Cameron Ram-type Blowout Preventer (1922) on:
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The Cameron ram-type blowout preventer was the first successful
The blowout preventer is a T-shaped coupling that is screwed onto the top of the casing. It has a passage through the coupling for the drill string. There is a ram with a concave, semi-circular face in each arm of the tee. Each ram is moved in or out by turning its valve stem, which extends beyond the coupling. The ends of the stems are squared off.
When the rams are retracted, there is a passage for the drilling mud. If a blowout begins, the drill string is stopped. Then wrenches are used to manually close the rams around the drill string to seal the wellbore. The MO BOP was tested to withstand .
The device had a lateral valve below the rams on its bottom section. In case of a blowout, a mud pump could be used to pump drilling mud into the wellbore to control the blowout.
The Cameron ram-type blowout preventer was the first successful blowout preventer
A blowout preventer (BOP) (pronounced B-O-P, not "bop") is a specialized valve or similar mechanical device, used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells to prevent blowouts, the uncontrolled release of crude oil or natural gas from a w ...
(BOP) for oil well
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may ...
s. It was developed by James S. Abercrombie and Harry S. Cameron in 1922. The device was issued on January 12, 1926. The blowout preventer was designated as a Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 2003.
History
While drilling an oil or gas well, the top of thewellbore
A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petrole ...
is lined with a casing. The drill string
A drill string on a drilling rig is a column, or string, of drill pipe that transmits drilling fluid (via the mud pumps) and torque (via the kelly drive or top drive) to the Well drilling#Drill bits in mechanical drilling, drill bit. The term ...
runs through the casing. The annular (ring-shaped) region between the casing and the drill stem is filled with drilling mud
In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid, also called drilling mud, is used to aid the drilling of boreholes into the earth. Often used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, drilling fluids are also us ...
which provides hydrostatic pressure to keep the formation fluid Formation fluid refers to the naturally occurring liquids and gases contained in geologic formations. Fluids introduced during the drilling process are called drilling fluids. Fluids in an oil or gas reservoir are called reservoir fluids. The fluid ...
from coming up the wellbore. If the pressure of the formation fluid exceeds the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the oil or gas can blow out
''Blow Out'' is a 1981 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget sl ...
of the wellbore. This has caused spills of large quantities of oil and fires on drilling rigs. The blowout of the Lucas well at the Spindletop
Spindletop is an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindleto ...
field in 1901 lasted for over nine days and spilled over of oil.
James Smither Abercrombie (1891–1975), a Texas oil driller, and Harry S. Cameron (1872–1928), who operated a machine shop, formed the Cameron Iron Works in 1920.
Abercrombie had an idea for a blowout preventer and took it to Cameron. They designed and built the device at the Cameron Iron works. This resulted in the first ram-type blowout preventer, which they called the MO BOP.
Cameron Iron Works successfully marketed their blowout preventer and developed other tools for petroleum exploration. In 1990, Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries was an American worldwide electrical products manufacturer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1833, the company had seven operating divisions including Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG ex ...
acquired the company. Cooper's petroleum divisions were transferred into the Cooper Cameron Corporation. This company is now called Cameron International Corporation
Cameron International Corporation (formerly Cooper Cameron Corporation (CCC) and Cooper Oil Tool, Cameron Iron Works) though now operating under Schlumberger, is a global provider of pressure control, production, processing, and flow control s ...
.
Design
The blowout preventer is a T-shaped coupling that is screwed onto the top of the casing. It has a passage through the coupling for the drill string. There is a ram with a concave, semi-circular face in each arm of the tee. Each ram is moved in or out by turning its valve stem, which extends beyond the coupling. The ends of the stems are squared off.
When the rams are retracted, there is a passage for the drilling mud. If a blowout begins, the drill string is stopped. Then wrenches are used to manually close the rams around the drill string to seal the wellbore. The MO BOP was tested to withstand .
The device had a lateral valve below the rams on its bottom section. In case of a blowout, a mud pump could be used to pump drilling mud into the wellbore to control the blowout.
References
{{Petroleum industry Drilling technology Oil wells Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks