Proceedings of the ASME 2013 32nd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering
OMAE2013
INSTALLATION METHODOLOGIES FOR A TENSION LEG PLATFORM UNDER
OCEAN SWELL CONDITIONS
Oriol Rijken
SBM Offshore
Houston, TX, USA
ABSTRACT
A common procedure of installing a Tension Leg Platform
is to float it over the tendons and lower it over the tendons. A
key phase of this procedure is lock-off, i.e. the instant when the
tendons become firmly attached to the TLP hull. The lock-off
position of the tendons on the hull should be within specified
tolerances. Lock-off on the tendons higher than targeted results
in a reduced draft which implies reduced displacement and
therefore typically reduced payload capacity or reduced
payload reserve. Lock-off on the tendons lower than targeted
results in increase in draft and brings the deck closer to mean
water which adversely affects the airgap requirements. Hence
lock-off at the correct draft is a key aspect of a successful
installation procedure. The general geometric properties of
several TLPs are such that there is a significantly more heave
motion under swell conditions than under sea states with much
smaller peak periods (for the same significant wave height).
These larger motions under swell conditions can make it harder
to achieve the desired lock-off elevation. Such swell conditions
are known to occur of the West Coast of Africa. Waiting for the
swell to subside may not be an attractive alternative for TLP
installation as these swells may be present for extended periods
of time. Two engineering solutions are provided which reduce
the heave motion of a free floating TLP. Both of these solutions
are temporary changes to the TLP itself and should be
implemented as a part of the TLP design spiral. One of the
solutions implies an increase of TLP mass; the second solution
reduces the vertical stiffness of the free floating TLP. The heave
natural period is significantly increased in both methods, and
heave motions are reduced. Both methods increase the heave
response amplitude operator (RAO) for periods below 8 to 12
seconds and reduce the heave RAO magnitudes above 12
seconds. Implementing one of these methods in the installation
procedure may be most applicable to situations where the
installation window may contain prolonged periods of
persistent swell.
1 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
June 9-14, 2013, Nantes, France
OMAE2013-11381
INTRODUCTION
Tension Leg Platforms (TLP), semisubmersibles,
spars, FPOs and FPSOs are various types of floating structures
used to produce oil and or gas from offshore reservoirs. Each of
these structures has their specific set of advantages and
disadvantages when it comes to satisfying the reservoir,
metocean, operator and local requirements. The TLP is
typically the more attractive vessel for a field development
requiring a high count of vertical risers (Direct Vertical Access
Risers, or DVA risers) with the wellheads above the water (i.e.
dry trees). The differential motion between the top of each DVA
and the presented group of vessels is the smallest for the TLP;
it’s primarily a result of the TLP’s mooring system: the tendons.
The small differential motion enables the use of smaller stroke
tensioners which are typically more compact than larger stroke
tensioners. The small differential motion allows for shorter
jumpers between the wellhead and the production manifold(s).
The small differential motion allows for the drilling or work-
over equipment to be located closer to the mean vertical
position of the wellhead and therefore improving the
effectiveness of the drilling and work-over activities. As a
result, the TLP system is used as a Tension Leg Wellhead
Platform commonly abbreviated to TLWP. Examples of such
systems are Kizomba, West Seno, Oveng & Okume. All these
systems are characterized by a high number of DVAs and
support drilling activities.
The performance of the TLP system is much more
sensitive to draft (changes) than any of the other presented
systems, as the TLP is moored vertically to the sea floor. The
installed draft primarily affects the airgap requirement (when
installed too deep) and the payload requirement (when installed
too shallow). The global performance of the TLP defines the
allowable range of TLP draft. Tight control on TLP draft is
achieved through the installation procedure. For example, the
global performance analysis, or in some cases the operator,
typically, indicates an installation tolerance of 1 foot (approx.
300 mm).
TLP INSTALLATION
Installing the TLP at the correct draft implies connecting
the hull to the tendon at a specified elevation along the tendon
top. The tendon tops are typically equipped with a threaded
pattern of concentric rings. A typical distance over which these
concentric rings are located is 8 to 16 ft. Slips, located on the
tendon porch (hull), can be engaged along the concentric rings.
The slips, once engaged, only allow for downward motion of
the TLP (ratcheting along the tendon). Typically the tendons are
pre-installed and their correct lengths are predetermined by
