Hibernia Oil Field

Introduction

Today I will be talking about;

• The Hibernia Oil field

• The Hibernia Oil rig and and what it consists of

• Drilling and processing of the oil beneath the ocean floor

• Economic benefits of this project

• Environmental risks in having this oil rig and potential disasters that could occur

Processing

Canada's Economic Benefit

• Of the revenue generated per year (8.4 billion dollars) Canada's government makes 8.5% or 714 million dollars

• The government also generates revenue of the money paid to the employees via taxes

• Hibernia, Terra Nova and White rose combine to generate 2,851 jobs for Newfoundland & Labrador

• The oil can now be produced into marketable crude oil

• Oil is collected from the active wells using a pipe called a manifold

• The oil from the GBS is shipped to refinery's on shore (Off Shore Loading System)

• Hibernia produces 83 million barrels a year which would produce around 8.4 billion dollars

• The platform produces 240,000 barrels of oil a day (24 million dollars)

Topside Continued..

Hibernia Oil Field

Continued..

• When the wells are drilled deep enough steel casings are cemented in the bottom of the to ensure safe extraction

• Small explosives placed specifically in the well and detonated at the bottom to allow oil to start flowing into the well and to the platform surface

• The crude oil is separated from the Gas and Water (M10 Process) and stored in the GBS

• The water is treated and safely pumped into the ocean while the gas is used on board the platform

• 5.5 Billion dollars in Royalty revenue has been payed to the government of Newfoundland

• 34% of Newfoundlands GDP from 2004-09 was generated from the oil and gas industry

• This Oil field is located 315 km east southeast of St. John's Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean
• Discovered in 1979
• Consists of two Cretaceous Reservoirs; The Hibernia and Ben Nevis-Avalon
• Contains 3 billion barrels of oil 210 million of which are recoverable
• Fifth largest discovered in Canadian history

Direct & Indirect Benefits

• $168 Million in revenue was made by individuals directly employed by Hibernia which is taxable both Provincially and Federally

• As a result of Hibernia, $124 million was spent on goods and services generating economic benefit

• Housing starts were 2.4% higher as a direct result with Hibernia

Topside Facility

Drilling

Environmental Risks

• Scientists gather information on the oil reservoir in order to start drilling

• Two drilling derricks are mounted on the platform (wellhead)

• Two wells are drilled simultaneously using a drill bit to crush and shear rocks (M20 Wellhead)

• Long pipes are added from the surface to drill deeper into the reservoir

• Crushed rocks are removed by drilling mud's pumped through the drill and circulated back to the platform (M30 Mud)

• Their is a theory the the explosives detonated in the Ocean deafen fish and alter their migratory patterns

• Their is always a risk of an oil spill or leak

• Hibernia has had a few minor leaks with the most oil spilled being 6000 L

• If their were to be a large oil spill it would significantly affect Newfoundland and its fisheries

• Anything like the BP oil spill would put Newfoundland's fisheries out of commission for many years severely affecting Canada's economy

Hibernia Oil Rig

Worst Case Scenario

• Made up of two main parts; The GBS (Gravity Base Structure) and the Topside facility
• In total the structure weighs 600,000 tons
• Their are five different sections in the topside facility;

M10 Process

M20 Wellhead

M30 Mud

M40 Utilities and

M50 Accommodations

• In 2010 an offshore oil rig much like Hibernia had an explosion killing 11 people and rupturing a live well

• This spill is known as the BP oil spill off the Gulf Of Mexico

• In total 185 million gallons of oil were spilled

• 1.5-2.5 million gallons of oil were spewed from the well every day over an 87 day period

• Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, birds, fish and turtles were killed

• Could take over 15 years to fully recover

• Biggest accidental spill in history

• To put that into perspective the amount of oil can be compared to 289 olympic swimming pools with each pool holding 640,000 gallons

Quiz

Gravity Base Structure

• When was Hibernia oil field discovered?

• How much does the entire structure weigh?

• What are the two reservoirs called?

• What percent of the money goes to the government?

• What was the total amount of oil spilled during the BP spill in 2010?

• The GBS is a huge concrete pedestal that supports the whole structure
• Was Constructed in Bull Arm, Newfoundland
• This structure is 85 m tall and sits on the ocean floor with only 5 m above surface
• The GBS stores all the oil pumped from the reservoirs (1.5 million barrels) or 150 million dollars worth
• Built to with stand impact with a 1 million ton iceberg and a 6 million ton iceberg
• Weighs in at 400,000 tons with out oil

BP Oil Spill Environmental Effects

Thank you for listening!

Hibernia Oil Field

Ben Lawrick