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BSEE Arctic Oil ResponseResearch

For the US/CA Northern Oil and Gas Research Forum

November 2012, Anchorage, AK

Matthew Quinney, Ohmsett COTR

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MMS - Minerals Management Service

BOEMRE - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement

Who is BSEE?

BOEM – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

BSEE – Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

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OSRD - Oil Spill Response Division

InspectionsUnannounced Spill DrillsOil Spill Response PlansRegulations and PolicyResearch

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BSEE Oil Spill Response Research

http://www.bsee.gov/Research-and-Training/Oil-Spill-Response-Research-(OSRR).aspx

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• Remote sensing and detection• Physical and chemical properties of crude oil • Mechanical containment and recovery • Chemical treating agents and dispersants • In situ burning • Deepwater operations • Arctic operations • Operation of Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility

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BSEE Research Process

Solicit ideas BAA – Broad Agency AnnouncementWhites Papers submittedProposals requestedFinal projects chosen

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Research for 2012

OSRR 1000 Oil Spill Detection and Mapping under Arctic Sea Ice using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

OSRR 1001 Dispersant Effectiveness, In-Situ Droplet Size Distribution, and Numerical Modeling to Assess

Subsurface Dispersant Injection as a Deepwater Blowout Oil Spill Response Option

OSRR 1002 Acoustic Assessment of Subsea Chemical Dispersant Efficacy

OSRR 1003 Subsea Chemical Dispersant Research

OSRR 1004 Ocean Studies Board Responding to Oils Spills in Arctic Environments

OSRR 1005 Rapidly Deployable Thermal Hydrate Preventer for Subsea Oil Spill Mitigation

OSRR 1006 Development of Real Time Monitoring Protocol for Assessing Volatile Organic Compound Impacts

on Response and Cleanup Workers Safety During Surface and Subsurface Dispersant Operations

OSRR 1007 Burning Behavior of Oil in Ice Channels

OSRR 1008 Technology Systems, Inc. Coordinated Oil-spill Response Network (CORN)

OSRR 1009 Evaluation of Oil Fluorescence Characteristics to Improve Forensic Response Tools

OSRR 1010 Comparison of Physical and Chemical Characteristics of In-Situ Burn Residue and other Environmental Oil

Samples Collected during the Deepwater Horizon Spill Response

OSRR 1011 Evaluation of Feasibility of Conducting Subsea Dispersant Research at Ohmsett

OSRR 1012 Naval Research Laboratory Efficient Atomization and Combustion of Emulsified Crude Oil

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OSRR 1000

Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institution - Oil Spill Detection

and Mapping under Arctic Sea

Ice using Autonomous Under-

water Vehicles

The goal of this project is to evaluate and develop an AUV-based system for detection and mapping of oil in ice-infested waters from underneath the water and/or ice.

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Develop deployment and search strategies

Develop sensor suite

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OSRR 1004

National Research Council

(NRC) - Ocean Studies Board

Responding to Oils Spills in

Arctic Environments

The National Research Council will assess the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region (with a specific focus on the regions north of the Bering Strait), with emphasis on potential impacts in U.S. waters.

• Scenarios

• Preparedness

• Response and Clean Up

• Strategies for Establishing Baselines

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OSRR 1007

Burning Behavior of Oil in Ice Channels

The objective of the proposed research is to enable assessment of the efficiency of in-situ burning of an oil spill in icy conditions and set a new experimental and modeling framework to explore burning of oil spills on ice, which will allow quantifying the efficiency of combustion as well as point of extinction for liquid fuel spills in icy conditions.

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Phase I – Small Scale Test

Test using a small scale test apparatus

Develop model to predict spread and burn rate

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Phase II – Large Scale Test

Test using large scale (10’ X 18’) ice matrix

Reassess model developed in Phase I

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Research for 2013

Beginning process

ICE Month at Ohmsett, Feb – Mar 2013

The National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test FacilityOperated by the Department of the Interior – BSEE

Ohmsett

667 feet long65 feet wide8 feet deep2.6 million gallons of waterTow bridge speeds 6.5 knots max.

Ohmsett

Ohmsett’s mission – Improve oil spill response through testing, training, research, and development of full scale

oil spill response

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OHMSETT

1974 - 1987 Facility Built and Operated by the EPA 1987 - 1989 Mothballed

1989 - Exxon Valdez grounding in the Prince William Sound

1990 - Reopening of Ohmsett mandated by OPA-90 Management of Ohmsett was charged to MMS Annual O&M Funding through the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Testing/Training funded by clients

1991

Types of Activities at Ohmsett• Testing response equipment and oil spill clean up technology • Training in oil spill response technology • Testing renewable energy wave equipment• Develop testing protocol

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) Vice Chair for Committee F20 on Hazardous Substances and Oil Spill Response

F631-99 Standard Guide for Collecting Skimmer Performance Data in Controlled Environments F716-82(2001) Standard Methods of Testing Sorbent Performance of Absorbents R726-99 Standard Test Method for Sorbent Performance of Adsorbents F818-93(2003) Standard Terminology Relating to Spill Response Barriers F1084-90(2002) Standard Guide for Sampling Oil/Water Mixtures for Oil Spill Recovery Equipment F1523-94(2001) Standard Guide for Selection of Booms in Accordance with Water Body F1599-95(2003) Standard Guide for Collecting Performance Data on Temporary Storage Devices F1607-95(2003) Standard Guide for Reporting of Test Performance for Oil Spill Response Pumps F1778-97(2002) Standard Guide for Selection of Skimmers for Oil-Spill Response F1780-97(2002) Standard Guide for Estimating Oil Spill Recovery System Effectiveness F2008-00 Standard Guide for Qualitative Observations of Skimmer Performance F2084-01 Standard Guide for Collecting Containment Boom Performance Data in Controlled Environments F2709 Standard Test Method for Determining Nameplate Recovery Rate of Stationary Oil Skimmer Systems

Standards and Protocols

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MORICE

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Intended to test skimmers currently positioned for use offshore AK BSEE provides venue, testers responsible for getting

equipment/personnel to Ohmsett May become annual event

ICE Month – March 2013

Questions?http://www.bsee.gov/