Rapid CUBE: technology to protect the sea

Rapid CUBE is Eni’s patented innovative technology in response to remote, unpredictable and unexpected hydrocarbon spills in the sea during perforation, in spite of the usual safety systems being in place.  Rapid CUBE does not require direct contact with the erupting well and its ultimate aim is to capture any hydrocarbons that are released – thus limiting the environmental impact of the blowout – or the uncontrolled escape of hydrocarbons from the well. The system took just 11 months to work up from the initial concept to completion and has been based at the Gela logistics centre since December 2015, ready for dispatch at any time to support Eni operations around the world. Rapid CUBE technology was awarded the Eni Innovation Award in 2016. The following researchers worked on it: Carlo Cesari, Roman Estanislao Chomicz, Roberto Cimino, Roberto Ferrario, Andrea Lainati, Alessandro Luongo and Daniele Vanzan.

Underwater blowout containment technology

Over the past five years the oil industry has made great strides in the field of underwater blowout containment technology – in particular the development at an industrial level of the Capping Stack system, where a device similar to a giant valve is installed above the erupting well to prevent hydrocarbons from escaping. This provided the solution for the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010. However, incidents of this type stem from a combination of independent accidental causes and rarely occur in the same way twice. In addition to third-party capping services, which have to be physically connected to the well, Eni is equipped with technologies such as Rapid CUBE, which allows the company to tackle emergency scenarios that standard equipment cannot handle.