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Marine Well Containment Company Interim System Capping
Stack Now Usable in 10,000 Feet of Water
Houston, TX, June 14, 2011
Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced today
that its capping stack has met the requirements for containment operations in water depths up
to 10,000 feet, which is an increase from the previous water depths of up to 8,000 feet.
“This increase in our capability demonstrates our commitment to providing a comprehensive
deepwater well containment system for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico,” said Chief Executive Officer
Marty Massey. “Our goal is to continually advance deepwater well containment technology to
keep pace with our member companies’ needs.”
The capping stack is the centerpiece of an interim response containment system and is
designed to cap or contain the flow of hydrocarbons in a deepwater well control incident. It can
handle pressures of up to 15,000 pounds per square inch.
The capping stack provides a dual barrier for containment through a blowout preventer ram and
a containment cap. Through its side valves, the capping stack can also redirect the flow of fluid
to surface vessels through flexible pipes and risers, if necessary. The capping stack is tested
and maintained in a continuous state of readiness for mobilization and measures approximately
30 feet in height, 14 feet in width and weighs almost 100 tons.
A Shell permit application, which cited the MWCC interim system for drilling in 9,800 feet of
water in the Tobago Field, met the requirements of the Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management,
Regulation and Enforcement and was approved.
An expanded containment system is on track for delivery in 2012. In addition to operating in
water depth up to 10,000 feet, the system will have the capacity to capture up to 100,000
barrels of fluid and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day.
For more information about MWCC, please visit http://www.marinewellcontainment.com.
About the Marine Well Containment Company
The Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) is a not-for-profit, independent organization
committed to improving capabilities for containing a potential future underwater well control
incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Membership is open to all oil and gas operators in the U.S.
Gulf of Mexico.
Marine Well Containment Company, press release
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