New technology under development to prevent oil leaks

A computer model is being developed at MIT's Impact and Crashworthiness Laboratory to prevent components on oil rigs from malfunctioning, according to a report by OilPrice.com

The new technology is being developed after US president Barack Obama stated that the government needs to look at getting the technology to plug oil leaks at the bottom of the sea, such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

Scientists have responded to the appeal by using simulations of material deformation in car crashes to predict how pipes may fracture during offshore drilling accidents.

Some 4.9 million barrels of oil were leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well in Mexico, which equates to half of the crude oil the US imports per day. There were 62,000 barrels of oil leaking per day when the wellhead first broke, which was reduced to 53,000 per day when the well was capped. In all, $397.7 million dollars of oil was spilt, according to Popular Mechanics figures.

Preventing oil leaks occurring in the first place has become the common impetus behind new research and development in the field.

The MIT team simulated the forces involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, and accurately predicted the location and propagation of the cracks. This has led to developments in predicting the behaviour of different materials in conditions experienced on off-shore rigs, which will allow the offshore industry to learn for improvements in future developments and current infrastructure.

Posted by Joseph Hutton