Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill
BP 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Sean Edward Paquette
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Hartford, Connecticut
MANE – 6960H01 (Air and Water Pollution Prevention and Control Engineering)
Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete, Ph.D.
Fall 2013
Table of Contents
Course Policy…………………………………………………………………………….…....3
Water Pollution Focus………………………………………………………………………....3
Water Pollution Problem Statement………………………………...…………………………3
Abstract……………………………………………………………………..…………………4
Chapter I: Introduction…………………………………………..……………………………4
Chapter II: Offshore Drilling..………………...………………………………………………6
Chapter III: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill…………………………………………………….9
Chapter IV: Water Contamination Levels in the Gulf of Mexico.....………………………..11
Chapter V: Summary………………………………………………………………...………13
References………………………………………………………………………………..…..16
Appendix A………………………………………………………………………..…………17
Appendix B………………………………………………………………………….……….18
Appendix C…………………………………………………………………………….…….19
Appendix D…………………………………………………………………………….…….20
Appendix E……………………………………………………………………………….…..21
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Course Policy: Research Projects
Each student will be responsible for the performance and production of two reports of
individual research work. One report will be on air pollution, and the other on water
pollution. The goal of these research projects is to demonstrate grasp of selected air and
water pollution problems or systems, the ability to describe and clearly explain the key
elements in each case, to quantify whenever appropriate and reach and summarize
conclusions including recommendations for action from a pollution prevention/waste
minimization perspective. Topics for the air pollution project must be selected and approved
by the instructor by the second week of class and for the water pollution project by the eight
week of class and officially submitted in the form of a short proposal. Suitable research
project topics can be derived from careful review of the course textbooks, from a detailed
review of current literature, from a student-related interest or from an instructor suggested
problem. Report should be brief but comprehensive (~10-12 pages) and prepared in a
professional format (cover page, table of contents, various sections, conclusions and
references).
Water Pollution Focus
As the demand for oil surges, companies push farther under the ocean in search for
petroleum, drilling through miles of water, rock and salt. My water pollution research paper
studies the water contamination levels in the Gulf of Mexico due to the Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill.
Water Pollution Problem Statement
What are the water contamination levels and the effects on the Gulf of Mexico due to
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?
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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
BP 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Sean Edward Paquette
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Hartford, Connecticut
MANE – 6960H01 (Air and Water Pollution Prevention and Control Engineering)
Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete, Ph.D.
Fall 2013
Abstract: As the demand for oil surges, companies push further under the ocean in search of
petroleum, drilling through miles of water, rock and salt.
Offshore drilling operations are
tremendously risky to both humans and to the environment. Such risks include brine wastes, platform
runoff, pipeline leaks, platform fires, large oil spills and catastrophic oil blowouts. This research
paper examines the water contamination levels in the Gulf of Mexico due to the 2010 BP Gulf of
Mexico oil spill, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Keywords: Water Pollution; BP; Environmental Sustainability; Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
I. INTRODUCTION
The world’s 2010 energy consumption of 524 quadrillion Btu (British Thermal Unit
[A tradition unit of energy equal to about 1055 joules]) is estimated to increase to 820
quadrillion Btu by the year 2040, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration,
International Energy Outlook 2013, Appendix A)[1]. Appendix (A) is a comparison between
the world’s energy consumption in 2010 and the projected energy consumption in 2040, as
well as an energy consumption comparison between the United States, China and India. By
the year 2040, the world’s energy consumption will have increased by 56 percent[1].
Developing nations outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(non-OECD) will be responsible for more than 85 percent[1] of the global energy demand
increase between 2010 and 2040, this is predominantly driven by strong economic and
population growth. Over the past decade, China and India have lead the world in economic
and energy demand growth. Together, China and India will account for 34 percent[1] of the
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projected world’s energy consumption in 2040. Furthermore, in 2040 it is probable China
will consume more than twice the amount of energy as the United States.
Production of all fuel sources, primarily petroleum based, need to significantly
increase to meet the world’s 2040 energy needs.
