The pipe fittings we supply at Chemipetro are manufactured to withstand some of the earth’s most hostile environments. As mankind attempts to wring every last drop from the earth’s crust, so the wells get deeper – and the costs get higher. This was proven to tragic effect in April 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, pipe flanges and all, to the bottom of the ocean, taking 11 crew members with her. The cost to marine life has been immeasurable.

Despite state-of-the-art rig technology and super duplex pipe flanges, deepwater drilling is in its infancy. The more extreme it becomes, the more dangerous it becomes too. When Deepwater blew, it was through a combination of factors, chief among which was the under-estimation of the power and speed of the earth to strike back.

Deepwater Horizon was the jewel in BP’s crown. 7 months’ previously, she had successfully sunk the deepest oil well in the world. But while a casing was being cemented – ironically, to safely shut off the well so the Deepwater could be moved –an unprecedented and abnormal pressure build-up occurred, rising and expanding in a terrifying burst of energy. Although the rig was fitted with cutting-edge blow-out preventers, or BOPs, the explosion occurred with such speed and finality that they were overridden.

It’s been suggested that back-up devices could have prevented the explosion – though this seems doubtful. What is certain is that not one factor of the blowout could be attributed to the construction of Deepwater Horizon herself. From the state-of-the-art dynamic positioning system, to the pipe flanges that proudly withstood the full force of the blowout, she was an inspirational work of art.