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Chapter 18
Offshore Operations
William H. Silcox, Chevron Corp.
James A. Bodine, Chevron Corp.
Gerald E. Burns, Chevron Corp.
Carter B. Reeds,* Chevron Corp.
Donald L. Wilson, Chevron Corp.
Edward R. Sauve, Chevron Corp.
Introduction
Offshore petroleum operations emerged in the 20th cen-
tury and brought new dimensions of challenge and ex-
citement to oil exploration and production. When a
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structure taller than a lOO-story building is launched from
the Spindletop well in 1901. By then, the petroleum in-
dustry was already moving offshore.
In 1897, near Summerland, CA, H.L. Williams extend-
ed an onshore oil field into the Santa Barbara Channel
a barge, or when a small city is built and placed offshore by drilling a submarine well from a pier. This first off-
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in 2 years, those involved deserve their feelings of pride shore well was drilled just 38 years after Col. Drake’s
and accomplishment. well. Five years later, more than 150 offshore wells were
In nearly every corner of the globe, thousands of off- producing oil. Production from the California piers con-
shore installations with payloads from 5 to 50,000 tons tinues even today.
are producing gas and oil today in water depths from 10 From this start, offshore drilling actually turned inland
to 1,000 ft. Although subjected to winds and waves up with activity in the Great Lakes, Caddo Lake in Louisiana,
to hurricane intensity, earthquakes, sheet ice, severe tides and Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. Initially, wells were
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and currents, or shifting foundations, surprisingly few drilled from shore-connected piers and later from wood-
structures have succumbed to the environment despite the en single-well platforms. During this period of inland off-
difficulty in predicting environmental forces, equipment shore drilling, platform technology remained basic. The
failure, or reservoir behavior. one step forward was the change from wooden platforms
This chapter can only scratch the surface of offshore to concrete structures in Lake Maracaibo.
operations; detailed procedures for design and construc- In the late 1920’s, steel production piers that extended
tion of structures, equipment, and facilities would require a quarter of a mile into the ocean at Rincon and Elwood,
volumes. Furthermore, such volumes would be obsolete CA, were built and new high-producing wells stimulated
before they were published. Because there is no concise exploration activity. In 1932, a small company called In-
reference or set of references, this chapter describes the dian Petroleum Corp. determined that there was a likely
fundamentals of standard practice in several disciplines prospect about 1/2mile from shore. Instead of building
and offers guidance for the selection of appropriate off- a monumentally long pier, they decided to build a por-
shore codes of practice and technical references. tion of a pier with steel piles and crossmembers. Adding
a deck and barging in a derrick completed the installa-
tion. By Sept. 1932, the 60x90-ft “steel island” was
Historical Review completed in 38 ft of water with a 25-ft air gap. This first
In 1859, Col. Edwin Drake drilled and completed the first open-seas offshore platform supported a standard 122-ft
known oil well near a small town in Pennsylvania. This steel derrick and associated rotary drilling equipment.
well, which was drilled with cable tools, started the Successful drilling with largely unsuccessful results was
modern petroleum industry. Drilling methods and tools carried on intermittently on the “steel island” until 1939,
remained in their infancy for more than 40 years, until when the third well was completed on the pump at 40 B/D.
hydraulic rotary drilling techniques were first used to drill In Jan. 1940, a Pacific storm destroyed the steel island.
During the subsequent cleanup, divers were used for the
first time to remove well casing and to set abandonment
*Droeascd plugs. ’
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Meanwhile, the first offshore field was discovered in drillships during the past 30 years. They will be discussed
the Gulf of Mexico in 1938. A well was drilled to 9,000 in more detail later in this chapter.
ft off the coast of Texas in 194 1. With the start of World While ship-shaped vessels were being developed for
War II, however, offshore activities came to a halt. Ac- California waters, a different approach to improving ves-
tivity did not resume until 1945 when the State of Loui- sel stability was taken in Gulf of Mexico waters. The semi-
siana held its first offshore lease sale. submersible, or column-stabilized drilling vessel, was
At the end of the war, surplus Navy ships and barges developed by addition of buoyant hulls to a submersible
became available to the oil industry. At first, Navy land- so that it could drill while floating instead of sitting on
ing craft (LST’s) were converted into tenders to support the seafloor. These rigs exhibited superior motion char-
drilling operations on offshore platforms. By installing acteristics and now are used extensively in such rough-
mud systems and electrical generation equipment, and by water areas as the North Sea and off the east coast of
storing consumables on the tender, engineers reduced Canada.
drilling platform payloads by a factor of 10. While mobile drilling rigs were being developed into
The development of tender-supported platform rigs today’s sophisticated drilling systems, platform technol-
pointed the way toward mobile exploratory rigs that could ogy was keeping pace. In 1947, the first platform “out
move on and off location, thereby eliminating the cost of of sight of land” was built off the coast of Louisiana in
fixed drilling platforms. During the late 1940’s and early 20 ft of water. From then until the 1970’s, the gulf coast
1950’s, a number of mobile rigs were developed in rapid dominated offshore petroleum activity with the installa-
succession. tion of more than 5,000 offshore drilling or drill-
First was the posted barge, which consisted of a sub- ing/producing structures. During the 1970’s, the North
mersible barge with the drilling rig mounted on steel Sea captured most of the offshore attention with the ad-
columns. The barge was sunk on location with the drill- vent of huge payload requirements, and concrete gravity
ing rig clear of the water. Next came the submersible, structures competed with the steel “template. ” Eighteen
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with large vertical columns that provided enough buoyan-
cy to transport the drilling rig while floating. These rigs
were sunk on location with the drilling rig and deck re-
maining above water. Finally came the jackup rig. This
rig consisted of a barge hull fitted with vertical legs that
could be jacked down until they contacted the ocean floor,
thus raising the barge, which supported the drilling rig,
clear of the water. While the bottom-supported drilling
concrete structures have been installed in water depths
from 240 to 540 ft with payloads up to 40,000 tons.
