Besides being right on the Gulf of Mexico, in Galveston we wanted to tour the oil rig on display in town because it was newer than the one we saw in Morgan City, Louisiana, and had been positioned further out in the gulf. Since I’m not a technical type of person, you’ll be seeing what I found interesting and Barney will be filling in the technical details as needed. It took us a while to figure out what it really took to drill for oil since we were on a self-guided tour and no one was around to ask questions of except for the greeter at the front door. More about her later.
Regardless of what you think about drilling, this is a must see because of all the oil that’s available in the Gulf and what we get from oil, the innovation behind this drilling, the creativity to come up with new technology, the environmental protections in place.
the Ocean Star See the three “pipes” sticking up and how high the derrick rises above the ship? Remember both.
See below for a look of rig’s working life.
Working life of the Ocean Star—this is an upjack platform since it can be jacked up and down depending on where they are and what they need to do.
Did you notice that the three “pipes” are much taller? You’ll learn why in a couple of minutes.
Description of the mat that supported and dispersed the weight of the rig’s three legs.
underwater view of the mat
This sign explains why the pipes (legs) are shorter or taller.
We’re going to see so much in this post, so let’s start outside and get a big-picture view. You may want to get a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea before you start reading.
The main deck now shows us equipment that was used on the rig but stored elsewhere.
When in use, the main deck stored all the pipes used for drilling (see next picture).
Since the rig could drill up to 30,000 feet and each pipe was 30′ long and weighted 1000 lbs each, about 1000 pipes would be stored on the ship (thanks for the details, Barn). Wow.
We saw an ROV at our first drilling rig site in Morgan City, but this is a super-size ROV that could go deeper, at least 9000 feet. This piece of equipment was used to cap the blowout in 2010. We’ll learn more about blowouts later on.
Here is this workhorse!
We’ll talk a little more about this later, but here is the machine that does the work.
a self-contained cement unit
This assembly is on top of a well that’s on land (like in West Texas).
And it’s green like a Christmas tree!
It’s located on the ocean floor.
It controls the flow of oil and can cap off a flow in an emergency. ROVs would put these in place and connect pipes to carry oil from where it’s drilled to a tanker above the well or to land through miles of pipes.
The rig has to have a way for the workers to escape and get away in case of an emergency. The rig had beds for 48 workers so they would have needed more than one pod.
the escape pod
On our first rig, they were doing this by hand, so this piece of equipment saved a lot of injuries.
a top drive
So they had a bit, a collar, and then the pipes.
The collar is on the right next to a smooth pipe.
This is the traveling block that hooks to the top drive. Barney is next to it so you can see how large it all is.
Remember the first picture of the Ocean Star when I mentioned to notice how tall the derrick is? It actually holds the block and all the pipes in place because they weight so much. Without the derrick holding them, the pipes in the drill hole would crumble with the weight.
power tongs
This tong is what’s on the deck to connect one pipe to another as the workers drill into the gulf.
This chamber is in case divers have to go really deep for a long time and then come back to the top.
It’s not as large as they picture in the sign shows. Feel cramped?
We saw this transport device on the first drilling rig we saw.
Personnel basket in use.
inside
bunks on board
Each room had its own shower.
This tanker next to the rig that’s being unloaded by the 4 cranes
Now that we’re done with the top deck, let’s explore some more. First, drill bits and drill pipes.
Howard Hughes is everywhere!
different bits for different needs
close-up view of a bit
Each drill pipe is 30 feet long and threaded at each end so the pipes can be screwed together.
a cutaway of a pipe
close fit
Before we go on, you need to know about this fluid called “mud” that is used when drilling.
Ready to learn about how they drill for oil? Lots of steps to the process. Here’s a picture first. We’re going from left to right. As we go through this, remember I’m not a technical person.
A drill bit attached to a collar and pipe is sent below the water to go through ocean floor toward the oil. Special mud goes along with the drilling to lubricate the drill bit.
As they drill through the oil and gas (because they are always together), they remove the pipe and drill bit, and send down a steel casing and then continue drilling below the oil field.
The space between the hole and the casing is filled with cement to give needed support. A drill is sent down to open up the space in the cement for oil and gas to come up.
The casing (and cement covering) is perforated using explosive charges (I don’t have a picture of this but it’s so interesting)
A tubing is installed going below the oil/gas reserve with a packer above the oil/gas to keep sediment contained.
Oil and gas now comes into the holes and then up the tubing to the subsea Christmas tree to be piped to a refinery on land or to a tanker .
When drilling, the workers may want to drill laterally to be able to get more of the oil instead of just drilling through it.
purpose of directional drilling
makes sense now
Phew. Did you get all that? Offshore drilling can take up to 2 or 3 years to complete. When the drilling is completed, the drill rig can be taken to another site to do its work. Then offshore production can go on for another 25 years!
Now for some more interesting info. Bet you were wondering how all of the pipes got to the ocean floor. This is how.
a barge drops the pipes (yellow) into the ocean
This machine (MUT) cuts a trench in the sea floor and guides the pipeline into it.
A trencher rolls along the ocean floor. The gray tube on the left was the yellow tube being lowered into the ocean by the barge.
This router creates the hole in the ocean floor so the pipe can be laid in the trench. Then the trencher is followed by a barge that backfills the trench with gravel to cover it and keep the pipe buried.
And that’s just in the U.S.!
Besides these tankers and trawlers, more work has to be done under the ocean to get pipes connected and troubleshoot problems Here’s how that is done.
underwater construction by divers using ROVs
an ROV (remotely operated vehicle)
an ROV going overboard
divers
diving suit
going overboard
A diver at work. See the clamps?
So what happens when the oil is pumped? It can be pumped to an offshore rig for processing and then shipped to land.
The oil can be pumped to a rig and then sent to land . . .
or it can be pumped up to a tanker.
The tanker is connected to another tanker.
The second tanker is receiving the oil through the flexible pipe in the water. This second tanker takes the oil to the refinery on land.
So how much drilling is available in the Gulf of Mexico?
So much energy is available in the Gulf!
The red area is close to shore . . .
and is only 300′ deep.
Another type of platform used in the Gulf is a Spar Platform.
What we see above the ocean is such a small part of the platform and why hurricanes don’t affect the platforms.
The Spar Platform is the red one in the middle of the picture.
The spar is on the left going down to 6000′ with cables holding it in place.
This is one link of the cable!
Here’s a model of a platform created to make sure everything was where it belonged before it was built. Now models are not needed because software can do the same work.
model of a platform
details of the model; colors ensure systems are being maintained
Another type of vessel uses dynamic positioning.
Other types of drill ships can keep the ship in one place using technology.
huge!
So what happens if a rig is too far out in the ocean for a towboat to move it? A heavy lift vessel is used.
info on these heavy lift vessels
This one actually brought the USS Cole into port to be repaired.
how it would look
another look
Here’s Ashley, the greeter a the rig. She’s ready to graduate this May and already has a job with a dredging company. Her goal is to design whatever is needed for oil rigs. Thanks for all your answers to our questions!
As we left the rig, we saw the pelicans keeping watch.
And if you ever wondered why we need this drilling, here’s an example of what we get from oil production, besides fuel.
such a variety of items
And when a rig is no longer needed, the structures are often sent to the bottom of the ocean to create new environments for fish, adding to the wealth under the sea.
Tomorrow we’ll visit a WWII submarine and a destroyer escort ship.
