and safe decommissioning of worn infrastructure.

This looks like a much needed improvement.

www.bisntechnologies.com...

Interesting comment on money.msn.com.

"There is a worrying backlog of maintenance on safety-critical equipment, including release valves, pipelines and sub-sea fail-safe devices," said the auditor, an oil industry professional with more than a decade's experience of safety systems and procedures. "My experience in this region is that if you scratch beneath the surface, things get quite scary quite quickly," he said. He said some North Sea rigs designed in the 1960s and 1970s were "falling to pieces" after exceeding their production lifespans, while more modern platforms were lagging well behind scheduled maintenance programs."

".....some North Sea rigs designed in the 1960s and 1970s were "falling to pieces"......

Oil and Gas harvesting is a very profitable business. Once the tap is installed you just turn it on.

When the Elgin Platform was ready gas was exported at the rate the equipment was designed for. Then they increased the export rate. Vibration resulted in pipework failure. A solution was identified and discarded as being too expensive and time consuming. They wanted the chocolate cookies NOW!

A less effective solution was implemented which allowed export at the rate that had previously resulted in fractured pipework. This is above the design rate. Failure was ensured by this action.

The industry spends heavily on brainwashing/PR techniques as illustrated by the touching faith the Elgin Platform's manager has in his employers comforting assurances. Running the system above the design rate risked the lives of the workers for extra profit. Did the workers get a share of this extra profit?

From Katie Mazerov, contributing editor for drillingcontractor.org we hear this.....

"While the current HPHT well environment limit for Baker Hughes approaches 25,000 psi and 500°F, the company is being requested to push the development of tools and materials to even higher levels, to 30,000 psi. “Operators are looking to the future, so they are asking their suppliers to start exploring new technologies that aren’t needed now but may be in two, three or five years,” Mr Weinig said. “And they are asking for equipment that will be reliable for a 20-year well life.”

The industry is driven by profit over safety. Some of these new high pressure/high temperature wells will blowout. When they do no one within a hundred miles is going to be able to deal with it. Experts will be flown in and heavy equipment brought to the site. Then they'll find it's beyond their capabilities to contain it. Pandora's Box will be opened. Thank you oil and gas industry, we'll hunt you down and hold you responsible.

The whole industry depends on denial and wishful thinking. Decommissioning is largely ignored, higher targets are aimed for, our environment pays the price. We will have to hold individuals accountable for their actions. It's the only way to snap these fantasists out of their trance.

WAKE UP! Oil and Gas Industry..... You're sleepwalking into disaster. You will be held accountable.

reply to post by Kester


Oil will have a massive3 effect on the environment if we keep polluting everything soon the entire ocean will consist of mutated radioactive animals. The water will be toxic and Earth will be ruined. Irresponsible corporations allow this to keep happening why do they not care ?

reply to post by theSupernova


This looks like a step in the right direction.

Originally posted by nake13
reply to post by Kester

 

I spent some time on the Ninian Central in 1990 and even back then there were concerns about potential cracking in the central concrete support pillar,I also belive that it is well past it's decommisioning date,so it really would not surprise me if Chevron let it go down "naturally!" rather than pay the massive costs associated with decomissioning.Mind you if Cameron BOP stacks are fitted it could be virtually guaranteed!

First they want to suck every last drop of oil out of the reservoirs with no concern for the safety of the workers.

This from offshore-mag.com.....

"CALGARY, Canada – MPX Energy plans to side track appraisal well 3/3b-13 on the Orlando oil discovery in the UK northern North Sea.
Orlando is in the North Viking Graben area, close to the CNR-operated Ninian complex.
Last November, the semisubmersible Wilhunter started drilling well 3/3b-13, but operations were heavily impacted by mechanical and weather issues.
However, on March 30 the well reached its total depth target, encountering the top of the reservoir at around 13,286 ft (4,049 m) MD. Logs confirmed that this section of the Upper Tarbert reservoir is fully oil bearing, and more of the underlying Upper Ness reservoir sands appear to be oil bearing than in the original 3/3-11 discovery well, according to partner Iona Energy.
Drilling also confirmed that the estimated oil column was roughly 270 ft (82 m) above the 11,670 ft (3,557 m) TVDSS oil-water contact inferred by the discovery well.
The side tracking operation is designed to acquire additional reservoir data and fluid samples. MPX and Sorgenia are jointly funding this operation, with no additional cost to Iona.
First oil from Orlando is targeted for 2013, and tied back to Ninian for processing. GE Oil & Gas will supply the christmas trees for the development.
Last November, Iona also signed a sale and purchase agreement with Fairfield Cedrus for the 100% ownership and operatorship of UK northern block 3/8d containing the Kells (ex-Staffa) oil field.
Britain’s government has approved Iona’s application for exploration operatorship, and the company has submitted a field redevelopment plan and environmental statement.
Kells is due south of Orlando, and 14 km (8.7 mi) southeast of the Ninian Central platform. The field is a three-way fault closed structure 4 km (2.5 mi) long by 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, with a 489-ft (149 m) oil column in the Upper Brent sandstone reservoirs.
As Staffa, it produced oil at rates of 5,800-10,000 b/d during 1992 and 1994, when production ceased.
Iona has issued contracts for drilling of the Kells development well and for project management, engineering, christmas trees, and procurement of other equipment.
5/21/2012"

At the address scot.tk you will find Peter Dow's excellent forums.

