Restoration of a Platform and Associated Wells Following a Major Fire
Authors: Jonnson Robert D. , Fleming A.D. 
Published: December 2007

This paper was prepared for the 48th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1973. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

As a result of a fire on the Amoco Production Company operated platform in Eugene Island Block 215 on October 16, 1971, five dually completed wells required restoration. This restoration was accomplished and production was restored nine months after the burning wells were brought under control.

The restoration process involved several operations:the debris on and around the burned platform was cleaned up,the burned deck section was removed,a four pile deck section was salvaged from another platform,the salvaged deck was installed on the jacket section of the platform that had burned,the wells were tied back to the cellar deck and repaired,the jacket section of a platform salvaged from another field was set platform salvaged from another field was set adjacent to the original platform,a new deck section with production equipment was installed on the salvaged jacket section, andpiping and painting were completed.

The accomplishment of successfully tieing back and repairing the wells alleviated the necessity to abandon the mechanically damaged wells salvage the entire burned platform, set another drilling platform and drill replacement wells. It is noteworthy that three zones that were killed utilizing relief wells, heavy mud and cement, were successfully restored. A fourth well was pumped into with sea water fro a relief well. While the other wells were not killed with relief wells, each was pumped into from the surface in order to insure the static conditions necessary to tie back the conductor and surface casing. The tie-back procedure was a more economical and quicker procedure was a more economical and quicker approach to the problem of restoration. Production was restored on September 5, 1972, Production was restored on September 5, 1972, less than eleven months after the outbreak of the fire.

Introduction

Eugene island Block 215 Platform "B" is a 4-pile, 6-slot platform located in 103' of water, 125 miles southwest of New Orleans, and is jointly owned by Amoco Production Company and Texaco, Inc. Five dual completions were made from this platform, and production began in January, 1971. On October 16, 1971, a fire broke out on the platform and quickly spread to the wellheads. The last well was under control 47 days from the beginning of the fire. Kill operations were performed on four completions in two wellbores with two relief wells utilizing water, mud, and cement. Four other completions contributed to the fire at various times. Extensive damage occurred to the wellhead equipment and trees, the production equipment, and the platform deck section. During control operations, special emphasis was placed upon keeping the jacket section cooled placed upon keeping the jacket section cooled with sprayed sea water to prevent as much heat damage as possible.

After the wells were controlled, a plan for the restoration of the platform and wells was formulated.