UK secures well-capping device

Aberdeen, UK -  UK offshore oil and gas industry group Oil & Gas UK has announced the start of manufacturing of a well capping device, with completion scheduled for summer. The device is to be a key part of the UK sector’s oil spill response contingency plans.

The device has been commissioned by the industry’s specialist organisation, Oil Spill Response Ltd, and is being built by Cameron Ltd in Leeds.

The design development was overseen by OSPRAG’s technical review group, working with BP, which agreed to project manage the detailed design, procurement and construction phases, and engineering services firm J P Kenny.

The construction follows the recommendation of the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) – a body set up by the industry, its regulators and trade unions immediately following the blow-out in the Macondo well last April.  

The cap is modular in design, with specifications which allow it to be deployed in the widest range of possible oil spill scenarios that could typically be encountered in the UK continental shelf, including West of Shetlands. 

The device is deployable from a multi service vessel, and can be attached to various parts of the subsea equipment in order to seal off or ’cap’ the flow of oil.

There has not been a single blow-out in this country in over 20 years of UK offshore operations and we must ensure that it remains this way, according to Malcolm Webb. Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive.

“Having such a contingency device in the UK is important as it allows a quick response in the unlikely event of a well blowout.  Our overriding priority remains, however, to prevent such incidents from occurring in the first place,” said Webb.