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BOP Equipment Descriptions and Requirements


Quiz Questions

1. Which one of the following components are in the classes II through IV BOPE systems.
Preventers
The actuating system
The choke and kill system
Auxiliary equipment
Hole-fluid monitoring equipment
All of the above
2. If any component fails to meet these standards, the entire equipment array must be considered inadequate and no operations will be permitted until the inadequacy has been corrected to the satisfaction of the division.
True
False
3. Preventers are devices designed to prevent the uncontrolled flow of well bore fluids through the casing, by either containing the flow completely or by diverting it to a more desirable location through a system of piping and valves. Preventers are classified as annular or ramtype.
True
False
4. The actuating system provides the means of operating the preventers and, in many cases, other equipment in the BOPE array from a remote location. The actuating system for a hydraulically-operated preventer stack consists of an accumulator unit, an emergency backup system, a control manifold, one or more remote stations, hydraulic control lines, and hydraulic fluid.
True
False
5. The accumulator in figure 9 holds 80 gallons of gas at 750 psi pressure. In stage 3 the accumulator is fully charged with hydraulic fluid to the rated working pressure of 1500 psi. The gas above the diaphragm has been compressed to a volume of :
40 gallons
60 gallons
80 gallons
6. The Choke and Kill System is necessary because blowout prevention is seldom a matter of simply sealing the hole at the surface and confining the fluids to the well bore. To do so might cause a downhole pressure buildup that could fracture the formation below the shoe of the anchor string or overpressure a shallow, incompetent formation and permit fluid to come to the surface outside the well bore. If this occurs, regaining control of the well is a difficult and very dangerous process, which is usually extremely costly.
True
False
7. Hole fluid monitoring equipment (Fig. 12) is needed to detect, as soon as possible, significant changes in the fluid volume and, in some cases, the physical properties of the hole fluid. The hole fluid that is used during drilling or work over operations exerts pressure directly against the formation and is the primary means of preventing blowouts. Any irregularity at the formation face will cause meaningful changes in the fluid system that may be measured at the surface. These changes may be very subtle at first, and a busy drilling crew can easily overlook or attach little significance to them until the changes have magnified to the point that control is difficult.
True
False
8. When offshore drilling is performed from any floating structure or vessel (such as a semisubmersible platform or drill ship), the BOP stack must be installed on the ocean floor. The stack components used in these subsea BOPE arrays are similar or identical to those used in surface installations, but include additional auxiliary equipment and considerable modification of the actuating system components.
True
False
9. During the early stages of drilling an offshore well, when the sea floor surrounding the well bore is highly susceptible to fracturing, a diverter system, instead of preventers, should be employed in a well control situation.
True
False
10. When drilling offshore, the first string of casing (known as the conductor, drive, or structural casing) is cemented or driven below the mud line. The formation at the shoe of this casing string must be capable of withstanding the hydrostatic pressure of the riser full of drilling fluid, together with any reasonable circulating pressures involved, until the next string of casing (first surface casing) is cemented in place.
True
False
11. The auxiliary equipment must be provided and maintained in a state of operational readiness at all times. Any equipment that may be subjected to well pressures must have a working pressure rating at least equal to the rated working pressure of the ram preventers of the blowout preventer stack in use.
True
False
12. Blowout prevention equipment requirements for geothermal wells differ from well to well, depending on the type of geothermal environment being drilled, and differ in many ways from the requirements for oil and gas wells.
True
False