Oil field fire

Oil field fires can be the result of human actions, such as accidents or arson or natural events, such as lightning. They can exist on a small scale, such as a oil field spill catching fire, or on a huge scale, as in geyser-like jets of flames from ignited high pressure oil wells.

In fighting a fire at a wellhead, typically high explosives, such as dynamite, are used to consume all the local atmospheric oxygen and "snuff" the flame outFact|date=February 2007. Doing so removes the oxygen necessary for the fire to burn, but the fire's fuel, whether it be natural gas or oil, is still present which can shower down upon the working crew.

After snuffing, the wellhead must be capped to stop the flow of oil. During this time, the fuel and oxygen required to create another inferno is present in copious amounts. At this perilous stage, one small spark (perhaps from a steel or iron tool striking a stone) or other heat source might re-ignite the oil.

To prevent re-ignition, brass or bronze tools, which do not strike sparks, or paraffin coated tools are used during the capping process. Meticulous care is used to avoid heat and sparks, or any other ignition source. The explosive re-ignition of a wellhead may take the form of an extremely powerful explosion, possibly even worse than the original blowout.

Due to recent advances in technology as well as environmental concerns, many wells today are capped while they burn. The use of high-powered water sprays and Purple K dry chemical (a potassium bicarbonate mixture) are used to extinguish the wells.

ee also

*Kuwaiti oil fires