Meanwhile, steel-structure technology competed suc-
cessfully for smaller payloads in the North Sea and
regained favor as deeper U.S. waters were explored. In
1976, “Hondo,” a pile-supported two-piece jacket, was
installed in 850 ft of water off the coast of California.
In 1978, “Cognac” was installed in three pieces in 1,025
rigs were being developed for the shallow waters of the ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Single-piece structures
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Gulf of Mexico, floating drilling vessels and techniques became viable for deeper water as launch barges and trans-
were being developed for offshore California. There, portation technology developed. “Garden Banks” was in-
water depths in excess of 500 ft were found inside the stalled in one piece in 680 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico
3-mile limit. in 1976. “Cerveza,” in 935 ft, and “Liguera,” in 915
Civil and structural engineers were largely responsi- ft, were installed in the gulf in 1981 and 1982. Designs
ble for the development of submersible and jackup rigs, for steel jackets for up to 1,200 ft of water are in the fi-
but naval architects and marine engineers were called on nal design stages for placement in the Santa Barbara Chan-
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to convert military ships for the drilling industry. Me- nel and the Gulf of Mexico.
chanical engineers from the oil fields designed the spe- Many other specialty structures have been installed. In
cialized subsea and shipboard drilling equipment. 1966, a steel gravity-oil-storage structure was placed in
The first floating drilling vessels were converted mine service in the Gulf of Mexico. Three 500,000-bbl steel
sweepers with A-frames over the side for handling pipe storage domes that resemble inverted champagne glasses
and jet bits. The pipe was jetted into the ocean floor, and were installed in the Arabian Gulf in 1969, 1971, and
core barrels were dropped through the pipe to get cores 1972. Buoyant articulated columns were installed in the
from the bottom of the hole. Next, Navy patrol boats were North Sea in the 1970’s to serve as tanker mooring devices
converted into drillships with “over-the-side” masts and for loading out crude oil. Tankers and drilling vessels have
rotary tables. The first rotary floating drilling vessel went been moored by various means to support gas/water/oil
into service in 1953 and was capable of drilling in 400
separation facilities and to provide temporary oil storage.
ft of water to depths of 3,000 ft. Breast mooring and single-point mooring systems have
The adverse motion characteristics of these ship-shaped
been installed in water depths exceeding 100 ft to accom-
vessels, combined with the “over the side” rotary table,
modate a supertanker’s draft. A steel gravity structure
encouraged offshore drillers and engineers to find ways
with storage capacity of 1 million bbl of oil and a deck
to reduce vessel motions. In 1955, innovative drilling en-
payload of 30,000 tons has been installed in the North
gineers moved the drilling rig from over the side to the
Sea as an alternative to the concrete structures. A guyed
center of the ship to reduce the effects of vessel motion.
A center well, or moon pool, was installed vertically tower was installed in 1,000 ft of water in the Gulf of
through the hull, and the drilling rig was mounted over Mexico in 1983. A tension-leg platform, the commonly
it. This breakthrough led the way to modern-day drilling favored concept for water depths of more than 1,200 ft,
vessels. Technological advances in subsea systems, ves- was installed in 485 ft of water in the North Sea in 1984.
sel station-keeping systems, moored and dynamic posi- Each of these special-purpose structures represents an ad-
tioning, motion compensators, control systems, and vance in ocean engineering technology and forward-
navigation systems have all contributed to the success of thinking business management to support untried ideas.
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ocean floor. Single-well completions have been made in long way since the wooden pier days of Summerland, the
1,300 ft of water. Control systems that involve hydraul- technological requirements have barely been addressed.
ic. electronic multiplex, and acoustic signal transmission
systems are now common. Unmanned, remotely operat-
ed vehicles now are being developed that will become an Offshore Drilling
integral part of the subsea completion system. Much has The Introduction brought us quickly from the very early
been accomplished in the past 25 years, but with explora- days of the oil industry to today’s jackup drilling units,
tory drilling being done in 6,500 ft of water, even more semisubmersibles, and drillships. This section will dis-
remains to be done in this area of subsea completions. cuss the planning, preparation, and equipment necessary
The search for offshore oil and gas reserves has directed to conduct a typical floating drilling operation (see Fig.
the petroleum industry to the ice-covered waters of the 18.1). Focus will be primarily on floating drilling because
Arctic. In 1963, the first commercial oil field was discov- operations from jackups, submersibles, and platforms
ered in the upper Cook Inlet of Alaska. For the first time, generally follow land drilling practices. The last portion
ice driven by extreme tidal currents produced loads on of the section will be devoted to special considerations,
the production facilities far in excess of other environ- such as deepwater and high-current drilling and consid-
mental forces. By the end of 1968, 14 platforms were erations for cold and hostile environmental conditions. For
producing oil and gas from the inlet. a general discussion of the technology of offshore drill-
The onshore oilfield discoveries of Prudhoe Bay in 1968 ing, completion, and production, see Ref. 2.
and Kuparuk in 1969 established the Alaska North Slope
as an oil province. In 1977, construction of the Trans-
Alaska Pipeline System was completed, and oil began Planning and Preparations
flowing directly to the ice-free port of Valdez. This de- Site Conditions and Considerations. The culmination
velopment has inspired extensive exploration activity in of the sometimes arduous and complex task of geologic
the Arctic offshore continental shelves of the U.S. and evaluation of a potential offshore play is for the explora-
Canada. tion geologist to put a finger on the map and say “drill
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here.” This decision sets in motion a series of actions that ational weather, seasonal one-year storm, and seasonal
will eventually lead to the drilling of an offshore well. IO-year storm. With that information, the drilling engi-
The first major step is to select a rig to drill the well. neer and technical support staff can accomplish several
Because all rigs have specific operating criteria and limits, tasks necessary in planning the well.
however, certain data must be known about the drillsite 1. A preliminary rig selection can be made based on
and surrounding area. Basic rig selection criteria consist water depth, wind, wave, and current information.
