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 goal of this project was to develop an effective means of summarizing and disseminating the testing capabilities, protocols, and test results for the MMS OHMSETT facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. The document served as a concise technical reference for researchers and engineers and a general information and marketing document for agency officials, private industry, and the general public.
The purpose of the study is to determine the maximum towing forces allowable for different boom types. S.L. Ross will use recent field and tank test studies on tow forces and boom performance parameters to improve existing formulae. The existing formulae on calculating towing forces are generally valid but need to be refined to account for the variance in drag force coefficient among different boom styles.
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.
This a Joint Industry Project (JIP) between MMS and Alaska Clean Seas. This study was performed for Alaska Clean Seas and MMS on behalf of the North Slope Spill Response Project Team, a task group formed to develop comprehensive oil spill response plans for petroleum operations on the North Slope of Alaska. The objective of the study was to evaluate the capabilities to recover spilled oil from very large oil well blowouts occurring during broken ice conditions in the southern Beaufort Sea.
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.
The goal of this project is to assess the technical and operational feasibility of two alternative approaches to in situ burning of oil spills in the marine environment. The first is the use of towable incineration devices which can be used in conjunction with current containment booms and skimmers to allow for prolonged in situ burning operations encountered in major spills and situations involving an ongoing release, such as a grounded tanker or offshore will blowout.
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.
The purpose of this project is to develop a rapid current boom using the submergence plane concept. A first generation prototype was developed and tested. In addition, an experimental program involving standard, vertical oil booms to generate data for comparison with numerical predictions of oil boom failure was conducted. This will compare uniform flow cases without waves. The use of instability delaying techniques (structural, chemical) was investigated. Then the effects of surface waves on oil-containment failure was investigated.
