Abstract:

Data describing incidents of spill and loss of well control in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from 1996 to 2010 have been accessed from the BSEE public records and organized in an Excel spreadsheet. Incidents reported over the past 15 years were reviewed and organized in a spreadsheet. A total of 90 non-pipeline incidents were identified as including enough description to be useful. Most of these incidents were blowouts and/or spills greater than 50 barrels. To the extent possible, the descriptions include the operation in progress at the time of the release of hydrocarbons, the cause of the release, the flow path taken from the formation to the point in the well or production system where the fluids were released, the release point, the types and volumes of fluids released, the barriers that were ultimately used to reestablish control, and other factors considered useful in describing these inidents and determining what kinds of responses should be expected to be most effective. Only 15 of the incidents occurred in water depths greater than 1000 ft. The spreadsheet is organized to allow sorting be any of the factors described, to focused on particular factors, or to be used with a built-in coding to establish correlations between particular factors.

Suggested Citation:

Smith, John. 2014. Gulf of Mexico Incident Spreadsheet: Blowouts and other Well-related Spills in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf, 1996-2010. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7J964BW

Purpose:

To compile a record of Gulf of Mexico incidents of spill and loss in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Data Parameters and Units:

Reference information for incidents of spill and loss incidents in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Well Incidents: Year (YYYY), Date (MM/DD/YYYY), Days until Event Concluded, Company Name, District, Area Block (Geographic Name abbreviation and Block number), Field Name, Well Name, Lease number, Water Depth (feet), Distance to Shore (miles), Drilling Rig or Offshore Vessel Name or Pipeline Segment Description, Type of Drilling Rig, Owner of Rig/Facility (Contractor), Production Facility Name or Offshore Vessel Name, Type of Production Facility, Description from BOEMRE, Type of Report Available?, Total Spilled (gallons), Crude and Refined Petroleum "Synthetic Base Fluid", Other Chemicals Product(s) Spilled, Flow path of fluids (Drilling), Flow path of fluids (Production), Point of Release, Point of Release defined along Flow Path, Source of Spill, Vessel Involved in Incident, Cause of Incident, Development or Exploration Well, Operation, UNIQUE ID, Date Seepage/Leak Stopped, First Upstream Undamaged Equipment, Flow path:, Days (Hours) to Bridge Primary Barrier, Final Barrier, Diverted Flow?, Attempts to establish Primary barrier, Attempts between Primary and Secondary, 1ST ATTEMPT, 1st Attempt Other Activities/Comments, ..., Nth ATTEMPT, Nth Attempt Other Activities/Comments. All Details Summarized, Release Points, Initial Attachment Point, Barrier Summary, Shut In, Captured and Diverted Flow, Vertical Intervention, Pipeline Incidents: Date (MM/DD/YYYY), District, Area Block (Geographic Name abbreviation and Block number), Water Depth (feet), Distance to Shore (miles), Facility, Total Spilled (gallons), Platform / Rig, Pipeline [TRUE], Vessel, Weather Related, Hurricane, Loss of Well Control, Activity, Operation [Pipeline, Hurricane, Production, Pipeline/Motor Vessel], UNIQUE ID. Mitigating Factors for Deep Water, Flow Path Comparison, Release Comparison, [Attachment, Vertical Intervention, Shut In, Cap, Diversion] Comparison, Barrier Type/Equipment/Location, Flow Paths, AI-VI-SI-CC-M with Description, Shallow verses Deep charts, statistics, operations in progress, codes, Definitions, Miscellaneous Data Area Block Others, District and Area Block.

Individual Files: