“What is an annular blowout preventer?” If you’ve worked in a drilling site, someone has probably asked you that question.
Simply put, an annular blowout preventer helps keep the oil well sealed to prevent disastrous blowouts. It operates differently from the ram blowout preventers. In this post, we’ll look at how the annular BOP works.
What is an annular blowout preventer? This type of BOP can help to prevent disastrous blowouts in a drilling site. The annular blowout preventer is responsible for sealing the space around the drill pipe (annular space). It achieves that by regulating the airflow to prevent mud, ensuring that the system operates efficiently. The annular BOP is usually placed on top of the BOP stack for efficient airflow control in the system.
How does an annular blowout preventer work, and how do you use them?
What is an Annular BOP?
An annular blowout preventer is a large valve designed to seal, control, and monitor oil and gas wells. These BOPs have elastomeric sealing, a valve resembling a large rubber donut, which mechanically squeezes inward to seal the drill string, casing, open hole, or pipe. The valve rotates during drilling to maintain a seal around drill pipes.
Annular vs RAM Blowout Preventer
The annular blowout preventer performs several functions in drilling operations. It seals the annular space between the tubing, casing, and drill pipes. It also helps maintain the seal when the casing, tubing, or drill pipes are out of the drill hole. Unlike the RAM blowout preventers, the annular BOPs can seal various pipes of different sizes.
Other Ram Types
The primary function of a Ram BOP is to seal the well and prevent oil from escaping uncontrollably. It also prevents unwanted materials from building up and exploding in the system when drilling. That ensures the safety of workers in the drilling site.
Here are the other Ram types that serve the same purpose.
Choke Manifolds: A system of pressure sensors that control fluid flow in various directions.
Blind RAMs: Are designed to close over any portion in the well, whether a pipe is present or not.
Choke Line Valves: Direct mud to the choke manifold when a kick occurs. They help to control the flow of fluids in the well.
Kill Line Valves: Act as the backup to the standard drill pipes.
Choose BOP Products
What is an annular blowout preventer? When asked that question, you’ll have the answer. If you have a drilling project, consider getting a blowout preventer from a reputable company like Deenpu Machinery. We offer high-quality products and services to ensure the safety of workers.
Contact us to learn how other types of blowout preventers (BOPs) operate.