Engineering Offshore Structures Overview

The expected lifespan of an offshore platform, typically around 25 years.

The forces that an offshore platform must withstand, including drilling operations, wind, and waves.

The environment where an offshore platform operates, which includes the effects of corrosion due to seawater.

The need to minimize maintenance on an offshore platform, especially underwater maintenance, to reduce cost and downtime.

The weight of the deck modules must be carefully considered during the design of the offshore platform's supporting structure (jacket).

The size of an offshore platform is determined by its functions and the need to minimize topside weight.

A system used for quality assurance during the construction of an offshore platform, involving documentation and certification of all components, materials, and processes.

A process for ensuring the quality of materials and construction in the offshore platform, usually documented in the form of drawings, certifications, and reports.

The design of a structure should prioritize resistance against deterioration from mechanical, physical, and chemical factors. It should also be easily fabricated, constructed, inspected, maintained, and repaired.

A design standard that uses load factors and resistance factors to assess a structure's ability to withstand loads.

States describing the ultimate capacity of a structure before failure, considering various factors like yielding, buckling, and fracture.

Limit states that assess the potential failure of a structure under repeated or cyclic loads.

States that analyze the consequences of accidental events like collisions or fires on a structure.

Limit states that evaluate the structure's performance under normal usage conditions, like deflection, vibration, and durability.

A scenario where the structure loses its ability to support loads, potentially leading to collapse.

A scenario where a structural component fails due to its inability to handle stress, often leading to catastrophic damage.

Long lengths of pipe welded together in a spooling yard. Each stalk is typically around 518m (1700ft) long.

A series of pipes coiled onto a reel for transportation and installation. This method is crucial for laying offshore pipelines.

A process that involves welding together individual pipe sections in a land-based facility before they are shipped for offshore installation.

The process of carefully coiling a pipeline onto a reel, ensuring even tightness to prevent damage during transportation and deployment.

A system designed for offshore loading and unloading of oil from tankers, using a single buoy anchored to the seabed.

Due to the limitations of traditional port facilities, the SPM system emerged as a solution for handling large oil tankers offshore.

The maximum diameter of a pipeline that can be laid using the reeling and unreeling method is 600mm (24 inches).

The practice of constructing large tankers instead of smaller ones often leads to the need for offshore solutions like SPM systems.

A drilling technique where the wellbore is drilled horizontally instead of vertically. This allows for increased exposure of the reservoir to production and reduced problems with associated gas and water.

A type of drilling that allows wells to be drilled much further from the rig, reaching greater distances within the reservoir. It reduces the need for multiple platforms, as a larger area can be drained from a single location.

A cost-effective casing design that uses a smaller, streamlined casing around the production conduit, minimizing the use of materials. This reduces the number of wells required for optimal reservoir drainage.

Technological advancements that allow many labor-intensive tasks on drilling rigs to be automated, including pipe handling. This reduces the need for manual labor, leading to increased cost-effectiveness and potential for safer operations.

A branch of engineering that focuses on extracting hydrocarbons from beneath the seafloor. It involves designing, constructing, and operating complex structures and systems to access and produce oil and gas.

The process of drilling into subterranean rock formations to extract oil and gas. This involves various techniques, technologies, and procedures to explore, access, and produce hydrocarbons from the earth.

The potential to recover hydrocarbon reserves that are currently considered too challenging or expensive to access using conventional methods. These reserves may be located in remote areas, deep water, or require advanced drilling or production techniques.

The ongoing development and improvement of existing oil and gas extraction technologies and methods, as well as the exploration of new techniques to access previously unattainable reserves.

Platforms designed with removable drilling equipment, reducing weight and cost compared to traditional platforms with permanent integrated drilling facilities.

A strategy to minimize weight on production platforms by using a floating, anchored ship-shaped vessel to provide most drilling support equipment.

Mobile units used for drilling production wells in shallow waters, often used when the reservoir size and economics don't justify a fixed platform.

Floating rigs used for drilling production wells in deeper waters, also used when fixed platforms are not economically feasible.

Current fixed platforms are significantly lighter, simpler, and more streamlined compared to earlier generations built in the 1970s.

The upper part of a platform that houses production equipment, accounting for a significant portion of the platform's cost.

A method to reduce topsides costs by using standardized designs and limiting the duplication of equipment.

Exploring unconventional platform designs, such as jack-up units, concrete gravity structures, and tripod tower platforms, to find cost-effective solutions for specific water depths.

A method of laying pipelines where long pipe sections are wound onto reels mounted on specially designed vessels. These vessels then transport the pipe to the installation site and unreel it for placement.

A type of offshore terminal designed for loading and unloading oil from tankers. Uses a single buoy moored to the seabed, connected to the shore by a pipeline.

The increasing size of tankers in the 1950s led to fewer ports being able to handle them. This resulted in the development of alternative solutions like the SPM.

A concept where the drilling derrick is designed to be temporary and removable after drilling is completed.