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Intercomparison of oil spill prediction models for accidental blowout scenarios with and without subsea chemical dispersant injection

Abstract

We compare oil spill model predictions for a prototype subsea blowout with and without subsea injection of chemical dispersants in deep and shallow water, for high and low gas–oil ratio, and in weak to strong crossflows. Model results are compared for initial oil droplet size distribution, the nearfield plume, and the farfield Lagrangian particle tracking stage of hydrocarbon transport. For the conditions tested (a blowout with oil flow rate of 20,000 bbl/d, about 1/3 of the Deepwater Horizon), the models predict the volume median droplet diameter at the source to range from 0.3 to 6 mm without dispersant and 0.01 to 0.8 mm with dispersant. This reduced droplet size owing to reduced interfacial tension results in a one to two order of magnitude increase in the downstream displacement of the initial oil surfacing zone and may lead to a significant fraction of the spilled oil not reaching the sea surface.

Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

  • Scott A. Socolofsky
  • E. Eric Adams
  • Michel C. Boufadel
  • Zachary M. Aman
  • Øistein Johansen
  • Wolfgang J. Konkel
  • David Lindo
  • Mads N. Madsen
  • Elizabeth W. North
  • Claire B. Paris
  • Dorte Rasmussen
  • Mark Reed
  • Petter Rønningen
  • Lawrence H. Sim
  • Thomas Uhrenholdt
  • Karl G. Anderson
  • Cortis Cooper
  • Tim J. Nedwed

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Ocean / Climate and Environment
  • DHI
  • USA
  • University of Miami
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • New Jersey Institute of Technology
  • Texas A&M University-College Station
  • University of Maryland
  • Shell US
  • Exxon Mobil Corporation
  • Chevron
  • The University of Western Australia

Year

2015

Published in

Marine Pollution Bulletin

ISSN

0025-326X

Volume

96

Issue

1-2

Page(s)

110 - 126

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository