Articles
High pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions create a number of difficulties for riser systems of a more conventional design. For a HPHT riser system to be completely effective pipe thickness must be increased, however, this adds to the overall weight of the system, further complicating matters. Over the past 10 years technological advances in the production of high pressure/high temperature riser systems has made the process much more practical, affordable, and efficient. Risers are now produced from steel, offering higher strength limits and the ability to hold greater weights. Furthermore, threaded and coupled connectors strengthen joints to a level that were not feasible in the past. With these innovations, riser systems have become less costly and more variable, able to reach water depths of up to 10,000 feet. HPHT riser systems can be found in use in a variety of harsh conditions. Oil platforms utilize these systems as well as pipelines found deep in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. These advances are the result of numerous tests of connectors and material types throughout this technology’s development.
The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has brought HPHT technology to the attention to the general population. Such technology is necessary to prevent future spills and line breaks. Recently, companies everywhere have been jumping on the band wagon, utilizing the relatively new technology to gain access to oil across the globe. Just recently, Claxton Engineering has engineered a HPHT riser system that is able to work at pressures exceeding 12,000 psi. This ultra high pressure riser is intended to be put to use in their new drilling campaign in the North Sea. The ability to reach great depths is necessary to reach many oil caches that were once unreachable in the deep sea. While, this new HPHT technology enables oil companies to reach oil that were once inaccessible, it raises the question; at what lengths are we willing to go to gain access to this limited resource?
Our over-reliance on oil is going to eventually catch up to us. With prices of oil at an all time high, demand is continuing to rise while supplies are quickly dwindling. In this day of age, the developed world is slowly researching and developing more sustainable means of energy, as less developed countries are still completely reliant on oil, which is almost exclusively provided by foreign companies. Perhaps, the answer to our problems cannot be found in a higher strength pipe or a more secure joint. While these improvements help prevent such tragedies as the BP oil spill of last year, they do not provide a long term solution to our energy crisis. It is a shame that an oil company invests so much in a practice that jeopardizes the environment and the world. The fact of the matter remains, money talks. As long as people are willing to pay a premium price for oil, the oil companies will continue to produce technologies that will enable them to drill deeper, further, and faster.