Blowout Preventers’ (BOPs’) Roles in Drilling Operations
An oil and gas company could face catastrophe if a well leaks. Fortunately, blowout preventers are useful tools that stop this catastrophe from occurring. The valve leading underneath the machinery is essentially cut off by a blowout preventer (BOP) to prevent any liquid from surfacing in a potentially hazardous explosion or kick.
Blowout preventers (BOPs) simply maintain the oil well’s secure seal to avoid damages and financial loss. Different BOP types have slightly different functions and may be more effective in solving some oil well issues than others. You must first comprehend what each type does in order to determine which type you require.
The types of BOP can be divided into ordinary BOP, universal BOP and rotary BOP.
Universal blowout preventer can be activated in an emergency to deal with any size of drilling tools and empty wells.
The rotary blowout preventer can realize drilling while spraying.
In deep well drilling, in addition to two common blowout preventers, a universal blowout preventer and a rotary blowout preventer are often added, so that three or four combinations are installed on the wellhead.
- rotary BOP
An enormous, specialized BOP known as an annular blowout preventer is used to seal, manage, and keep an eye on oil and gas wells.
According to the shape of the sealing rubber core, the annular BOP can be divided into conical annular BOP and spherical annular BOP. Its structure is mainly composed of four parts: shell, top cover, rubber core and piston. When there are drilling tools, tubing or casing in the well, the annular blowout preventer can use a rubber core to seal various annular spaces of different sizes. When there is no drilling tool in the well, it can fully seal the wellhead, and it can also seal the annular space formed by the kelly, coring tools, cables and steel wires and the wellbore during drilling, coring, logging and other operations. In the case of using the pressure reducing and regulating valve, the drilling tool can be forcibly tripped through the drill pipe.
- RAM BOPs
Ram blowout preventer is mainly composed of shell, side door, oil cylinder, cylinder head, piston, piston rod, locking shaft, seals, ram and so on. Its working process is to use hydraulic pressure to push the piston to drive the ram to close or open, so as to close or open the wellhead, so as to achieve the purpose of sealing and opening the well.
By sealing the well itself, a RAM BOP prevents oil from leaking out and foreign objects from entering. Additionally, it enables a controlled flow of oil as required. You might also find the following variations on a typical RAM BOP useful, depending on your needs:
- Kill line valves
- Choke line valves
- Blind RAMs
- Choke manifolds
Pro tip: Some RAM BOPs have a remote control option! Check to see if the required model enables remote work.
- API Hardware
For creating and maintaining high-quality BOPs, these essential components for BOPs include flanged crosses, drilling spools, male and female adapters, and more. Any BOP requirements can be accommodated by customizing the equipment. Quality API equipment can help you whether you need to fix an existing blowout preventer or customize a new one for your oil well.
Esimtech can produce oil and gas simulator equipment, of course, including Blowout Preventers (BOP) simulation training equipment, if you need it, please contact us.