accurate water depth and tidal measurements. The final position
where the TLP connects to the tendons is determined by TLP
draft, not by tendon length. Hence, the length over which the
slips can engage is to cover any uncertainty in water depth,
with an additional length to enable the stabbing of the tendon
through the porch.
The objective of the installation procedure of a TLP is to
achieve the desired TLP draft and install the TLP level, i.e.
minimal roll and pitch. Typically, the TLP will be positioned
over the pre-installed tendons. At this stage the TLP is a freely
floating vessel, and responds to the environmental conditions.
The tendons are stabbed through the tendon porches as the TLP
is ballasted down. The slips are engaged once the lock-off draft
is achieved and the vessel roll and pitch are within tolerance.
Tendon tension is rapidly increased to assure no more relative
motion between the slips and the tendons. The installation
procedure of the West Seno TLP included a rapid ballast
discharge to achieve required tension levels within a few
minutes rather than hours [1].
Calm conditions are the preferred environmental
conditions for installation. For example, the preferred time
frame for installing TLPs in the Gulf of Mexico is the summer
where there is a high level of certainty that there is a
sufficiently long time frame where the winds are light and the
sea states are very small such that free floating TLP motions are
small. This minimizes the risk of waiting-on-weather while
installing the TLP as the installation spread is quite substantial:
it may include a heavy lift vessel.
Project schedule and/or the geographic location are factors
which may result in a targeted installation window that has a
higher risk for waiting-on-weather. For instance, offshore
regions West of Africa can encounter long durations of oceanic
swell with spectral peak periods above 12 seconds. Such
conditions are not favorable for TLP installation and could
result in long periods of waiting-on-weather, which result in an
increased project cost. It is possible to install a TLP with
present day installation methods under these conditions. Two
methods are presented which could reduce the risk of waiting-
on-weather when oceanic swell conditions are present. Both
methods may limit the amount of TLP motion; the first method
achieves this through temporary additional hardware, while the
second method achieves this through a temporary change in
water plane area.
2 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
VESSEL KINEMATICS AT INSTALLATION
TLP hull form is generally determined by the as-installed
(hydrodynamic) requirements. This implies a particular
pontoon to column volumetric ratio. Further, the as-installed
TLP has excess buoyancy that provides the tendon pretension.
Generally speaking, the TLP hull as “configured” for the
installation does not have the best hydrodynamic properties to
facilitate the installation. A key performance characteristic is
the heave response amplitude operator (RAO). A sample heave
RAO for a TLP designed for a West Africa offshore field is
shown in Figure 1, also presented in Figure 1 is a sample wave
spectrum of an oceanic swell. Significantly more motion may
be expected when wave energy is present at periods greater
than the heave resonance period; the heave resonance period in
this example is located in the 14 to 15 second range.
Reducing the risk of waiting-on-weather during installation
resulting from oceanic swell conditions may be achieved by
pushing out the heave natural period of the free floating vessel
to higher periods, say well above 15 seconds as the longer
period sea states (with spectral peak periods say above 12
seconds), as such sea states are less likely to occur. As the TLP
is still free floating at this stage, the natural heave period can be
increased by increasing the mass of the vessel and/or by
decreasing the water plane stiffness.
refrence hull
2.5
scaled sw ell spectrum, Tp = 14 s
heave RAO
2
heave RAO (L/L)
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
period (s)
Figure 1 TLP heave RAO around lock-off draft and oceanic
swell sea state
HEAVE ADDED MASS INCREASE
Increasing the mass of a freely floating TLP is not typically
practical; however, increasing the heave added mass is. The
heave added mass of the free floating vessel can be increased
by installing heave plates, a similar in concept to the heave
plates installed on a truss spar, e.g. [2]. These heave plates are
temporary equipment, they are removed once the installation is
complete. Figure 2 shows the conceptual layout for the TLP
application with three individual heave plates, though a single
heave plate is also possible as it performs the same function.
The preference may be given to having multiple smaller heave
plates rather than a single bigger heave plate as the smaller Hs = 5.0 ft
heave plates are easier to handle underneath the vessel. 1.6
refrence hull
1.4
w ith heave plate
TLP before installation TLP after installation
1.2 reduced w ater plane area

