Drilling safely issues

From Wikimarcellus

Drilling safety issues can be mitigated through greater automation. Risks can be managed, but the more drilling hands come in contact with moving steel on a well site, the higher the risk of accident. Incidents can be minimized through the use of automation and hydraulics.

Hydraulic equipment leads to a risk of leaking fluid--even if only on a maintenance schedule.

A 40-mil plastic is placed like an apron around the base of the rig to protect the ground. This contains any fluid from leaking hydraulics. Such a leak could be under pressure and thus shoot a considerable distance from its source. Hence, the plastic and berm are extended to a point where there is virtually no possibility of a spill reaching.

A containment pit sits behind the rig to catch the drill filings and crushed rock that comes back up the well bore in water-based drilling fluid.

Other safety measures include using an automated pipe handling system that eliminates the need for workers to screw together 30 foot sections of steel pipe. Also, a blowout protector shuts down the well when an unexpected flow of pressure occurs. Redundant systems are used as back-up.

In the driller shack on the upper level of the rig, an operator monitors the depth of drilling, hydraulic pressure measures, and temperature. This operator maintains control of the blowout protector.