of water depth, expected environmental conditions dur- 2. A preliminary estimate of vessel heading can be
ing the forecasted drilling period (wind, waves, current determined. Before a final heading is specified, however,
profile, and climatological conditions), distance from local knowledge of the area should be considered. Local
nearest dock facility, and availability of consumable sup- conditions-such as swell, tide-generated currents, and
plies (such as drilling mud, cement, pipe, rental tools, rapidly changing wind directions-frequently can affect
and spare parts). the optimum vessel heading significantly. The primary
Water Depth. A rough idea of the water depth is an objective of optimum vessel heading is to minimize ves-
important criterion for rig selection. If the water depth sel motion (primarily pitch, roll, and heave) while keep-
does not exceed approximately 350 ft, any of the three ing the vessel’s mooring line forces within acceptable
ma.jor rig types can be considered. Jackups can handle limits and providing a lee side (calm-water side) for sup-
a water depth range from their shallow draft limit of 20 ply and crew boats to tie up.
to 30 ft to a maximum depth of 350 ft. The maximum 3. To assist in vessel selection, a vessel motion or
depth limitation is a function of other environmental con- downtime analysis can be run. Computer programs that
straints, such as wind, wave, and current conditions at compare a particular vessel’s motion characteristics with
the site. Severe conditions tend to lower the jackup rig’s the predicted wind and waves are available. The result
maximum water-depth capacity. indicates vessel motion. The resulting motion can be com-
Drillship water depths range from approximately 100 pared with a previously established set of acceptable oper-
to 8,000 ft with today’s technology. The shallow side is
limited by clearance between the bottom of the hull and
the subsea blowout preventer (BOP) equipment. Maxi-
mum water-depth limits occur because of riser-system
limitations and other constraints that will be discussed
later.
Semisubmersible water depths range from approximate-
ly 150 to 8,000 ft. The semisubmersible
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must stay in
ating limits (by computer analysis or manually)
determine an approximate downtime to be expected. This
analytical tool is most useful in comparing two rigs for
a particular location.
to
sign working depth to 8,000 ft, was commissioned in ping an anchor or breaking a mooring line. Drilling riser
1978. Today, several dynamically positioned semisub- top tensions are developed to minimize ball-joint angles
mersibles are under construction or in service. and riser sag while keeping riser-pipe stresses within ac-
The industry water-depth record currently stands at ceptable limits.
6.848 ft for a well drilled off the U.S. east coast during For jackup rig evaluation, comparing water depth, cur-
the summer 1983. rent, wind, and tides with the maximum recommended
Expected Environmental Conditions. Wind, waves,
criteria established by the rig designer is extremely im-
and current are all important site-specific data to help in
portant. In water depths nearing the rig’s maximum capa-
rig selection and in determination of vessel heading, moor-
bility, strong current or other environmental factors may
ing pattern, mooring line tensions, riser tensions, subsea
reduce the acceptable water depth.
equipment selection, and equipment operational limits.
Wind, wave, current, and climatological data are gener- Soil or foundation competency at the site must be known
ally the responsibility of an oceanographic consulting firm for jackup operations also. At an exploratory location with
or your own company’s oceanographer. Many sources of unknown soil consistency, soil borings generally will be
environmental data are available-the marine climatic at- required before the rig’s arrival on location. They are use-
las, ship observations, U.S. Navy publications. private- ful in determining depth of leg penetration and to ensure
ly funded oceanographic studies, and university-sponsored that the soil can adequately support the rig.
research. Converting these data into useful site-specific Logistics Considerations. Logistics must also be con-
wind, wave, and current information is the scientific sidered in rig selection. Remote locations require substan-
specialty of oceanography. tially more planning and preparation than do locations
The oceanographer must have specified coordinates of adjacent to established bases and supplies. Consideration
the location and the time of the year (with some cushion must be given to (1) frequency of consumables supply;
on both ends) in which operations are expected. With that, (2) distance from supply base (length of boat run); (3)
he can develop the expected wind, wave, and current con- number of people the rig can accommodate; (4) availa-
ditions for the location. For an exploratory location, the bility of spare parts: and (5) shipment delays caused by
oceanographer may provide environmental data for oper- customs regulations.
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OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
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perature, and high currents offer special considerations
that are discussed at the end of the Offshore Drilling sec-
tion of this chapter.
Seismic and Other Location Studies. Preparation to
drill an exploratory location will include running and
evaluating a suite of location surveys. Site surveys gener-
ally are run by seismic companies specializing in prespud
Fig. 18.2– Jackup rig.
Rig-Selection Considerations
Rig-selection criteria and rig types were discussed brief-
ly earlier. In this section, we will discuss the differences
site studies. These companies will conduct the surveys, in four rigs that are used for offshore drilling: jackups,
evaluate the data, and prepare formal reports that pre- submersibles, semisubmersibles, and ships. We will also
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sent the data that will be useful in selecting the exact lo- consider drilling equipment, mooring systems, and proce-
cation, in preparing the mooring plan, and in determin- dure manuals.
ing how the top hole will be drilled.
For exploratory drilling in federal offshore waters, the Rig types. Jackup rigs (see Fig. 18.2) consist of barge-
U.S. Mineral Management Service issued a set of guide- shaped hulls with three or four (sometimes more) struc-
lines that require certain surveys to be performed and an- tural or tubular legs. Jackups must be towed to location
alyzed before it will issue a permit to drill. These
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Fig. 18.3– Submersible rig
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position. The major advantage of a semisubmersible is
that it provides a stable floating drilling platform. Roll,
pitch, and heave are minimized because minimum struc-
ture is exposed to the water plane. The rig’s main disad-
Fig. 18.6– Vessel-motion terminology.
load, they are outfitted with extensive ballasting systems characteristics must be considered carefully. Vessel mo-
that are capable of shifting ballast rapidly to maintain tions for ships and semisubmersibles can be analyzed by
proper trim and of deballasting or ballasting as cargo is determining the rig’s response in the six degrees of free-
loaded or offloaded. The semisubmersible is highly dom (pitch, roll, heave, yaw, surge, and sway) relative
regarded as the year-round drilling vessel for the open- to the uniform waves (see Fig. 18.6). All vessels should
sea environment because it is very stable in pitch, roll, have a set of motion-response curves. The curves gener-
and heave. 3 ally are obtained for each rig configuration in a model
Drillships (see Fig. 18.5) are noted for their mobility basin. Each hull shape has a unique set of curves. Roll
and high storage capacity. Drillships have a definite ad- and heave generally control the limiting operation. With
vantage over semisubmersibles because of their size and curves like those shown in Figs. 18.7 and 18.8, vessel
speed. Most drillships are designed to pass through the motion in roll and heave can be determined for a particu-
major canals of the world, thereby substantially reduc-
lar set of wave data representing the drilling period. Ocean
ing the distance between oceans. The distance from the waves represent a spectrum of wave heights and wave
Gulf of Mexico to the U.S. west coast by the way of the periods. Computer programs are available to calculate
Panama Canal is 4,500 miles. The distance around South vessel motion by entering wave data and the rig’s motion
America to the U.S. west coast (the route a semisubmer- curves. The result will be a motion history of that partic-
sible must travel because it is too large to pass through ular rig for a specific drilling period.
the Panama Canal) is 15,000 miles. The cost of moving
the ship to the west coast is generally much less than that
of moving a semisubmersible because of time savings (less Performance Evaluation. The next step is to compare
day rate) and distance savings (less fuel). Ships general- the performance of the two rigs. One performance yard-
ly can travel at a higher speed than a semisubmersible stick is the weather-related downtime the rigs will suffer
(12 to 13 vs. 8 to 9 knots) for even more time savings. under the same environmental conditions. Downtime anal-
As pointed out in the semisubmersible discussion, the ysis can be particularly useful when comparing available
drillship can carry a much larger variable deck load, which drilling vessels for a one-well project or a complete drill-
offers the advantage of less frequent resupply. ing program. While one vessel may appear to be more
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20
I
.
have its own set of operating limits established from ex- are satisfied that a particular rig or group of rigs is capa-
perience with the rig or from experience of the rig oper- ble of handling the environment of a specified offshore
ating personnel. Table 18.1 is an example of limiting location, other equipment systems must be evaluated and
vessel motions for most floating drilling operations. compared.
With the appropriate operating limits, the percent of Mooring equipment provided to keep the rig on loca-
the time each applies, and the rig’s motion history, tion is of major significance. Major questions to be an-
weather-related downtime can be calculated. A number swered regarding mooring equipment include the
of papers have been published on downtime analysis. Var- following: (1) is the mooring line (chain, wire, or a com-
ious techniques (both manual and computer-aided analy- bination of chain and wire) strong enough to withstand
ses) can be applied to calculate weather-related the loads during the strongest anticipated storm; (2) does
downtime. 4 the rig have sufficient wire or chain on board or availa-
ble for the water depth at the specified location; (3) do
the anchor handling or supply boats that are being con-
sidered have adequate pennant-wire-handling equipment
TABLE l&l-DRILLING VESSEL OPERATING LIMITS on board (lengths must be greater than the water depth
Time
and sufficiently strong to handle the 30- to 40-ton anchors
Criterion and can approach 2.5 to 3 in. diameter); (4) does the ves-
Heave Roll Applied sel have adequate instrumentation to monitor mooring-
Limit Limit Per Well line loads; and (5) does the rig have adequate chain-locker
Operation -- ft m (deg.) (04 capacity to hold the desired amount of chain, or must part
Anchoring, running riser, or all of the chain be stored on supply boats? (Vessels
landing BOP 6 1.8 3 10
that don’t carry their own chain have greater in-transit
Running casing, coring,
well testing IO 3.0 3 40 deck-load capability but normally will require longer to
Drilling, tripping, logging 12 3.6 6 30 moor up because of the additional chain-handling re-
Circulate and condition mud 20 6.1 10 20 quirements.)
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_I VESSEL
OFFSET
A
\ 400
Ac
d
\
AJ
3
>
‘:&!
These questions must be answered to specify an ade- the top of the BOP can cause rapid and excessive wear ”
quate mooring system properly. Mooring analysis, which if the angular offset exceeds 1 to 2” for an extended length
is necessary to answer several of the questions, will be of time; (3) excessive vessel offset can cause increased*.
discussed later in this section. riser sag, compounding both the ball-joint offset and the
Adequate stationkeeping (keeping the vessel within ac- wear problems. Proper monitoring of the ball-joint angle
ceptable limits on the location) is a result of a properly and adjustment of the mooring system will result in a ves-
designed and operated mooring system. Why is station- sel offset upstream of the current and wind that will
keeping important? Ideally, the vessel should be located minimize the lower ball-joint angle. Optimum vessel offset
directly over the well. However, wind and current forces would yield a zero ball-joint angle (see Fig. 18.9).
can cause the vessel to take an offset downstream from There are many variations in mooring patterns. Differ-
the wellhead location. Waves cause the vessel to oscil- ently shaped vessels will require different mooring pat-
late around that offset position. terns (see Fig. 18.10).
It is important to keep the vessel reasonably close to One criterion in mooring-system design is that the
the wellhead position for several reasons: (1) the subsea restoring forces should be able to withstand nearly the
drilling equipment can accommodate angular offsets of same storm conditions from any direction.5 The moor-
up to lo”, but beyond that the equipment mechanically ing pattern is designed to fit the vessel and particular en-
locks up; (2) drillpipe that is rotating in the ball joint at vironmental conditions anticipated at the site.
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r-@---i
VESSEL VESSEL
-(9f
I f f I
WATER LINE /’ LEGEND
0E
@ @ /
/ VERTlCAL FORCE ON ANCHOR.
/
/ ANGLE OF ,.,NE FROM HORIZONTAL
/ 0
D / AT VESSEL
BL /
NOTE’ D B E AREZERO UNTIL C
\ ANCHOR BECOMES ZERO
The restoring forces are generated by the niboring line. had two opposing mooring lines and could pull tension
Environmental loads acting on a vessel displace it horizon-
tally until an equal and opposite horizontal force (restor-
ing force) is developed by the anchor and mooring lines.
As the vessel is displaced, tension in the anchor line in-
creases because of additional line being lifted off the ocean
floor and because the vertical component of a&nor line
tension, which increases as line is lified off-bottom, is af-
fected by the angle in the anchopline at the vessel (see
om on each line initially, vessel displacement could be greatly
reduced for the same environmental loads because the line
would operate in a much “stiffer” region of its horizon-
tal force vs. displacement curve.
/
Initial operating tension, however, does affect the max-
imum line tension that will be required in maximum storm
weather. The same environmental loads on the vessel are
produced during maximum storm weather regardless of
Fig. 18.11). . the value of initial operating tension. This force must be
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Vertical or uplifting [orces on the anchor are zero as. balanced by one or more mooring lines. This restoring
long as line-remains on botto proFrly designed and force is in addition to most of the horizontal components
operated mooring system sho ways have line remain- of the initial tension in the line. The vessel will probably
ing on bottom during maximum storm conditions. If all not be displaced enough to reduce the initial tension in
the line comes off-bottom,+the chances of dislodging an the leeward lines completely. In actual operations, lee-
anchor are high. ward lines can be slacked off during maximum storm
W&h a spread mooring system, vessel excursion in weather to reduce maximum line tension and vessel off-
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moderate weathei conditions can be restricted to 2 to 3 7% set. In general, the higher the initial tension, the higher
of water depth by‘pulling initial operating tensions in each the maximum line tension during maximum storm condi-
line. Fig. 18.12 shows the nonlinear behavior ofborizon- tions. Too little initial tension ,pwever, will result in un-
tal force (horizontal component of line tension) and ves- acceptable vessel offset during operating weather
sel disphcement
_ _ for a typical spread mooring. If the vessel conditions. Table 18.2 identifies desirable stationkeeping
criteria.
Dynamic positioning is another method of stationkeep-
ing where no mooring lines are used. These systems re-
9 , quire acoustic positioning beacons, multiple thrusters on
the vessel’, and an on-board computer system and are
I i primarily for deepwater drilling. Dynamic positioning will
be discussed briefly in the last section, Special Consider-
ations.
1
i’ Drilling-Equipment Considerations. Rig-selection con-
siderations should include a review of the vessel’s drill-
ing equipment. Much of the drilling equipment found on
board floating drilling vessels is identical or similar to
- ._-,_--; equipment on land drilling rigs. This discussion will be
0 10 . 20 30 40 50 limited to equipment unique to floating drilling.
DISPLACEMENT, FT. Fig. 18.13 identifies the major components of the sub-
NOTE: KS1 = PSI X 1000
sea drilling system and related shipboard ,systems. The
figtire sho& some of the components of the drilling sys-
Fig. 18.12-Single-line catenary horizontal force vs. horizontal tem’that have been developed to accommodate vessel mo-
displacement. tion and water ‘depth. The components to be explained
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Operational:
Minimal weather Drilling operations can be carried out
Maximum vessel excursion That which results in ~3~ lower
ball-joint angle, generally
2 to 3% of water depth
Nonoperational, But Riser-Connected:
Maximum weather condition Seasonal l-year storm
Maximum line tension % breaking strength
Minimum line remaining on bottom 500 ft
Maximum vess%l excursion That which results in ~5~ lower
ball-joint angle, generally
5 to 6% of water depth
Riser-Disconnected:
Weather conditions Seasonal 1O-year storm
Maximum line tension I/Z breaking strength
Minimum line remaining on bottom 100 ft
are the BOP, the flex joint, riser, riser slip joint, riser
and guideline tensioners, drillstring motion compensator, GUIDE LINE
TENSIONER -
guidelines, and control system. 4 EA TYP 4. 6, OR 6 EA TYP
BOP. The subsea BOP stack is a major change from
land or platform drilling operations. Drilling riser, ex- TOP FLEX JOINT
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tions. This decreases the possibility of extruding the rub- end of the riser and the BOP stack. This joint essentially
ber seal out of the preventer. 5 Frequently, two annular acts as a pinned connection to minimize bending stresses
preventers are used. One normally will be located above in the riser as the drilling vessel is moved by wind, wave,
the upper hydraulic connector so that it can be retrieved and current action.
with the riser. The first flex joints were made from bag-type annular
Hydraulic Connectors. 3 Hydraulic connectors provide BOP’s fitted over a mandrel flanged to the top of the BOP
the main pressure seal between the wellhead housing and stack. The rubber element in the preventer was inflated
the BOP and between the top of the BOP and the lower against the mandrel to a pressure high enough to keep
marine riser package (LMRP–usually contains the top drilling fluid in the riser from leaking past it. This type
annular preventer, flex joint, control system, and cross- of flex joint, which was not positively locked to the BOP,
over to the bottom riser joint). The high-pressure well- worked fine in shallow waters (200 ft or less) where ten-
head housing is the male portion of the connector. It will sion was not pulled on the riser.
be a mandrel or a hub type. The connector is the female The next flex joints were the pressure-balanced ball
portion and consists of a series of hydraulic cylinders that joints. These joints came into existence when operations
actuate locking dogs into grooves machined into the well- moved into deeper waters and it became necessary to pull
head housing or collet fingers that clamp over the well- tension in the riser through the ball joint into the BOP
head housing hub. Both types of connectors use metal-ring itself. With this positive pull upward on the ball joint, it
seals. This provides continuous metal-to-metal sealing up was necessary to provide a pressurized oil pad between
through the BOP. the male and female halves of the ball joint to minimize
Kill-and-Choke Valves. These valves are the subsea wear. Pressurized oil was provided through a line from
shutoff of the high-pressure kill and choke (K&C) lines the surface and was contained between upper and lower
that run from the BOP’s to the choke manifold on the rig. O-ring seals within the ball joint. The balancing pressure
K&C valves are hydraulically controlled from the sur- on the ball joint was determined by dividing the tension
face and are designed to close by spring action when open- pulled through the ball joint by the projected horizontal
ing pressure is released. Some valves close hydraulically area between the ball-joint seals.