RMS heave (ft)

added
mass
plates
0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

Figure 2 TLP with temporary heave plates 0

An example of the performance change is provided for a
free floating TLP with a displacement of 77,000 kips. The
combined surface area of the heave plates is 8600 ft2. The
presence of heave plates increase the heave natural period from
about 14.5 seconds to 18 seconds and shift of the “null” from
around 12 seconds to around 15 seconds, as shown in Figure 3.
The heave plates do pick up more wave loading over the 6 to 12
seconds range. Even though there is an increase in RAO and
subsequently more heave energy in the 6 to 12 second range,
the real advantage of the heave plates comes into play for the
sea states with larger periods. The RMS of the heave motion is
plotted in Figure 4 for various sea states with a significant wave
height of 5 ft. and peak periods ranging from 6 to 18 seconds.
The TLP with heave plates exhibits approximately half the
heave motion magnitude compared to the TLP without heave
plates (reference hull) for a sea state with a peak period of 12
seconds.
2.5
refrence hull
w ith heave plate
2
reduced w ater plane area
heave RAO (L/L)
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
spectral peak period (s)
Figure 4 RMS of heave motion for the reference TLP, TLP with
heave plate(s) and TLP with a reduced water plane area
The presence of the heave plate changes the natural
frequency of the vessel, as is visible in the RAO (Figure 3). To
verify if a heave plate affects the RAO, the shift in natural
frequency has been examined experimentally. Heave decay
tests were performed for a free floating TLP without and with a
heave plate installed. The TLP has a displacement of 62,300
kips, while the heave plate is modeled as a single rectangular
plate mounted in the center of the TLP, the area of this plate is
6400 ft2. A picture of the model test TLP with heave plate is
shown in Figure 5, the heave plate is the black square in the
center of the TLP, at pontoon level. Though the dimensions are
slightly different from the geometry presented earlier and the
fact that this is one heave plate rather than the three smaller
heave plates, as shown in Figure 2, the tests are performed to
show that the phenomenon exists. The decay test time series are
presented in Figure 6 and Figure 7. The heave natural periods
are 14.2 seconds and 15.9 seconds for the without and with
heave plate configurations respectively. The addition of the
heave plate increased the natural period by approximately 10%.

1.5

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
period (s)
Figure 3 heave RAO for the reference TLP (without heave
plate), with heave plate(s) and TLP with reduced water plane Figure 5 Experimental testing of TLP with heave plate
area installed.

