Precautions are taken to prevent leaks from occurring and loss of well control.
All wellsites are equipped with a blowout preventer (BOP) during the drilling phase. A BOP is a large valve at the top of a well that can be closed immediately if warranted by a change in pressure. BOPs are critically important to the safety of the crew and are inspected, tested and refurbished at regular intervals.
In addition to BOPs, each rig is equipped with a pit volume totalizer, also known as a pit-level indicator, which continuously monitors the level of the drilling mud in the mud tanks. If the mud level drops too low or rises too high, the alarm sounds to warn the driller of a loss of circulation or a kick, which is a flow of reservoir fluids into the wellbore during drilling operations.
Chesapeake trains all supervisory-level personnel on location and requires recertification in well control every two years.
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