October 2, 2017

New Solution Simplifies Relief Well Operations

(Image: Add Energy)
(Image: Add Energy)
(Image: Add Energy)
(Image: Add Energy)

Energy consultancy provider Add Energy and subsea solutions provider Trendsetter Engineering have teamed up to develop the Relief Well Injection Spool (RWIS) Lite, designed to reduce the complexity of relief well operations on a global scale, when coupled with the original RWIS product.

RWIS Lite is an exact structural replica of the original RWIS, which allows for duplicity in shared components. The original RWIS increases the flow capacity of a single relief well, which is a safer and less challenging option to drilling multiple relief wells during a subsea well blowout. The RWIS is placed between the relief wellhead and the BOP to allow multiple pumping vessels to inject the kill fluid into the relief well in a more cost and time efficient manner. The RWIS Lite augments this by simplifying subsea installation and operation of the relief well system

The highly simplified RWIS Lite is a flow spool without controls, allowing operators to install BOP’s above the spool, greatly reducing the complexity of hooking up kill vessels to the system. This enhancement excludes gate valves, accumulators, ROV panels and a BOP, reducing the complexity of the subsea hardware configuration. In addition, the deployment method is a duplicate of the original set up of the RWIS, so it can be run off a vessel of opportunity or a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) using either a drill pipe or a wire line.

“When the RWIS Lite is used alongside an RWIS, it requires one less drill ship and utilizes the existing BOP emergency disconnect system for maximum efficiency,” said Morten Haug Emilsen, Managing Director, Add Energy. “The RWIS was a first for the industry and now the RWIS Lite represents an evolution of the technology.”

RWIS Lite will be increasingly useful for relief well operations as it makes field installations a standard subsea procedure. Fine-tuning field operations is a long and ongoing process, but the RWIS Lite is a leap forward in improving efficiency in the industry.

“The RWIS Lite greatly enhances the ease of installation and operation of an RWIS relief well response. The addition of the RWIS Lite makes relief well operations a standard subsea installation procedure instead of a unique one that requires vessel modifications,” said Brett Morry, Global Technical Director of Trendsetter Engineering.

• Add Energy