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ed to solve this problem. These solved one problem and tems still had temporary and permanent guidebases; how-
created another. When working in sandy drilling fluids, ever, instead of using guidelines and guideposts, they were
the balanced bumper subs’ seals wore out after relatively fitted with guidecones that provided a large target for the
short runs, making it necessary to come out of the hole tools or casing being run. TV cameras were run through
with “green” bits to replace the worn-out, leaking subs. the drillpipe, casing, riser, or BOP stack (depending on
Because of their short lives, the worn-out bumper subs what was being run) to provide guidance into the hole or
were repaired on board, which required an inventory of back onto the BOP stack. Combinations of TV and sonar
spare parts and personnel trained in their repair. also have been used for re-entry guidance. With the
These considerations led to development of drillstring dynamic-positioning system, the driller can take control
motion compensators (see Fig. 18.16). These hydropneu- of the drilling vessel from his station and position it as
matic units are installed either between the traveling blocks required for re-entry . Re-entry by means of these systems
and the hook or in the crown block at the top of the der- has been made in waters as deep as 6,800 ft.
rick. These units have been successful for both drilling- Marine Risers. The first floating-drilling systems did
bit weight control and running and landing heavy subsea not use marine risers for mud returns. 3 Hoses that were
equipment (such as 400,000-lbm BOP stacks). They are connected below a rotating packer mounted on top of the
common on most drilling vessels today. BOP stack brought mud returns back to the drilling ves-
Drillstring motion compensators are similar to riser ten- sel. The rotating packers, which sealed around the drill-
sioners in the way they function-i.e., a small volume of pipe, were very short-lived and allowed drilling fluid to
hydraulic fluid is displaced against a large volume of pres- leak into the ocean when they failed. It was the failure
surized gas. The weight of the drillstring is supported on of rotating packers that led to development of today’s ma-
a vertical piston inside a cylinder that is connected to the rine risers.
rig blocks. The piston is supported by pressurized hydraul- As may be seen in Fig. 8.14, the marine riser extends
ic fluid between the piston and cylinder. As the vessel from the BOP stack on the ocean floor up to the drilling
heaves up, the piston is pulled down into the cylinder, vessel. The marine riser, in the parlance of land drilling,
displacing hydraulic fluid into a gas-charged accumula- is just a very long pitcher nipple. In addition to serving
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as a pitcher nipple or mud-return conduit, the marine riser This system, while functionally satisfactory, was time-
serves another useful purpose: it guides the drillstring consuming to run and test, so another method was devel-
through the BOP’s and into the hole being drilled in the oped. This method was to make the K&C lines integral
ocean floor. with the riser. The tops of the K&C joints were fitted with
The riser joints can be ordered in any length desired, a female seal pocket filled with chevron packing, and the
but the length normally is determined by the geometry lower end fitted with a male seal nipple. When the riser
of the drillship. Normal riser joints are 50 ft long, and was run, the seal nipples dropped vertically into the fe-
at least one riser made of 75-ft joints is in service. male seal assembly. No rotation or screwing was required.
In the beginning, riser couplings were simply threaded The joints were held together by the riser couplings.
collars. Cross threading of couplings being made up on Some manufacturers of flexible high-pressure pipe now
a moving vessel led to the development of clamp-type cou- are proposing to provide long K&C lines that would be
plings, piloted union-type couplings, and finally the radi- stored on reels and paid out with the BOP stack when it
ally driven dog-and-groove couplings. Riser couplings is run down to the ocean floor. On the larger vessels now
now being developed for waters in excess of 7,000 ft are in service, there is space for the large hose reels required.
of a piloted-bolted type. Control Systems. The simplest way to operate an actu-
As drilling entered deeper waters and drilling vessels ator in a hydraulic control system is to connect hydraulic
ran out of space to install more and more riser tension- lines from a pressure source through control valves direct-
ers, it became necessary to reduce the weight of the riser ly to the actuator. 3 Some actuators require two lines to
by adding buoyancy material. Syntactic foam was used complete the control cycle; others, such as spring-return
first. Later, air cans were installed around the riser joints fail-safe actuators, require only one line.
to make them air buoyant. Both types of buoyancy are Subsea BOP’s were controlled this way during the start
now in everyday use. The cost of the dense syntactic foam of floating drilling. An early stack consisting of a hydrau-
that is required for deeper waters is offset by the cost of lically actuated connector top and bottom, K&C valves,
high-pressure air compressors for air-buoyancy
Air-buoyant risers do have one advantage over the foam
ing vessel and not tend to drift off with the current.
om
risers.
emergency disconnect becomes necessary. This intermedi- slower actuator response times in deeper waters, two new
ate disconnect point is essential because it is estimated types of control systems were developed: the piloted all-
that pulling 10,000 ft of riser could take from 7 to 10 days, hydraulic control system and the direct-wired electro-
well outside our weather-forecasting capability. hydraulic control system.
