The bop control hose is a hydraulic line that is used to operate the blowout preventer (BOP) system. The hose must be able to maintain operating pressure and stand up to fire and high heat conditions. The coiled tubing Quad BOP typically has Pipe and Shear ram assemblies with Contingency and Wireline rams as well. These Combi rams provide increased flexibility and reduce the amount of stick-up compared to a conventional quad BOP.

Types

There are several types of bop control hose for use in BOP (blowout preventer) equipment stacks. They supply hydraulic operating fluid to a series of functions located on the top of the stack, including shear rams and blind shear rams. These rams are designed to shear a pipe or seal a well bore, respectively. The shear rams have steel blades that are able to cut through the drill pipe and seal the annulus when activated. The ram-type BOP has rubber faced, steel rams that come together with immense force to seal the well bore. It is typically positioned above the quadruple or twin ram BOP in a coiled tubing, workover, or stripper-packer stack. The ram-type BOP also has a choke manifold that redirects mud into the BOP during a kick, and a kill line valve to direct coiled tubing into the BOP during shear ram activation. BOPs require a large volume of hydraulic operating fluid stored under high pressure in the accumulator unit. Bundled hoses exhibit greater volumetric expansion when pressurized than identical hoses in isolation. This increases response times for the pod-mounted relay valves when activated by a hydraulic pilot signal.

Applications

Blowout preventer (BOP) systems are a critical safety measure to protect the well during a drilling or production event. Despite the robustness of the overall system, control tubing, hoses and fittings can be vulnerable to failure. BOP control hoses are designed for use in extreme oil field conditions and need to be capable of operating at high pressure whilst being exposed to fire. They must be able to maintain their rated working pressure even when exposed to flame temperatures up to 1300degF/700degC for a minimum of five minutes.

Fittings

BOP systems require high-pressure, flame-resistant control lines certified to API 16D. Armoured hoses can withstand minimum 1300 degF (+700 degC) flame temperature at working pressure for 5 minutes. They're also able to withstand abrasion, cutting, gouging, oil and weather. Other features include a fire resistant cover, stainless steel protection cover and crimped couplings with over-ferrule fire protection. There are several types of valves that work together to help prevent blowouts in deep subsea applications, including choke manifolds and RAM (ram-activated safety) valves. The choke line valve helps to direct drilling mud to the choke manifold when there is a kick.

Lengths

BOP control hoses are available in long continuous lengths. This reduces splicing and installation time, increases usable length, and enables better cable routing. Bundles are reinforced for added strength and safety. Conventional hydraulic BOP systems encounter unacceptable delays in operating subsea BOP functions when drilling in deep water applications due to two factors: the time it takes for the umbilical hose to transmit a hydraulic activation signal from the surface to the subsea control station and the amount of time required to deliver sufficient quantities of pressurized operational fluid from the subsea control system storage accumulators to the control valves (also known as "signal time" and "fill-up time"). This system provides an alternative method of operating a full subsea BOP stack with electric signals instead of hydraulic. It consists of electric signal conversion equipment fitted to selected critical BOP functions including the closing mode of one or more shear rams and one or more annular type BOPs.