The U.S. Energy Information
Administration, International Energy Outlook 2013, states the use of petroleum is anticipated
to increase from 87 million[1] barrels per day in 2010 to 97 million[1] barrels per day in 2020
and 115 million[1] barrels per day in 2040. Petroleum is, “a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black
mixture of gaseous, liquids, and solid hydrocarbons that occurs naturally beneath the earth’s
surface.”[2] This complex mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbon compounds found
beneath the earth’s surface, “can be separated into fractions including natural gas, gasoline,
naphtha, kerosene, fuel and lubricating oils, paraffin wax, asphalt and used as a raw material
for a wide variety of derivative products.”[2] Appendix (B) is a representation of the world’s
energy consumption by fuel type between 1990 and 2040. Essential changes in both global
production and consumption patterns are needed to meet the future projections of energy
consumption. Brazil, Canada, United States, and Kazakhstan are anticipated to contribute the
most to the growth in petroleum based production through new technologies in onshore and
offshore drilling. Onshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled
through the earth’s soil surface, while offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a
wellbore is drilled through the ocean seabed to extract petroleum. Offshore drilling creates
extreme environmental challenges. These challenges include the generation of hydrocarbons,
the use of hazardous materials and chemicals during the exploration and production phases,
and the potential for catastrophic oil spills.
This research paper studies the water
contamination levels after a major oil leak, using the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill as a
model.
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This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 summarizes the process of offshore oil
drilling, section 3 provides a detailed report of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; section 4
summarizes water contamination levels in the Gulf of Mexico and the negative environmental
effects surrounding the habitat, followed by a summary in Section 5.
II. OFFSHORE DRILLING
Offshore drilling is composed of five stages. The first stage of offshore drilling is
exploration surveying, which is the identification of hydrocarbon-bearing rock formations in
the seabed by examining sedimentary basins and aerial images to identify landscape
formations and reviewing seismic surveys. Exploration drilling is the second stage of offshore
drilling, which consists of drilling several trial holes in a particular area beneath the ocean
floor for the purpose of evaluating petroleum deposits. Once an oil field has been identified,
further appraisals are required to determine the financial potential of the selected location.
The third stage of offshore drilling is the development stage, which is the execution of
transporting the appropriate equipment to the drill location and erecting a suitable drill
platform. A drill platform is a structure with facilities to drill, extract, process and temporary
store petroleum. There are seven major offshore platforms that are commonly used and
explained in detail below:
1. The first type of drill platform is a fixed platform, which is directly secured
into the ocean seabed. “A fixed-platform rig consists of tall steel structure
known as a “jacket” that rises up from the ocean to support a surface
deck.”[3] A fix platform structure is not mobile, drills a maximum depth of
1,500 feet beneath the surface and is typically used for long term oil
deposits.
2. The second drilling platform is called a jack-up rig, a floating platform that
is used for shallow offshore deposits. The jack-up rig is positioned in the
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ocean over the oil deposit using barges once in the precise location support
legs are lowered to the sea floor.
3. The third platform called a compliant tower. Compliant tower platforms
are anchored to the seabed and hold most of their equipment above the
water surface, similar to a fixed platform. Compliant towers are tall,
narrow and can sway with the wind due to their structural supports being
built from two or more pieces. Compliant towers drill up to 3,000 feet
beneath the surface.
4. The fourth oil platform, which is the most commonly used platform in the
Gulf of Mexico, is called a floating production system.
Floating
production systems are semisubmersible, “floating partly above the surface
while pumping up oil from deep wells.”[3] Floating production systems are
either anchored using ropes, wires and stabilizers, or by dynamic
positioning, which uses computer-coordinated thrusters to stabilize the
structure. Floating production systems are used in water depths ranging
from 600 feet to 6,000 feet.
5. The fifth platform is called a tension leg platform also known as a
“seastar,” which is capable of drilling more than a mile beneath the sea
floor. A tension leg platform uses taut vertical tendons connected to the
ocean floor for stabilization and can drill water depths up to 3,500 feet.
6. The sixth platform is called a subsea system, which is a subsea wellhead
positioned on the sea floor to extract oil directly from the seabed. A subsea
system is coupled with either a floating production system, drillship or
fixed platform and provides the accessibility to hard-to-reach oil deposits.
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7. The seventh oil platform is called a spar platform. A spar platform “uses a
single, wide diameter cylinder to support a surface deck from the sea floor.
Spar cylinders are available at depths up to 10,000 feet, making them one
of the deepest drilling type of offshore platforms in use.”[3] In the Gulf of
Mexico, the standard spar platform cylinder is 130 feet wide.
Figure (1) below is an illustration of the seven commonly used oil drilling platforms
discussed above.
Figure (1): Commonly Used Offshore Oil Drilling Platforms; Reference (3)
The fourth stage of offshore oil drilling is called the production stage, which is the
process between the producing well and the pipeline. Figure (2) below is a diagram of a
typical petroleum production process.
