In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, oil majors Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell have announced in a joint statement their plan to build and deploy a rapid response system that will be available to capture and contain oil in the event of a potential future underwater well blowout in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
The new system will be flexible, adaptable and able to begin mobilisation within 24 hours and can be used on a wide range of well designs and equipment, oil and natural gas flow rates and weather conditions. The new system will be engineered to be used in deepwater depths up to 10,000 feet and have initial capacity to contain 100,000bpd with potential for expansion.
The companies have committed $1 billion to fund the initial costs of the system. Additional operational and maintenance costs for the subsea and modular processing equipment, contracts with existing operating vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and any potential new vessels that may be constructed will increase this cost commitment.
The heads of all four companies were adamant that prevention and regaining the public’s trust is paramount to their future.
“The oil and gas industry has long been recognised as a technological leader, and the American public expects us to improve our ability to respond immediately to offshore incidents,” said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and CEO.
Chevron chairman and CEO, John Watson said: “Chevron knows that it can only operate with the public’s confidence that the energy we need will be produced safely and reliably. We are committed to advancing safe operations through enhanced prevention, better well containment and intervention and improved spill response.”
“This new system significantly enhances the industry’s ability to effectively respond to any unforeseen incidents,” he added.
“If we all do our jobs properly, this system will never be used,” said Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil. “The extensive experience of industry shows that when the focus remains on safe operations and risk management, tragic incidents like the one we are witnessing in the Gulf of Mexico today should not occur.”
Shell’s president, Marvin Odum stressed on an industry-wide oil spill prevention plan “regardless of how unlikely it is that this situation will reoccur.”
The companies claim the system offers key advantages to the current response equipment in that it will be pre-engineered, constructed, tested and ready for rapid deployment in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. It is being developed by a team of marine, subsea and construction engineers from the four companies.
The system will include specially designed subsea containment equipment connected by manifolds, jumpers and risers to capture vessels that will store and offload the oil. Dedicated crews will ensure regular maintenance, inspection and readiness of the facilities and subsea equipment.
The four companies will form a non-profit organisation, the Marine Well Containment Company, to operate and maintain this system. Other companies will be invited and encouraged to participate in this organisation.
The sponsor companies will proceed immediately with the engineering, procurement and construction of equipment and vessels for the system. ExxonMobil will lead this effort on behalf of the four sponsor companies.
The companies are also actively involved in significant industry efforts to improve prevention, well intervention and spill response. This includes rig inspections and implementation of new requirements on blowout preventer certification and well design.
The industry has proactively formed several multi-disciplinary task forces to further develop improved prevention, containment and recovery plans. The companies have reviewed the system with key officials in the federal Administration and Congress and will conduct briefings with other key stakeholders.
