Oil and gas blowout in the ocean: development of a numerical models system and applications

• Grant number: 17/23297-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2019
• End date: June 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Valdir Innocentini
• Grantee: Luciana de Freitas Tessarolo
• Host Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The growth of the world production of oil and natural gas increases the risk of accidents resulting in harmful consequences for the population, the economy and the environment. An important tool that can be used to elaborate contingency plans involving blowouts is the numerical modeling. From the simulation of several scenarios, the behavior of the oil and gas plume can be determined, providing agility in the decision making. When underwater oil and gas blowouts occur, the mixture behaves as a plume/jet composed by several droplets and/or bubbles and various physical-chemical processes can occur changing the quantity and the composition of the plume/jet components during its rising in the water column. The distribution of oil and gas particles size is an important parameter to determine if the oil will reach the surface or will remain dispersed in the water column. Reaching the surface, the oil may undergo other processes (spreading, evaporation, dispersion, dissolution, emulsification) that will determine its behavior and its final fate. In this project, it is proposed to complement the oil/gas blowout simulation system developed by the applicant in her doctoral thesis, by 1) implementation of the distribution of particles size and 2) development of a numerical model for surface spills. With this system, the effect of the chemical dispersants application that inhibits the appearance of oil droplets in surface can be studied. Oil and gas releases can be simulated in different scenarios, helping in the emergency assistance in real accidents.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TESSAROLO, LUCIANA DE FREITAS; INNOCENTINI, VALDIR; CAMILO BARRETO, FERNANDO TULIO; GONCALVES, IURY ANGELO. Formation, dissolution, and decomposition of gas hydrates in a numerical model for oil and gas from deepwater blowouts. Marine Pollution Bulletin, v. 165, APR 2021. (17/23297-0)

TESSAROLO, LUCIANA DE FREITAS; CAMILO BARRETO, FERNANDO TULIO; INNOCENTINI, VALDIR; GONCALVES, IURY ANGELO; MARTON MARCONDES SILVA, LUIS HENRIQUE; AQUIJE CHACALTANA, JULIO TOMAS; PALMA, GILCA; MARTINS, RENATA GENOVA. A surface Lagrangian algorithm applied to the 2019 South Atlantic oil spill. OCEAN ENGINEERING, v. 268, p. 15-pg., 2022-12-24. (17/23297-0)