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As the Deepwater Horizon accident of Summer 2010 demonstrated, accessing and plugging a damaged underwater oil pipe at depths greater than 1 km, can be a significant engineering challenge. Since oil companies are venturing into deeper waters to meet the production demand, the likelihood of blowout preventer (BOP) failure (resulting in an uncontrolled flow) increases with harsh environmental conditions. Therefore, the oil industry needs an innovative technology to mitigate the impact of a blowout at the new operating conditions. The cost associated with a blowout, both from the environmental impact and litigation, makes potential solutions to the problem enticing.
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