Premium
Application of MODFLOW for Oil Reservoir Simulation During the Deepwater Horizon Crisis
Author(s) -
Hsieh Paul A.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2011.00813.x
Subject(s) - shut down , petroleum engineering , casing , hydraulic fracturing , geology , deepwater horizon , leak , petroleum , environmental science , oil spill , engineering , environmental engineering , nuclear engineering , paleontology
When the Macondo well was shut in on July 15, 2010, the shut‐in pressure recovered to a level that indicated the possibility of oil leakage out of the well casing into the surrounding formation. Such a leak could initiate a hydraulic fracture that might eventually breach the seafloor, resulting in renewed and uncontrolled oil flow into the Gulf of Mexico. To help evaluate whether or not to reopen the well, a MODFLOW model was constructed within 24 h after shut in to analyze the shut‐in pressure. The model showed that the shut‐in pressure can be explained by a reasonable scenario in which the well did not leak after shut in. The rapid response provided a scientific analysis for the decision to keep the well shut, thus ending the oil spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon blow out.