Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

The overall objective of this research is to assess the engineering design, performance, reliability, mechanical, corrosion, etc. by conducting physical and corrosion testing of the current and new high temperature alloy material grades for offshore oil and gas activities.  This study will serve as valuable information to predict the potential behavior of new materials in manufacturing of offshore oil and gas equipment and its performance under HPHT sour service environment conditions.

The purpose of this Research Project is to monitor the structural health of the BIWF, thereby gaining insight into the structural response of the system for validating design assumptions in BSEE’s plan review and oversight functions.

The project consists of the chemical analysis and evaluation of the physical and behavioral properties of representative samples of three dielectric fluids. The fluids include synthetic ester based, natural ester based, and petroleum/mineral oil based fluids. An additional sample of a used/spent dielectric fluids will also be analyzed, if able to be located and acquired. This analysis will be used by spill response personnel and will help augment the NOAA Oil database.

This project partners with the United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center to test oil recovery skimmer systems to gain insight on the capabilities, limitations, and applicability of using these systems to recover dielectric fluids. The research will focus on types of skimmers referenced for use in the expanding offshore wind energy sector's oil spill response plans. The project will investigate and report on noted differences between recovery of a synthetic mineral oil, a synthetic ester fluid, and a standard test oil.

BSEE is participating in a lab protocol study investigating the development of water-in-oil emulsions (emulsions) using a common set of oils and predefined conditions to compare the variability of emulsion properties based on lab protocols. Ultimately, the results will inform numerical models. BSEE is working with Applied Research Associates at its Ohmsett facility to further its capability to produce customizable, repeatable emulsions at the lab-, drum-, and tank-scales. BSEE's Ohmsett protocol involves characterizing the stability of the emulsions based on particle size analysis.

The purpose of Sweet Spot in Burning Emulsions project is to study how emulsions break and boil during in situ burning (ISB), which is a multi-physics process that includes radiative and convective heat transfer to the slick, any mechanical work that is driving emulsion formation, hydrocarbon and water evaporation, and internal heat transfer as the water either flash evaporates or separates and sinks. Previous work under OSRR 1085 resulted in a potential trend indicating an increase in burning efficiency in emulsions with 20% water content.

This new project will test Type I sorbents efficacy when exposed to three - (3) categories of Dielectric fluids. These will include natural ester, synthetic ester, and mineral oil (hydrocarbon) based fluids. The work will be performed at Ohmsett with testing completed to BSEE Oil Spill Research and Response (OSRR) project specifications. It will compare the findings to a selected control conventional oil product and will provide performance data to stakeholders to facilitate decision making for oil spill preparedness and response operations. 

BSEE Response Research Branch is undertaking the DSD Instrument Evaluation project to better understand how surface water dispersant monitoring, as specified by the NCP SubPart J Monitoring Rule, can be practically implemented with existing technology, with specific emphasis on detection of oil and dispersed oil droplets in depths of 1 to 5 meters. The three main objectives of this project are:

The proposed study would provide the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) with a continuation of the research efforts conducted since 2009 regarding the conditions that occur during the annual freeze-up season in the US Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Additionally, the study would provide BSEE with the observations and analysis during the break-up of Arctic sea ice in the US Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (first evaluated by BSEE in 2016-2017).

The proposed study would provide the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) with a continuation of the research efforts conducted since 2009 regarding the conditions that occur during the annual freeze-up season in the US Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Additionally, the study would provide BSEE with the observations and analysis during the break-up of Arctic sea ice in the US Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (first evaluated by BSEE in 2016-2017).