AndyofKishornPast has said this in the discussion 'CRACKS IN THE NINIAN CENTRAL PLATFORM'.


"Ninian Central

I would like to comment on the postings regarding cracks in the Ninian Central platform, the 'cover up' and the potential for an environmental disaster.

I was a Site Engineer on the Ninian Central construction from 1st October 1976 until the tow-out to the North Sea in May 1978. This period spanned all of the construction afloat at the wet dock site, the platform base having been towed out from the dry dock days before I arrived on the job.

My primary role was the solid ballasting of the structure, after the completion of which I supervised diving and ROV operations for remedial work and clean-up of the structure prior to the final tow out.
The solid ballasting operation required me to spend much of my working shift deep inside the structure, often far below the water line. I spent hours in every cell of the structure, took many photographs, and yet know nothing of these reported cracks.

As the platform was fully immersed in the stage leading up to the deck installation, some leaks appeared, due to patches of porosity in the concrete, but these were rectified by pressure grouting with chemical sealants. Some remedial reinforcing work was also carried out on the external stepped buttress walls, where pre-stressed cable ducts were in some cases too close to the edge of these.

As for the potential for a massive release of hydrocarbons, this seems to be based on the fallacy that there is crude oil storage in the Ninian Central Platform. Although I believe this was the intent when the structure was first commissioned by Burma Oil, this concept was abandoned at some stage prior to or during the construction for Chevron, and the structure as it is today is full of seawater with the exception of the dry central shaft.
In this state, with seawater within and without the structure is in a very stable condition. The risk of a cell rupture was at it's highest during the construction and tow-out, when the the structure was not fully flooded, and walls were subjected to both hydrostatic and dynamic water pressure. Now, only the central shaft remains subject to external hydrostatic pressure.

The decommissioning of the structure is another matter. The central shaft and its protective outer wall (wall 2) extend to some 17 or 18 metres above sea level. The concrete structure is so massive that the idea of toppling it, as proposed for some steel jackets, is impractical, and even if it could be acheived, it would create a much greater hazard, as the diameter of the base approximates to the water depth at site. I doubt very much that this would be seriously attempted, but if it were, then to my mind, there is every probability that there would be a partial break-up that would constitute a bigger problem.

I am highly sceptical that any way could be devised to refloat the concrete structure in it's entirety, as there are intercommunications between the cells, deep inside the structure and entirely inaccessible. Also, the 140m diameter base has 4m deep steel skirt walls that were designed to penetrate the seabed, with any void space grouted during installation. Where it ever possible to generate sufficient force to overcome the suction of this bond to the seabed, I would anticipate that the structure would break up during the attempt.

I've seen proposals to truncate the structure by means of an abrasive hawser acting as a 'saw'. This would presumably be used to remove the central shaft and wall 2 down to the top of the domes, leaving, I believe, a 76m high massive base in situ, with therefore about 60m water depth over it. My marine experience would cause me to look in horror on the idea of steel hawsers being used under tension in such a manner, but I imagine the method could be made to work.

How popular then would be the idea of a massive residual 76m high obstruction on the seabed? I would of thought there was much to be said for the idea of stripping the steel topsides, and leaving a visible, lit struture that mariners could see and avoid."

I replied to Andy with this.....

Thank you for responding Andy.

I've had very little in the way of response, though knowledge of cracks in the central core going back many years has been mentioned. Whether or not these are the same or related to the cracks I saw photographs of I can't be sure.

I don't have any interest in attempting to prove anything to anyone. I saw the photographs. I know the cracks are there. I don't want 150 people to die without having made my knowledge public.

It's good that you have cleared up the issue of storage in the cells. Some sources claim storage, you are obviously more knowledgeable.

".... the central shaft remains subject to external hydrostatic pressure." This is most likely where the cracks are. There are those who know for sure. It's up to them to speak out.

On the subject of sawing with hawsers it has been said that having to stop for bad weather or other problems would present greater dangers than cutting in one go. Cutting in one go would be extremely difficult and dangerous if indeed possible.

I would like to be remembered for suggesting the 'Ninian Eco Platform' solution.

Search 'Potential North Sea Oil Disaster' to read the thread on this subject at Above Top Secret. I ask Andy to create an ATS account and give his story there.

Thank you Peter for providing this excellent forum.


In view of the useful feedback I suggest ATS members who wish to discuss issues relating to Scotland would do well to create an account with Peter in addition to their account with ATS.

Christ, this is the 1st I'm hearing about this, I'm due on the Central in 2 weeks!

There were several solutions proposed by BP to stop the leak within days of the disaster hut all were shot down, including setting off a nuke a mile down the well casing that would cauterize the stone in the bedrock and seal it off forever. That fix works good, I have place 2 such charges on north sea spills over the years and they work great with no radiation leaks.

When did those happen? Wouldn't someone notice the shockwave/tsunami?

It is awful that people don't think about such great problem. I mean the better part of people. We should try to share this information as more as possible in order to make people see the reality and this disaster which is so much close to us