K&C Systems. On land rigs, the K&C outlets3 on the Backup Control Systems. In spite of the best-laid plans
BOP stack are plugged directly into the K&C manifolds and even with two control pods providing 100% redun-
on the rig floor. In floating drilling, where the BOP’s may dancy, problems or failures still occur in the most modern
be from several hundred to several thousand feet below control systems. It is desirable to have reliable backup
the rig floor, K&C lines must be provided to bridge the systems if the primary controls fail. This has led to de-
water depth. velopment of two types of backup control systems: the
In the early days in relatively shallow waters, high- acoustic control system and the last-chance hydraulic stab
pressure hoses were connected to the BOP stack and, as system. 3
the stack was lowered, were paid off hose reels. When The acoustic backup system uses acoustic signals
the stack was landed on the wellhead, the hoses were con- through the water as the control link between the drilling
nected to the K&C manifolds. As water depths became vessel and the BOP stack on the ocean floor. Energy to
greater, the hose reels became too large for convenient power the acoustic signal receiver and to position con-
use, and another way to bridge the water depth had to trol valves is provided by dry-cell batteries. Hydraulic
be found. This was done first by installing guide funnels energy to power selected functions on the BOP stack
at about 15-ft intervals along the length of the riser as it comes from accumulators mounted on the BOP stack.
was run. These funnels were lined up with receptacles These accumulators are kept charged because they are part
immediately above the K&C valves on the BOP stack. of the normal control system. Typical functions are to
With the riser in place, screwed-pipe K&C lines were run close shear rams, to close pipe rams, and to disconnect
down through the guide funnels and stabbed into the recep- the riser at the lower marine-riser package.
tacles on the stack. Their upper ends were connected into An acoustic transmitter located on a surface vessel,
the K&C manifolds. drilling vessel, work boat, or other vessel is used to send
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MSSEL KIIRINGLINE LOCATIIX? pennant wire); size of control hose reels (large enough
CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS BATtM?3RY
to hold additional hose; ease of installing larger ones);
rl
I I size of guideline winch drums (large enough to handle
additional line); and substructure strength (enough to sup-
port the added tension requirement).
HORIZOifIAL
FORCE KIRIZONIAL
DISPlAC'd%V Generally, the added water depth can be accommodat-
ed, but each rig and each site should be considered
separately.
PRIVARYMSSEL
Operating Manuals and Emergency Procedures
Rig selection considerations should include a review of
each drilling vessel’s operations manual and emergency
WEtiTtER
DATA
procedures plan. The operations manual will include drill-
ing operations and equipment-handling procedures. Nor-
mal operating limits for discrete drilling operations will
be specified. The emergency procedures plan should cover
detailed responses and courses of action to be followed
during marine emergencies, well emergencies, and bad
4
KORING REW:+t3.UATlON: weather situations. Disconnect and hang-off procedures
!V,
,,IU,;WMXl f'D3RING
LINETO DC"3Y must be identified, and special equipment should be on
,:i,T,,?i
OFEUTING TtUSlON board to accomplish the suspension under adverse condi-
,PRCUFOR lEJ7 TEXiON
tions. An agreement on well-control procedures should
be reached between the drilling contractor and the oil com-
Fig. 18.17-Mooring analysis method.
stab and are run in with the drillpipe as the stab is lo- Two are referenced at the end of the Floating Drilling
wered down to the receptacle on the stack. Once the stab section. In addition, API RP 2P discusses mooring
is in place, control is accomplished by pressuring up the analyses. ’
appropriate hydraulic line. The stab also can retrieve the Fig. 18.17 describes the basic procedure followed in
lower-marine-riser package or the complete BOP stack mooring analysis. Combining vessel characteristics and
in the event of a failed riser. The stab receptacle is con- mooring-equipment specifics with bathymetry and weather
nected with shear bolts to a mounting plate on the lower- data yields the length of mooring line to deploy, the ini-
marine-riser package. The receptacle also is attached to tial operating tension, and the proof or test tension. The
the lower-marine-riser package with a heavy wire-rope results can be obtained for a number of mooring config-
bridle. The stab contains a connector that, when lowered urations to determine which is optimum or simply to verify
into the receptacle, latches the stab to the receptacle. To a recommended configuration.
retrieve the lower-marine-riser package, for example, the
stab is run in on drillpipe and is stabbed and latched into Riser Analysis. Marine or drilling risers were described
the receptacle. After the lower-marine-riser-package dis- earlier. Accurate performance of drilling risers can be
connect is actuated, the drillpipe is picked up, the shear determined only by analysis. In floating drilling opera-
bolts sheared, and the load transferred to the wire-rope tions, the riser behaves as a string. It gains all of its struc-
bridle. The piece then is recovered by pulling the drillpipe. tural integrity from tension. The single most important
Extended- Water-Depth Capability. Occasionally, a parameter in operation of the system, therefore, is riser
drilling vessel is considered that has a maximum-water- top tension. Insufficient top tension can result in opera-
depth capability just short of the wellsite water depth tional problems associated with large ball-joint angles and,
(1,300-ft water depth with a 1,OOO-ft capacity rig as an if low enough, buckling of the riser pipe body. Overten-
example). To ensure that the rig is adequate for the loca- sioning, however, produces high stresses in the riser that
tion, consider additional riser availability and storage can result in a shortening of its life because of fatigue
space; additional riser tension (or added buoyancy); cracking. For each combination of environmental condi-
lengthened control hoses and TV cable; additional guide- tions, mud weight, riser weight, and vessel offset, there
line length; mooring system adequacy (mooring lines and is an optimum range of riser top tension.
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BOP.
package
and riser will retract sufficiently to clear the top of the
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TABLE 18.3~-RECOMMENDED OPERATING LIMIT Several single shots should be taken while this hole is
drilled. When drilling is completed, heavy mud is spot-
Ball-Joint
ted in the hole to prevent sloughing or caving in. This
Angle Range Comments
hole generally has a 36-in. diameter and is 100 to 200
oto 10 Maintain ball-joint angle within these
limits, if at all possible.
ft deep. The structural casing probably will be 30 in. in
1 to 30 Maximum limit for normal operations. diameter with a 3/4-or 1-in.-thick wall. It is called struc-
Preferably should be in this range tural casing because it serves as a foundation to provide
only temporarily. lateral support for the BOP’s during subsequent drilling
3O and increasing Start drillpipe hang-off procedure.