3 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

 These heave plates are only necessary during installation to
reduce heave motion. These plates can be left in place for a
short duration immediately following installation as the TLP is
then typically not yet up to the controlling design conditions,
i.e. the TLP has a reduced operational weight as the production
or drilling campaign hasn’t started yet. However they will have
to be eventually removed as these plates shift the balance of
dynamic vertical loads. The shift of balance of the vertical
loads results in an increase of fatigue to the tendon body. The
heave plates and associated hardware are temporary structure
and therefore may be designed and constructed to temporary
equipment requirements; requirements which are less stringent
that to what the rest of the TLP system is designed to. These
heave plates are a good candidate for any local content
requirement. They then could be added to the TLP as the TLP is
at the installation staging area, typically in or near the country
in which the field is located.
without heave plate
1.5
Tz = 14.2 s
1 plane area reduction factor (𝑟) can be derived from linear
Platform Heave (ft)
0.5
0 period of the vessel with reduced water plane area.
-0.5
-1
-1.5
1650 1700 1750 1800
time (s)
Figure 6 Heave decay time series for TLP without heave plate
with heave plate
1.5
Tz = 15.9 s
1 much of a penalty on in-place global performance or possibly
Platform Heave (ft)
0.5
0 is to use “inserts” which are installed after TLP lock-off, center
-0.5
-1
-1.5
4200 4250 4300 4350
time (s)
Figure 7 Heave decay time series for TLP with heave plate
There are a variety of methods one can use to implement
these heave plates. One of the methods is summarized in Figure
9. The heave plates are installed on the TLP either at the
fabrication yard or at the installation stating area. The plates are
installed on top of the pontoons (preferred location) or to the
side of the pontoons (Step 1). The TLP is brought to site and the
hull is lowered over the tendons (Step 2), and the tendons are
connected to the TLP (Step 3). The heave plates are removed
from the pontoon. This can be done though lifting each end of
the plate simultaneously (Step 4a) or by lifting each end
4 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
separately and forcing the plate upward in a rotational motion
(Step 4b). The latter method may be more desirable as it
provides more control of the heave plates during removal.
Heave plate removal does not require a large installation vessel
as the majority of the activities can be done from the TLP itself.
A material barge is brought into position underneath the TLP
(Step 5) and the heave plates are lowered onto tis barge (Step
6). The entire removal sequence requires calm conditions as
heave equipment is being moved underneath the TLP. The
removal of the heave plates may not have to be done
immediately after tendon lock-off for reasons discussed earlier
REDUCTION OF WATER PLANE AREA
The performance improvement during installation achieved
by increasing the added mass of the vessel can also be achieved
by reducing the water plane area, as shown in Figure 4. The
natural period in heave of the structure will increase as the
water plane area is reduced. An approximation of the water
dynamics theory: 𝑟 = (𝑇1 ⁄𝑇2 )2 , where 𝑇1 represents the
original heave natural period and 𝑇2 represents the heave natural
The performance of the TLP under operational and extreme
environments requires a particular column cross sectional area.
The desired reduction of water plane area conflicts the
operational and extreme performance requirements. However,
reducing the heave natural period only requires a reduction of
the cross sectional area of the column at the water line, and not
along the whole column length. A possible configuration that
satisfies this is a stepped column, characterized by a flat where
the cross sectional area change occurs. The elevation of this flat
(denoted by d in Figure 8) shall be sufficiently large to allow
for the finite wave heights and heave motions of the TLP. Too
having the flat being more susceptible to dropped objects may
make having the flat at elevation d undesirable. One alternative
sketch in Figure 8. These inserts are attached to the top of the
flat and allow for continuous column cross sectional area.
Another alternative is to have a cofferdam configuration of the
column near water line, right sketch in Figure 8. These
cofferdams cover only the required reduction in cross sectional
area, the access shaft and other ballast/void tanks provide the
required water plane area. Water can flow freely in and out of
the cofferdams at the time of installation though sea chests or
equivalent hardware. The sea chests are closed after lock-off is
achieved, and the water evacuated from the cofferdams. The
column geometry now is per global performance requirements.
The bottom of these cofferdams has to be at sufficient depth
and the sea chests have to be of sufficient size to minimize the
disturbance of the waves near the water surface.
 Upper tier inserts Vented Cofferdam A methodology is presented of using the heave plate in an
installation procedure. While the heave plate could be
considered as a bolt-on item to the TLP, reducing the water
d
plane area requires a structural change to the column(s). Two
unique methods are presented for changing the water plane area
of the TLP; some are more practical than others. The heave
plate method requires significant additional activities during the
installation sequence, as does the use of upper column inserts.
The vented cofferdam can be rather easily implemented in the
hull design, and it does not require significant work during the
installation. However, the cofferdam vents need to be of
Stepped Column Final configuration Column A Final configuration Column B sufficient size to allow for water to flow in and out, which puts
special requirements on the sealing methodology. The most
viable methodology is likely to be a balance between
Figure 8 TLP hull configurations installation costs, hull fabrication costs, reliability and inherent
safety of the proposed methodology, all governed by the actual
The theoretical example of adding a heave plate to the hull site specific requirements.
increased the heave natural period from about 14.5 seconds to
18 seconds, a factor of about 1.24. A similar shift of natural
period can be achieved by reducing the water plane area by
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
35% (𝑟 = (14.5⁄18)2 = 0.65). A sample heave RAOs is The author acknowledges SBM for the opportunity to
provided for a TLP with a water plane area that is 65% smaller prepare and publish this work, and acknowledges the test
than the reference configuration; this is shown in Figure 3. The facilities for performing the experiments.
heave RAO of the TLP with reduced water plane area is similar
in shape to the heave RAO of the TLP with the heave plate; an
REFERENCES
increase of heave natural period is observed. The RMS
response of the TLP with reduced water plane area to a swell
[1] Wetch, S. and Wybro S. (2004) West Seno: Facilities
sea state with a significant wave height of 5 ft. is shown in
Approach, Innovations and Benchmarking Proceedings
Figure 4. The TLP with a reduced water plane area exhibits
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, Paper
approximately half of the RMS motion for a sea sate with a
Number OTC 16521.
peak spectral period of about 12 seconds. Unlike the TLP with
[2] Bangs, A. S., Miettinen, J. A., Mikkola, T. P. J., Silvola, I.,
heave plate, the increase of heave natural period of a TLP with
and Beattie, S. M. (2002) Design of the Truss Spars for the
reduced water plane area was not examined experimentally.
Nansen/Boomvang Field Development” Proceedings
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, Paper
SUMMARY Number OTC 14090.
The global performance requirements for a TLP may call
for a hull which could encounter greater challenges under
installation conditions, especially vertical motions. This
increases the risk of waiting on weather by the entire
installation spread. Reducing the risk of waiting on weather can
be achieved by temporarily changing the heave characteristics
of the TLP. This can be achieved by installing a heave plate or
by temporarily decreasing the water plane area. Both methods
are theoretically feasible. Both methods show a significant
decrease of heave motion under swell conditions. An
experimental investigation of the performance of the TLP with
heave plate showed an as-expected increase of heave natural
period, indicating the theoretically demonstrated natural period
shift. `

5 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

 float over tendons lower hull tendon lock-off

1 2 3

disconnect and raise plates

1 1

insert material barge lower plate onto material barge

4a

or
5 6
2 1

4b

Figure 9 TLP installation sequence

6 Copyright © 2013 by ASME