Extinguishing column of burning oil and gas from oil well - by spraying liq. nitrogen@ or water into column meniscus from enclosure

摘要

To extinguish a burning column of crude oil and gas mixt. from a borehole, a flame-choking medium is sprayed at high pressure into the meniscus area of the column. Variants claimed include: the spraying being done by jets from several directions simultaneously; additional spraying being into the area above the meniscus; and liquid nitrogen or water being used as the spraying medium. A number of variatns are claimed for the housing placed over the borehole to carry out the spraying, and for equipment used. In the example shown, the housing (1), placed around the bore hole (2) to form a trapping chamber, is cylindrical and is on a concrete base (10). It can be transported by an air-cushion vehicle; alternatively, it can be pushed into position by the arrangement indicated (12). The jets (16) are fixed in position but can be swivelled. A pressure arrangement on the base (10) is connected to a mud line (7), joint (8) and a movable pipe (9) for injecting a mud mixt. into the area of the delivery pipe (3) and borehole head. The air-cushion vehicle (14) has a girder grillage (13), blowers (31), and seals around the outside. There are two or more rows of jets (6) directed towards the meniscus that forms in the column. The jets are supplied with the choking medium through pipes (15) from the tankers (34) by diesel/pump sets. USE/ADVANTAGE - Drawbacks of other oil-well extinguishing methods, which include high cost and potential danger to personnel, are avoided. This method is quicker and uses as little as possible of the flame-choking medium.