There are many thousands of oil and gas wells in Alberta, either active, abandoned or suspended. These wells are located in almost every pocket of the province, with some exceptions like National Parks, (most) cities, etc. Abandoned wells are usually cemented in so that nothing will flow from the well... I think these are the least worry. Suspended wells are typically wells that are no longer economical, but can be turned on with relatively simple processes. An active well would be currently producing oil and or gas. There are also wells that are currently being drilled or worked over, which would make them the least 'static' of the group and the most susceptible to damage in a grid down situation or other catastrophe. I don't think abandoned wells are much of a threat, suspended wells are more of a threat, but not enough to dwell on for purposes of this discussion. I would like to start with actively producing wells. What would happen and what safeguards are in place to protect the environment in a catastrophe to shut these wells in? I think with the manpower and equipment, that the threat from these can be minimized if the resources are available. I am not trivializing these groups of wells, I think that over time, they would all be a threat, but my major concern and focus for discussion would be... what would happen to the water supply, wildlife, air quality if the power grid went down or there was some sort of catastrophe that would cripple the active operations on these wells? I remember growing up in Alberta in the 80's when the Lodgepole blowout occurred. We could smell the sour gas hundreds of kilometers away, and that was just a single well. Hundreds of wells are being drilled, fracced, cemented or otherwise worked over on a daily basis. I am wondering what would happen if a disaster struck... take your pick, but one that would cripple society. The people that are employed to be responsible for these wells may be dead or dying, fleeing to get back to their families etc. That would leave hundreds of these wells potentially out of control. We have seen in recent times when a pipeline bursts or a train derails, the damage that can be done to our rivers and lakes. Now multiply these incidents by a hundred, over a much greater time frame, and consider the repercussions. This scares the crap out of me because most of our province would be affected by this industry alone. Any comments or discussion would be appreciated
- Masterchief
Thanks Masterchief, I think you pose an excellent question. The query is timely, relevant to the area (all of Western Canada really), and addresses a risk that we would all like to take into consideration. I am interested to see if we will get some feedback from preppers who work in the industry and have experience based answers. To give a nod to Traveller; I'm tempted to pipe in with "Surely..., and I assume...". But that's just the problem, isn't it?
Needs must when the devil drives.
I find it odd that this thread did not get any traction among our little community. I guess this issue is just a bit too outlandish for us. Let's instead debate the practicality of the Katana vs. the Claymore! I was talking to Mrs. Antsy about the above item regarding wells as she works for an Oil and Gas Co. She explained that many of the oil and gas wells here in Alberta are in remote areas of the province. To that end, the wells are not tied into the provincial grid. The wells have their own power sources and are not at risk in the event of a "grid down" situation. Of course, regular fuel deliveries and maintenance are required for the continued operation of said wells.
Antsy
(Here they fight with Messers, may god remember them.)
Needs must when the devil drives.
I'm not certain about how possible HP (High Pressure) incidents and those with H2S, i.e. main contributor to sour wells and sour gas, may cause concern for regional occupants near said wells. It is a debatable topic, for sure, and one that those that live near any wells should stay abreast of, especially for HazMat concerns.
As a city dweller, presently, my main concern is with the refineries.
Now, I am fairly certain that as with most "good" engineering designs, refinery systems should "fail safe" if power fails, i.e. valves should close in the appropriate manner and sour/excess gases should re-direct to the flare stack. But "what if" there is a catastrophic event at a local refinery. Local residents may not have much time to respond for emergency measures.
NOTE: I also work in the industry, but mostly in a tech support role.
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Is what you say worth at least a Canadian nickel now?
Cause two cents ain't worth squat anymore !
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Self-sufficient is good. Co-efficient is better.
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I work in the industry on the testing side. Basically engineered steps are in place to prevent a Lodgepole type event today. Most well after completed or online can be accessed remotely and are monitored. Most facilities (where the raw gas/oil comes in) have what we call an ESD (emergency shut down) everything is monitored remotely in Calgary or similar city. Basically the oil companies police themselves with oversight from the government EUB. Lately they get involved after an accident has occurred.
Consider this in Alberta we have approximately 320.000 km oil and gas pipelines criss crossing the province from north to south and east to west. Not too many places don't have something under their feet.
Most flowing wells will hum along without an issue. Most accidents occur when the well is being serviced (new well coming online, workovers and fracking) They do occur during the drilling of the well but these are rare nowadays because they pretty much know whats down there.
New drills are not my area but I will try and cover this. New wells if they have issues usually occur when they have underestimated the downhole pressure or reserve. The drilling mud viscosity is to low and the downhole pressure forces the mud to surface "a blowout". Basically the drilling mud is what returns all formation cuttings, the hole is always being pumped with the mud to keep it filled, return the cuttings and lubricate the drill string as well as maintain hydrostatic pressure on the wellbore. If this hydrostatic pressure is not maintained then you will get gas at surface either in small pockets (they can send to flare and maintaine control) or it can displace the wellbore and have a blowout. In most cases they can still control the blowout until other steps are taken if they react in a timely fashion. If not it can end badly.
You would be surprised at the incidents that have happened and I have never seen in the news, usually because nobody died I guess.
Common device used on "new drills", mostly Cased Hole, is a Blow-out Preventor (BOP).
Typically, the "new drills" are Open Hole, i.e. not Cased or cemented yet.
Plus, wells don't go into production until after casing and perforation.
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Is what you say worth at least a Canadian nickel now?
Cause two cents ain't worth squat anymore !
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Self-sufficient is good. Co-efficient is better.
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I have worked in the patch quite a bit as well. In a grid down scenario, with gas wells, the local processing plants will go into shutdown without power. The inlet and outlet valves are "fail closed" meaning if they loose power or control air, the valves will automatically close. Wellheads will follow suit when the collection pipelines reach a predetermined pressure.
Wells that have pump jacks or rotary heads are generally oil wells, (there is the odd gas well with too much water in it to free flow so it has a pump jack as well and will react the same as a oil well). In Alberta it is rare to find a oil well that will flow without the pump on it. In a grid down condition, the pumpjacks stop with no power so the wells will just stop flowing. Any well with a propane motor or casing gas motor will shut down once the pipeline pressure builds up.
Any blowout we have had comes from either a drilling operation or well service operation when they loose control of the well. Each is localized to that well pad.
