CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR OFFSHORE BLOWOUTS

This paper describes requirements for blowout contingency planning with emphasis on planning for offshore blowouts. The contents are also generally applicable to onshore blowouts. The paper is influenced by the authors' experiences as blowout specialists. Topics to be included in the contingency plan are discussed. These include management structure, Stage 1 - disaster early response, Stage 2 - disaster containment, Stage 3 - disaster control, blowout equipment requirements, specialist personnel, and kill technique selection. Computerisation blowout contingency planning will be discussed briefly. Comments will address accessing a blowout database for case histories similar to the current event and accessing a blowout equipment and services database. The paper has applications for operators (1) required to present contingency plans to regulatory agencies or (2) desiring to introduce or enhance this technical capability within their company.