OTC 4060
OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLANNING TO MINIMIZE
IMPACTS FROM AMAJOR OIL WELL SPILL
by James W. Collins, Cities Service Company,
Johannes P. Poley, Shell International, Petroleum Mij
©Copyright 1981 Offshore Technology Conference
This paper was presented at the 13th Annual OTC in Houston, TX, May 4-7, 1981. The material Is subject to correction by the author. Per·
mission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words.
ABSTRACT
If oil spill recovery technology were developed to
the point of total recovery of an oil spill (regardless
of the spill size or sea conditions) an oil spill
contingency plan would be very simple. The basics of
the plan would involve logistics of transporting the
spill recovery equipment and personnel to the spill
source, recover spilled oil until the spill source is
stopped and develop systems and processes to render the
recovered oil sellable.
Unfortunately, the technology does not exist to
totally recover all the oil that is spilled at sea.
Therefore, we must use today's spill recovery tech-
nology along with all the facts~ at our disposal to
develop contingency plans which will minimize the
negative impact of oil entering the marine environ-
ment. To do this effectively, certain information
must be available and certain decisions must be made.
This paper will deal primarily with the specific infor-
mation that should be gathered and decisions that must
be made in order to develop an effective contingency
plan. "Our biggest plus, if there is one, in contin-
gency planning for a major oil "well spill is that we
know the exact location of the potential spill source.
INFORMATION
There are four categories of information collected
when studying contingency plans to minimize impacts
from a major oil well spill. These categories are,
1) the oil spill source, 2) the fate of the oil spill;
the factors bearing on it, 3) the movement of the
spill, and 4) coastal impact.
The first category deals with information about
the site of a spill or potential spill and the rate
and total volume of the oil spill. Whether an explora-
tion well or a production platform, the well's exact
coordinates are known as well as general data on the
geography, hydrography and bottom-depth contours.
Complete data can also be developed on a rank explora-
Reference at end of paper.
473
tion well, with the possible exception of the flow
rate, gas/oil ratio, and temperature." Finally, time
estimates of naturally bridging or drilling a relief
well which would stop the source of the spilling oil
can be calculated from past drilling experience in the
area.
The second set of information is taken from
outside the near vicinity of the well, and is primaril
concerned with the fate of the oil spill; how much
will be recovered, and/or dispersed by man?; how much
will naturally disperse? These data include the state
of the open sea, the effectiveness of different oil
spill recovery equipment and combatant measures, and
the composition of the oil spill. These data try to
describe the forces acting on the spill, both natural
and those induced by man. Information on the state of
the sea consists of winds, currents, tides and tempera
ture. These combined factors could determine the
choice and effectiveness of recovery measures. Data
on the crude oil itself--hydrocarbon composition
(heavy vs light ends), gravity, viscosity, and boiling
point phaseal relationships, in union with the state
of the open sea, provide information on evaporation,
spreading, natural dispersion and emulsification.
Data on effectiveness of dispersants and spill recover
equipment provide necessary information on oil leaving
the primary combat area.
The third set of information deals with the
movement of the oil spill. Where will the oil drift?
The important data to be gathered are velocity and
direction of winds (actual and historic) and currents
(residual and tidal).
The last set of information necessary is the
coastal impact. If the oil comes near shore or
onshore, what can be done or should be done to
minimize impact? Just as experience, not oil-spill-
recovery-equipment salesmen, defined the limits of oil
recovery at sea, so has experience (Amaco Cadez, etc.)
shown the right and wrong way to minimize the impact
of an oil spill landing on the coast.
 Assuming we have all the available data for each
information set, it is necessary to turn this raw data
into viable information which will form the basis of
an oil spill contingency plan.
A new tool has been developed to help in this
regard. The tool is called "slikforcast." This
computer simulation program was designed with two
purpose~ in mind. First, to be used as a planning
tool to predict high probability impact areas with
the input of generally historical wind, current, tide,
etc., data; and second, to be used as an oil spill
simulator for specific spill situations. These two
modes of the slikforcast model are referred to as the
probabilistic mode and the deterministic mode,
respectively.
A unique feature of the slikforcast model is the
ability to use the two modes separately or together.
Separately, the probabilistic mode is a tremendous aid
to contingency planning. With the input of seasonal
data, areas of high probability impact can be predicted to:
as a function of the season of the year. As seasonal
shifts in winds and currents occur a separate array of
impact points will be described and defined. The
determinist mode aids short-term oil spill combat
strategies. Together they help determine long-term
oil spill combat strategies.
The slikforcast program was initiated and funded
by the Exploration and Production Marine Forum, London,
England, and developed by the IKU/DnV, Norway (See
Audunson, et al., 1980). The program is designed for
easy implementation on any suitable computer, and for
application in any geographical area. The access to
good ambient input data (winds, currents, tide, etc.)
is of course essential for high quality output. It
is available at cost, and service is provided by
several agents.
With data gathering finished, tne information
unique to an oil spill from a particular well should
be completely described. With the use of the proba-
bilistic mode of slikforcast a pollution or impact
risk assessment is defined. This completes the infor-
mation phase of the development of a contingency plan.
DECISIONS
The major decision to be made is, "Knowing the
pollution risk to a number of coastal or near coastal
areas resulting from a spill, which areas have the
highest protection or clean-up priority?" The coastal
area which is predicted by slikforcast to receive the
greatest amount of spilled oil may not necessarily be
the area warranting the greatest protection. For
example, the projection of a slick may indicate a high
probability to impact a rocky high energy coast line
and give a low probability of entering an inland man-
grove forest area. The most strategic combat scenario
could be to place available manpower and equipment so
as to assure minimum impact of the spill on the man-
grove forest. The mangrove forest may be the critical
element of an ecosystem which sustains a viable fishing 1.
474
industry, which may make up a major segment of the
country's economy. Regardless of the relatively low
probability of impact, the mangrove area may need to be
protected to the highest degree possible. The example
could have used a beach area that is part of a viable
tourist industry or a sensitive coral reef community
instead of the mangrove forest. The point is that
the government is the only entity which can weigh all
the facts and make the proper prioritizing decisions.
Now the elements of a contingency plan are in
place. Basically, the industry has supplied infor-
mation on:
L Source Data
2. Sea Area
3. Fate of Oil Spill Estimates
4. Oil Spill Movement Estimates
5. Combat Means Efficiency
The government has made decisions applicable
1. Ranking of area by area
vulnerability.
2. Local acceptability of
combat means.
3. Access to local resources.
To make the contingency plan viable it must
convert to feasible combat scenarios. Many lessons
have been learned over thelpast few years about oil
spill combat effectiveness •
One of the most important lessons learned is the
need for strong well-tested organization with an
unambiguous chain of command. One person must be
given overall authority for the utilization and
direction of all recovery and clean-up equipment and
personnel. This is no easy task when several diverse
groups have interest in the area, but it is essential
in order to translate a good contingency plan into an
effective combat action.
SUMMARY
In summary, the uniqueness of knowing the exact
location of a potential oil spill from an offshore
oil well enables the gathering of data which converts
to useful information on the potential or probabil-
istic impact of the spill. This information can be
coupled with prioritizing the potential impact areas
resulting from a spill and form the basis of an oil
spill contingency plan. The plan converts to combat
action that can minimize the negative impact of the
spill. To assure success of the combat effectiveness,
organizational mistakes of the past must be avoided.
One person must be in charge of the total combat
effort.
REFERENCES
Poley, Johannes Ph.: "Tailored Oilspill Con-
tingency Planning for Offshore Blow-Outs -
A Tale of Lessons Learned," 1981 Oil Spill
Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.