On production platforms, there are fusible plugs, plugs that melt at different temperatures. These plugs are located every few feet on a stainless steel tubing line, located on or near any pump, control valve, manway or major flange, gas compressors, wellheads, anything that can possibly release gas or oil and cause a fire.
When these fusible plugs release the 30 lbs. of air in the tubing to the atmosphere, the Emergency Shutdown(ESD) system is activated and all automatic shutdown valves on the well head shut in within 45 seconds. After that, the hydraulic downhole valves shut within 2 minutes after the last Surface Safety Valve on the wellheads shut in. This secures all wells in case no one could activate the ESD manually.
This is not like a well being drilled, where the wellbore pressure is only held under control by the drilling fluids.
The fire burning must have been from fluids from a ruptured line, vessel or tank.
Production platforms have a lot more built in safety systems than a drilling or workover rig.
Also, there is an ESD valve on the boat landing, where they jumped into the water, that can be activate the ESD and a plastic tubing that can be broken by the workers or a boat hook from a boat to activate the ESD system from the boat landing.
All or any of these can and will prevent catastrophic failures, if they are not bypassed at the time of the incident.
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09-02-2010, 03:29 PM
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