1997 Lovrin fire - Well No. 2 Bis Lovrin in flames

On the 2nd of April 1997, oil well No. 2 Bis Lovrin, in drilling at that time, blew up when pressure built up causing gas to explode.  A metal explosion cap had melted and the intense heat was restricting a re-capping operation. The well was spud in an oil field near Lovin in Timis county 600 kilometres northwest of Bucharest. 
Two days after oil well No. 2 Lovrin exploded, it was still burning out of control on FridayIn this video it can be seen the oil field with flames shooting into the sky, ambulances and fire engines on standby, fire crews, worker in heat-resistant suit and fire fighters with water cannon.
Oil firefighters cooling the wellhead area
The firefighters wearing radio communication audio headsets
The drilling rig at well No. 2 Bis Lovrin
Longitude and latitude of location: 45.97975267,20.77758948


Gazeta de Sud, Nr. 626, Marti 1 Aprilie 1997.

The fire at the Lovrin drilling rig was extinguished using equipment used in Kuwait.

A strong fire broke out on Sunday night at a drilling rig belonging to SC FORADEX SA, near the Lovrin commune (Timiș County).

The fire occurred at midnight during the extraction of the drill string from a depth of 3,500 meters. An explosion occurred in the lower part, and the rig caught fire. None of the night shift workers were affected. 12 firefighting vehicles from the Timișoara military fire brigade arrived at the scene and managed to stop the spread of the fire, according to Mihai Smărăndescu, the general manager of SC FORADEX SA.

Due to the high temperatures, the rig's structure collapsed. Drillers worked all day to clear the area of ​​metal debris. After clearing the wellhead, simultaneous with extinguishing the flames, the installation of oil capture equipment had to be prepared. For this, turbojet extinguishing equipment was brought to Lovrin to eliminate the oxygen that sustains combustion, said Colonel Ioan Cernat, commander of the Timișoara Military Fire Brigade.

The rig that caught fire belongs to SC FORADEX SA and is an exploration rig for hydrocarbon search. It was designed for a depth of 3,750 meters. The fire on Sunday night broke out when the 3,500-meter depth was achived. The layer reacted rapidly and violently, causing an explosion within seconds. Until that moment, there were no signs that oil would erupt. The rig is located 1.5 kilometers from Lovrin commune. The fire was extinguished under the coordination of Nicolae Staiculescu, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Industries and Commerce. The operation was complex and dangerous, as it was necessary to avoid the formation of gas pockets that could explode, according to experts.

The equipment used by Romanians to extinguish fires at the rigs in Kuwait, after the end of the Gulf War, belongs to PETROM and was also used at the drilling rig near Lovrin, according to the management of SC FORADEX SA.

 

Gazeta de Sud, Nr. 635, Vineri 11 Aprilie 1997

The fire at the Lovrin rig has been extinguished.

The rig that caught fire near Lovrin commune, Timiș County, on the night of March 30/31, was extinguished and capped yesterday morning.

The operation, particularly spectacular, was not without risks because on Wednesday evening, the oil workers failed to install the blowout preventer due to darkness and the pressure with which the gas was gushing from the ground.

In the afternoon on Wednesday, a powerful crane was brought from Oradea to Lovrin, which was supposed to install the new 8-ton blowout preventer. It had to replace the temporary gas vent installed to direct the eruption towards the sky.

The most spectacular part of the operation was extinguishing the flame. For this, a turbojet installation was used, consisting of a MIG-21 engine mounted on a truck chassis. It propelled a curtain of water and smoke onto the flame, with a pressure of 700 atmospheres, instantly extinguishing it.

Simultaneously, several teams of firefighters projected pressurized water jets to prevent the rig from reigniting. After removing the gas vent, the operation to install the blowout preventer failed due to the very high pressure of the gas gushing from the ground and the darkness that hindered the intervention.

The capping operation was postponed until Thursday morning, and the oil workers attempted to reignite the rig to avoid an accidental explosion. The installation of the preventer took 35 minutes and was completed without any issues.

Until the pipes that will transport the gas are installed at the rig, the gas has been reignited. The burning is controlled, and the rig can be closed at any time.

In the coming period, several rigs will be drilled in the area to exploit the reservoir. Experts believe it is very rich and will solve the methane gas problem in Banat.

Because until now, methane gas reached Timișoara from great distances through pipelines, Banat residents faced problems every winter due to low pressure.