As illustrated in figure (2), petroleum exits the
producing well and passes through a three phase separation process (oil, water, and gas). The
oil is stabilized, stored and shipped for commercial sale while the gas is pumped through a
glycol dehydration process (Glycol removes water from natural gas by physical absorption and
is carried out the bottom of the contraption device) and then offered for commercial resale.
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Figure (2): Petroleum Production Process; Reference (4)
The fifth and final stage is the decommsion process. The average decommsion process
of a production well location is 20 to 40 years.
This process includes the removal of
equipment and buildings, as well as restoration of the drill location to boost re-vegetation and
environmentally sound conditions and continual monitoring of the location.
III. DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
The BP oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, was a floating production system also known as a
semi-submersible drilling unit, positioned in the Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (Macondo
Prospect) about 41 miles off the Louisiana coast. Deepwater Horizon was, “a fifth generation,
ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, column-stabilized drilling platform”[5].
The oil
platform was 396 feet[5] long, 256 feet[5] wide, could operate in waters up to 8,000 feet[5] deep
and had a maximum drill depth of 30,000 feet[5].
Deepwater Horizon was owned by
Transocean, leased to BP and built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries for
560 million dollars. Figure (3) below is a photograph of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform.
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Figure (3): Deepwater Horizon Oil Platform; Reference (6)
On April 20, 2010, two days before temporarily capping the oil well and passing the
petroleum pumping to the production platform, Deepwater Horizon exploded, burned and
sunk killing 11 employees and discharging more than 170 million gallons of toxic petroleum
into the Gulf of Mexico. During the disconnect process, Deepwater Horizon experienced a
blowout due to “either the primary or secondary cementing failing, pushing a huge column of
natural gas into the well pipe.”[7] As the cement failed, the natural gas entered the well pipe
and rocketed towards the surface, weakening the mixture of mud and seawater to the point of
failure and ultimately causing the oil platform to explode. Appendix (C) is an illustration of
the cement failing and the seawater entering into the riser. Additionally, only a fraction of the
drill pipe was sheared when the shear rams were triggered, this was potentially due to a joint
or piece of casing being jammed in the way of the shear ram. A shear ram is, “the final fail
safe, it is designed to close the well by cutting through and sealing the drill pipe.”[7] Appendix
(D) is an illustration of the shear ram near the wellhead connector. On July 15, 2010 the
Macondo well was successfully cemented and sealed. BP with the help of industry experts,
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government and academia used remotely operated vehicles to drill a second well 5,000
kilometers below the seafloor at an angle interrupting and ultimately sealing the oil leak.
IV. WATER CONTAMINATION LEVELS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is considered the worst oil spill in the world and the
largest environmental disaster in the United States. The oil spill prompted an immediate fire
on the Deepwater Horizon platform and contaminated the surrounding water supply,
destroying vegetation and root systems. Approximately 1,000 miles[8] of shoreline were
polluted by the oil spill and over 8,000[9] turtles, birds and mammals died within six months of
the explosion. “Oil contamination in the environment is primarily assessed by measuring the
chemical concentrations of petroleum products in the affected environmental compartment
(e.g. sediment, biota, water).
The determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons or,
alternatively, hydrocarbon index in water and soil is one of the important analytical tasks to
assess levels of water pollution.”[10]
Hydrocarbons are “organic compounds consisting
entirely of hydrogen and carbon”[11] and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) are any
combination of hydrocarbons within crude oil. To completely understand the impacts of the
Deepwater Horizon oil Spill, hydrocarbon contamination at various levels need to be studied.
For example, a study completed in 2010, published in Elsevier Journal, (Reference 12),
examined the scattering and abundance patterns of TPHs (including polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), C4 Phenanthrenes/Anthracenes, C2 Phenanthrenes/Anthraacenes, C2
sub’d
B(a)/chrysene,
C3
Dibenzothiophenes,
C1
Phenanthrenes/Anthracenes,
C4
Dibenzothiophenes, C1 Benz(a)Anthracenes/Chrysenes, C2 Dibenzoththiaphenes, C3
Fluorenes, C4 Naphthalenes, and C2 Naphtalenes) in seawater, sediment, marine fauna and
flora surrounding the oil leak. Appendix E is a map showing sample points for tests produced
in Reference (12). The results identified TPHs concentrations ranging between 0.050 ppm[12]
(parts per million) to 535 ppt[12] (parts per trillion) in the sediment with an average of 39.4
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ppt[12] at the well head. In addition, seawater experienced concentration levels of TPHs,
ranging between 160 ppm[12] to 260ppm[12], with an average concentration of 202.206 ppm[12].
