The Hampering Active Wellbore Kit (HAWK) for rapidly controlling a free flowing oil well

To mitigate the impact of a Blowout Preventer (BOP) failure, this work proposes a method and machine that can create a gradual flow reduction to zero in an offshore well by introducing a mechanical plug inside the BOP. The backup safety tool, referred to as the Hampering Active Wellbore Kit (HAWK), is a machine that gradually introduces a continuous medium (e.g. wire) from a spool through the choke/kill lines of a failed BOP to gradually stem the flow through the BOP. The machine can couple to a standard choke/kill line on the BOP and can co-exist with the BOP or be deployed at the time of an accident. This work presents the design theory for wire feeding in order to form an entanglement, and the mechanism by which to accomplish the reliable feeding of the continuous structure. The efficacy of the entanglement is evaluated by comparing flow rates of a single experimental wellbore before and after the introduction of the mechanical plug.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Rojas, Folkers Eduardo

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Alexander H. Slocum.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/93017

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/93017