HPHT Wells - Development for Profits
In the global pursuit to stake the biggest claim on the most oil, companies are turning towards technological advances in pipe and valve strength to further their measures. HPHT (high pressure/high temperature) wells are a source for new exploration in the world of oil drilling. HPHT wells serve as major oil sources in some of the deepest and hottest conditions. With a large amount of water pressing down on HPHT wells at all times, this variety of oil wells are typically under an extreme amount of pressure. Pressures exceeded 10000 psi are not uncommon. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for temperatures to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit as the well nears the furnace that is the Earth's core. In years past, HPHT wells were an impractical means of accessing oil reserves. The phrase HPHT well was actually only termed in the 1980's, when the process was first conceptualized.
Only in the mid to late 1990's had HPHT wells been developed to a point that they were affordable and efficient. Manufacturing well piping and support systems from solid steel helped set a base for such the increase in productivity and safety. Coupled and threaded joint connectors ensure that fittings are snug and precise. Just recently at Claxton Engineering designers have successfully built a well system that is able to sustain pressures exceeding 12,000 psi and the excruciatingly high temperatures that are associated with such extreme depths. The wells are designed for a newly established drilling campaign in the North Sea. Wells and pipelines that utilize high pressure/high temperatures models can be found everywhere throughout the world. The most notable can be found lurking in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. These advanced oil wells are meant to turn a mean profit, while protecting against disaster, or loss of product. As we dig deeper and corporations grow greedier, our dependence on oil will grow stronger, and our pocketbooks will continue to grow slimmer.
Damages and loses from the most recent oil, at the fault of BP, have not yet been fully repaired. The natural impacts on the Gulf of Mexico are a quite disturbing reality of the matters at hand. The livelihoods of fishermen and the tourist industry have dramatically affected life on the gulf. Increased safety measures in HPHT wells are only built under the guise of saving the planet. In reality, these advances are funded and researched with one matter on the mind, money. Breaking our reliance on a resource that will eventually be depleted will break this vicious cycle of neglectful thought. Investing money in alternative energy sources and practicing a green lifestyle that reduces waste and petro reliance is the only way to effectively change this rather outrageously bold and negative industry.