Fauna and flora had an average TPH concentration level of 3.820 ppt[12]. Figures (4), (5) and
(6) below are bar graphs illustrating the mean concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons in
sediment, seawater and fauna and flora.
Figure (4)
Petroleum Hydrocarbon Concentrations in Sediment; Reference (12)
Figure (5)
Petroleum Hydrocarbon Concentrations in Seawater; Reference (12)
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Figure (6)
Petroleum Hydrocarbon Concentrations in Fauna and Flora; Reference (12)
Crude oil “is composed of up to 17,000 organic compounds, each with its own
volatility, density, and solubility in seawater, and different levels on toxicity for marina biota
and humans.”[12]
As oil breaches the ocean’s surface it significantly damages the
hyponeuston, “any organisms living immediately below the surface film of a body of
water”[13], and therefore directly affects the development stages of any marine species which
rely on surface organisms to grow. Furthermore, as the oil penetrates the deeper water layers,
“hydrocarbons influence other organisms, particularly phytoplankton and zooplankton which
are unable to avoid direct contact with the oil pollution.”[14] Oil pollution kills birds, fish and
other sea mammals, by penetrating the structure of the plumage on birds. This reduces their
buoyancy as well as disrupting and preventing the ability to swim or fly away from a predator
or to capture food.
V. SUMMARY
This report examined the water contamination levels of the Gulf of Mexico and the
environmental effects due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Petroleum hydrocarbons
concentration levels in the surrounding sediment, seawater, fauna and flora peaked to new
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highest contamination levels ever seen before in the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally,
it was
apparent that marine life including shell fish, sponges, coral and other sessile organisms
experienced extremely high petroleum hydrocarbon concentration levels dangerous to
humans in the area immediate to the oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill severely
damaged surrounding wildlife and habitat affecting employment and thousands of coastal
lives for many years to come.
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APPENDIX
Appendix A: Is an illustration from U.S. Energy Information Administration, International
Energy Outlook 2013. The world’s total energy consumption between 1990
and 2040 and a energy consumption comparison between the United States,
China and India
Appendix B: Is a line graph representing the world energy consumption by fuel type, 1990 –
2040 (quadrillion Btu)
Appendix C: Is an illustration of the cement failing and the seawater entering into the riser
Appendix D: Is an illustration of the shear ram near the wellhead connector
Appendix E: Is a map showing sample points for tests produced in Reference (12)
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REFERENCES
[1] U.S. Energy Information Administration; International Energy Outlook 2013; dated July 25, 2013;
http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/ieo/world.cfm
[2] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/petroleum
[3] R. McLendon; “Types of Offshore Oil Rigs;” Mother Nature Network; May 19, 2010;
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/types-of-offshore-oil-rigs
[4] Overview of The Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Process;
http://www.etechinternational.org/new_pdfs/lessImpact/AttAoverview.pdf
. .
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_explosionhttp://www epa gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/
[6] http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/today/tomfeilden/2010/12/a_near_miss_for_the_north_sea.html
[7] http://media.nola.com/news_impact/other/oil-cause-050710.pdf
[8] http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/gulf.pdf
[9] http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-bp-oil-spill
[10] S. Drozdova, W. Ritter, B. Lendl, E. Rosenberg, “Challenges in the determination of petroleum
hydrocarbons in water by gas chromatography,” Fuel, vol 113, pp. 527-536, 2013
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbon
[12] P. Sammarco, S. Kolian, R. Warby, J. Bouldin, W. Subra, S. Porter. “Distribution and concentrations of
petroleum hydrocarbons associated with the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico,” Marine
Pollution Bulletin, Elsevier, vol. 73, pp. 129-143, 2013
[13] http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Hyponeuston
[14] O. Mironov, “Hydrocarbon pollution of the sea and its influence on marine organisms,” Helgolander, vol.
17, pp. 335-339, 1968
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APPENDIX A
Appendix A: Is an illustration from the U.S. Energy Information Adminstration, International Energy
Outlook 2013: The World’s total energy consumption between 1990 and 2040 and a comparison between
the United States, China and India. (Reference 1)
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APPENDIX B
Appendix B: Is a line graph representing the world energy consumption by fuel type, 1990 – 2040
(quadrillion Btu) (Reference 1)
18
APPENDIX C
Appendix C: Illustration of the cement failing and seawater in the riser; Reference (7)
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APPENDIX D
Appendix D: Illustration of the shear ram; Reference (7)
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APPENDIX E
Appendix E: Is a map showing the sample points examined in the 2010 study, Reference (12)
21