Hypothetical Blowouts of Oil and Gas from Frade and Lula Fields, Brazil

Luciana F. Tessarolo¹, V. Innocentini¹, F. T. C. Barreto¹, and I. A. Gonçalves²

1. National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil

2. Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Brazil

Abstract: Simulations of hypothetical blowouts of oil and gas from oil wells located in Frade (FF) and Lula Fields (LF) were performed using a Lagrangian numerical model to determine the trajectories of the components along the water column from these different locations. The depths in FF and LF are, respectively, 1181.85 m and 2213.0 m. In both locations, the releases started on January 15, 2018 with 24 hours duration. The ocean conditions used in the simulations are from Mercator Ocean. The trajectories were influenced by the variation in the ocean current directions. In FF, the mass of oil and gas was displaced towards northwest below z ≈ -400 m, changing for southeast above. In LF, the components were transported towards northeast throughout the entire water column. After 24 hours, most of the oil reached the surface, while the gas was completely dissolved underwater in 1.5 hours.

Key words: blowouts, oil and gas, deepwater, Frade and Lula Fields