This is an assessment of existing or developing technologies that could be used to sense, track, contain and recover oil released by deep water blowouts or pipeline ruptures. The assessment will include literature reviews, consultation with experts in well control and a review of U.S. and international patents for developing technologies in this field.
This is a Multi-Phase Joint Industry Project (JIP) whose current fund providers include the MMS, Alaska Clean Seas, Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute, BP Exploration, Phillips Alaska, Norsk Hydro and Store Norske Spitzbergen Kulkompani. The MORICE program was initiated in 1995 to develop technologies for more effective recovery of oil spills in ice-infested waters and is a multinational effort involving Norwegian, Canadian, American and German researchers.
The Objective of this study is to conduct full-scale tests of recovered oil/emulsion/water separation rates at OHMSETT in order to predict the optimum time for decanting separated water in temporary storage devices.
The project is a Joint Industry Project (JIP) sponsored by an international partnership of state and federal agencies and private industry which include: Minerals Management Service, Environment Canada, Texas General Land Office, Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Imperial Oil Resources Ltd., U.K. Marine Pollution Control Unit, Swedish Rescue Service and the Canadian Coast Guard.
This is a Joint Industry Project to re- engineer an existing, stainless steel fire boom. The new boom design is reduced in size, weight, and cost. It is compatible with existing fire booms and be used to form a burn pocket, inserted between refractory fabric fire boom 'arms.' This will extend the life of the fabric boom and make the stainless steel boom easier to handle.
To analyze the behavior of oil spilled during a deep water blowout. The study will focus on three questions: What properties and behavior are expected of the oil on the surface, such as slick thickness, area, and dispersibility?;
what cleanup measures, if any, are available and appropriate to deal with the spill?; and
are there any major differences in oil spill behavior and countermeasures between a blowout.
This is a Joint Industry Project (JIP) between MMS and Environment Canada to investigate the performance of sorbent materials used in the remediation of oil spills. A database will be developed to provide responders with firsthand information during a spill. The objectives of this study include: (1) develop a test procedure for sorbents used for oil spill remediation; (2) test these products to ensure repeatable, reliable, and representative data; and (3) generate a database of information from testing results to determine certifiable criteria.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) initiated a cooperative effort with Environment Canada (EC) to participate in a joint evaluation of innovative skimming technology for oil spill cleanup offshore and in icy waters. Current skimmer technology for recovering oil in broken ice conditions was practically nonexistent. This project evaluated selected skimmers under both simulated and field conditions and produced performance data on which the adequacy of spill cleanup contingency plans can be assessed.
The Minerals Management Service initiated a cooperative effort with Environment Canada (EC) which has identified knowledge gaps in the application of cleanup techniques to the beaches characteristic of the Pacific coastline, from southern California to the Aleutian chain. This project evaluated the effectiveness of minimizing biological damage of spilled oil to such beaches and attempted to establish a correlation between cleanup effectiveness and environmental damage caused by various cleanup techniques.
The Minerals Management Service initiated a cooperative effort with Environment Canada to participate in continuing evaluation of innovative oil spill response technology and procedures. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has suspended operation of the Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental Test Tank (OHMSETT) facility at Leonardo, New Jersey, and alternative facilities and procedures are necessary to minimize the delay in testing innovative oil spill response technology and procedures.
