Repsol riders visit Casablanca oil rid.
Alex Barros, Nicky Hayden and Rubén Xaus were taken by helicopter to the Repsol YPF facilities, 45 kilometres offshore Tarragona.
This morning, as part of the previous activities to the Gran Premi de Catalunya, the Repsol riders of the MotoGP World Championship, Alex Barros, Nicky Hayden and Rubén Xaus, visited the oil rid of the Spanish company located off the coast of Tarragona. A helicopter took them to the spectacular Casablanca rig together with a small group of journalists. Luis Gómez, highest responsible of the exploration complex, was their guide during the long route around the facilities. Barros, Hayden and Xaus spent two hours visiting all areas and greeting the complex staff. None of them had ever visited an off shore oil rig before and were visibly excited by this opportunity. Rubén Xaus was the rider who most clearly explained their feelings: ‘Up to now Xaus explained I had only seen oil rigs on TV, but Id never been to one. Its been really impressing.
Watching how this gigantic structure appears in the middle of the sea is something very unusual. I had never imagined that there was such a big plant in front of the Tarragona coast. Its been a fantastic opportunity and we’ve enjoyed it a lot’. After the visit the helicopter took the three riders back to the Circuit de Catalunya were the first official practices of the fifth round of the season are going to start tomorrow. Casablanca is the largest oilfield discovered so far in Spain. It is located some 45 kilometres off the coast and an average of 2,600 metres under the sea level and was discovered in 1975. A total of 18 wells have been made since then, producing more than 145 million of oil barrels, with an average production of 45,000 barrels per day. The Casablanca permanent oil rig was installed in summer 1981 and vertiginously rises to 78 metres above the sea level. The colossal steel structure supported by eight legs with a diameter of 1.65 metres measures more than 170 metres a weighs some 8,000 tons. In addition to the platform, the Casablanca complex consists of additional facilities such as submarine wells and the oil pipeline. The latter, which is made of steel tube with a 12-inch diameter, covered with concrete and buried under the bottom of the sea, was installed in summer 1980 and connects the permanent platform with the Repsol Petroleo coast cargo terminal in Pineda before taking the oil to the Tarragona refinery.
Safety, a fundamental element Safety and environmental friendliness have been and are fundamental aspects in the design, building and operation of the exploitation facilities of Casablanca. An important fact with regard to safety, is that design, building and operation of the rig comply with the regulations of the North Sea Petrol Industry, the most demanding of the world. The facilities are equipped with automatic leak and fire detection systems. They not only give alert but also are able to automatically activate the emergency stop system, thus causing the complete closure of all wells. Four integral hull lifeboats and four self-inflatable boats with a capacity for 208 passengers, 6 times more than the number of people that are usually on board, as well as a continuous staff training programme and the rigorous fulfilment of the inspection programmes complete the safety chapter.
With regard to the environment, the Casablanca facilities can be classified as one of the industrial activities with the lowest ecological impact. The water produced with the oil, separated in the rigs water treatment plant, is partly re-injected to the oilfield and the rest is emptied out in the sea, making sure that the hydrocarbon content does not exceed 15 parts per million. The separated gas is consumed to generate the necessary electric power for the running of the facilities and all the industrial waste and residues are transported to land for their subsequent treatment in homologated centres. There are also co-operation agreements signed between the Repsol Petroleo Tarragona refinery and other chemical industries of the area, as well as coordination procedures established with the marine authorities, guaranteeing a faster and more efficient response in case of possible oil leaks, that fortunately have not occurred in the already long history of Casablanca.
