Maintenance
Response readiness is the core of MWCC’s promise to our members and the U.S. government to effectively respond to a deepwater well control incident. This means our vast portfolio of containment equipment must be regularly tested and maintained in top condition. That is why MWCC has dedicated staff at both of its equipment storage locations, or shore bases, whose role is to assure system readiness. Our teams partner with two key contractors to support readiness and preventative maintenance. Kiewit Offshore Services (KOS) supports our MCV Shore Base in Ingleside, Texas and Technip FMC PLC supports the SURF Shore Base in Theodore, Alabama.
Both contractors were selected because of the unique skill sets they bring to the table. Technip FMC PLC is one of the world’s largest installers of deepwater subsea systems and is contracted to help maintain and deploy subsea equipment used for our dispersant, interim collection, and extended flowback systems. KOS fabricates some of the largest offshore drilling and production platforms in the world; they are contracted to maintain our extended flowback processing modules and re-install them on top of the oil tankers in an extended flowback response. Trendsetter Engineering, the world’s expert in deepwater capping equipment, is responsible for maintaining our capping stacks with support from KOS. System testing and verification meet offshore standards for production facilities as defined in 30CFR250 Sub-part H and are inspected by BSEE at the same frequency as offshore facilities in operation.
Capping Stacks
MWCC’s capping stacks are essential to our Containment System and our top priority is assuring their functionality during a response. To that end, each capping stack undergoes monthly visual inspections where an inspector examines all the external components to verify integrity. On a quarterly basis, MWCC function tests each capping stack to make sure all valves and rams function precisely as intended. Semi-annually, MWCC conducts pressure verification on each capping stack. During a pressure verification, the capping stack is hooked up to a Hydraulic Pressure Unit (HPU) that creates pressure using a series of pumps to exert force equal to the flow ratings of each capping stack.
In addition to maintenance routines regularly performed by the MWCC team, the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement (BSEE) conducts annual inspections and verifications. Additionally, MWCC uses DNV GL, the world’s largest classification society, to conduct regular independent third-party function verifications on our capping stacks.
Supportive Equipment
MWCC maintains several pieces of supportive equipment at our SURF Shore Base, these include our dispersant stock, water column monitoring kit, well head straightening tool and interim collection equipment including top hats and riser insertion tube tools. All support equipment is maintained with the same rigor as our capping stacks and extended flowback equipment. Both visual inspection and function testing are used to verify response readiness.
Modular Capture Vessels &
Extended Flowback
MWCC complies with a robust maintenance program approved by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the world’s leader in setting safety standards for tankers and vessels used for offshore energy operations. All required certifications are maintained on both of our two Modular Capture Vessels (MCV). Furthermore, BSEE and the United States Coast Guard conduct annual inspections to confirm the vessels are maintained to meet all regulatory standards. The MCVs are used to transport hydrocarbons from large international oil tankers parked offshore to and from processing and refining facilities onshore, a process called lightering.
The equipment, or topsides processing modules, used to separate the oil from gas on the vessels are stored at our MCV Shore Base in functioning, or warm stacked, condition. Warm stacking indicates that these systems remain fully functional with the control system turned on, this maintains the integrity of the equipment and confirms that it is deployment ready.
Demonstrations
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Activation
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System Care & Deployment
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