Case Study: Remote Monitoring of Blowout Preventers Improves Operations
Challenge: Blowout preventers (BOPs) are assemblies of valves, hydraulics, and electrical devices used to prevent the uncontrolled release of oil or gas. They are deployed on both land and ocean drilling rigs, secured to the wellhead at the top of the wellbore. Per regulations, BOP system testing must be handled by third-party companies, such as Deepwater Subsea. Customized reports, going back months or even years, must be sent to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
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Streamed data must be quickly and accurately analyzed, with any problems immediately sent to the operator to prevent failure of a BOP system. Another important goal is to keep a system in operation if the identified problems do not jeopardize BOP operation. Geography and volume of data complicate the delivery of these services. Most BOPs are installed thousands of feet below water or land surface, and up to forty thousand data tags come into the monitoring center daily.