Drillpipe hung off. Start riser disconnect
operations. In addition to drilling a hole for the structur-
5O and increasing
procedure. al casing, it may be driven or jetted in. In these instances,
some drillers elect not to use the temporary guidebase.
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f
I
/
I
iI -LOWERING
STRING
I DRILL
GUIDE LINES
STRING
GUIDE _
POSTS
.;OWERING RUNNING
STRING TOOL
-PERMANENT
GUIDE BASE
, GUIDE ARMS
LEVELING
-FLEX JOINT
BULLSEYE \ a-
TEMPORARY
MUDLINE. I “GUIDE BASE
1
om STRUCTURAL CASING
MARINE
RISER
l.c
FLEX JOINT
LOWER MARINE
RiSER PACKAGE
BLOWOU 1
oi
PREVENTER
STACK
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_,- . . -I R1
cific tasks. Running and retrieving BOP’s can take just be certified to work in ice areas.
a few hours in shallow water. In deep water, 2 or even
3 days may not be unreasonable. Relatively calm sea con- High-Current Drilling
ditions are required during that time. The first concern in drilling high-current locations is sta-
Dynamic-positioning (DP) systems have extended tionkeeping. Does the mooring system have adequate
station-keeping capabilities to depths of more than 10,000 strength, or the dynamic-positioning system adequate
ft. DP systems consist of acoustic beacons located on the horsepower, to keep the drilling vessel on the location?
ocean floor, hydrophones mounted on the vessel’s hull, With the mooring analysis previously discussed or with
thruster units fore and aft, and an on-board computer sys- more sophisticated techniques to evaluate dynamic-
tem for control. Dynamically positioned drilling vessels positioning stationkeeping, we can determine the adequacy
are equipped with from 12,000 to 20,000 hp for station- of the proposed rig’s stationkeeping system.
keeping. Increased fuel consumption while operating in The next concern is possible fatigue failure of 30- and
the DP mode is a major cost increment in a rig’s day rate 20-in. casing strings (generally in a connector) owing to
(see Fig. 18.20). vibration. High currents can cause vibrations that induce
failure in hours under the right conditions. Any surface
Cold Environment current of more than 3 knots should be considered high
A few special cold-weather drilling vessels are available current. Casing strings of 30 and 20 in. have been fabri-
today. However, most rigs operating in cold environments cated with helical strakes to break up the vortices that
today were not designed with low-temperature steel re- cause the severe vibrations (see Fig. 18.21).
quirements. Highly loaded or highly stressed components Vortex shedding, which causes high-amplitude vibra-
-such as the derrick substructure, lifting subs, riser run- tion at 90” to the direction of the current, can create se-
ning tools, riser connectors, and elevators-must be fabri- vere problems in drilling risers also. Riser fairings have
cated from steels with low-temperature resistance (Charpy been developed and used on sever,1 occasions to elimi-
impact values comparable to the temperatures encoun- nate the troublesome vortex-shedding vibrations success-
tered) if they are to function safely. Material specifica- fully (see Fig. 18.22). Specia! equipment, in addition to
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NOTE: KT = KNOTS
D = DIAMETER
strakes and fairing, can be installed on the drilling vessel above the template, and the deck is placed on top of the
to allow successful drilling operations in high-current piles. The template is prevented from settling by being
areas. A floating rotary table and a moonpool riser- welded to the pile tops with a series of rings and gussets.
centralizing system have been developed to accommodate Hence, the template carries no load from the deck but
the high loads and high angles imparted on pipes and risers merely hangs from the top of the piles and provides lateral
during high-current periods. If current direction is fairly support to them.
consistent, installing early-warning current-meter strings
2 to 3 miles upstream from the rig can greatly assist in
coping with the oncoming current conditions.
Structures
Background and Philosophy
As exploration and production encroaches into deeper
om Some companies prefer to place packers in the bottom
of each template leg and to grout the annular space be-
tween the leg and pile from bottom to top. The structure
and piles share the axial load from the deck and the com-
pressive and tensile loads from the overturning moment
produced by lateral wave loads. The grouted pile also pro-
vides additional strength to the tubular joints where
horizontal and diagonal bracing are welded to the legs.
water and harsher environments, the challenges of struc- Drawbacks to this system are the difficulty in ensuring
l.c
tural design increase. Environmental load predictions, that the grout is adequately placed and of sufficient
transportation analyses, and installation procedures are strength to be counted in the analysis and the additional
as important to understand as the more obvious structural- difficulty in platform removal.
frame analysis. Seldom is a designer afforded the luxury Although both top-hung and grouted structures are
of optimizing a structure on the basis of in-place stress loosely called templates, some prefer to call the latter a
analysis. More often, the transportation and installation jacket to distinguish the difference in load path. This path
(lasting a few weeks out of perhaps a 20-year structure is substantially different for the overturning moment as
oi
life) will dictate the major framing patterns. Equally dis- well as axial loads. The top-hung template requires that
gruntling to the structural designer is that most of his ac- moment from lateral wave loads be transmitted up the
complishment is seen by only a handful of people, structure to be resolved into axial pile loads. The grout-
especially once it is in place. For the structure’s lifetime, ed jacket has a direct downward load path for shear and
it is expected to support drilling and/or production oper- moments. The novice designer would do well to learn this
ations, and the operator cares little beyond that. distinction early in his career.
So the structural engineer’s job can be simply defined When steel structures are designed for deeper water (in
as getting it designed, built, and in place as quickly and excess of 250 ft), pile-leg grouting is prevalent. Deep-
economically as possible, while ensuring functionality and water jacket designs are heavily influenced by lateral wave
providing for minimal maintenance. loads that produce high base shear and overturning. Piles
placed through the legs of the jacket are not always suffi-
Structure Classification cient to transfer these loads to the soil, so “skirt piles”
As indicated in the Historical Review, many types of off- are added, normally in clusters around the corner legs.
shore structures are in service. Some are better suited to This adds a new dimension to the installation procedure.
certain environmental and operational criteria; some are Pile guides are required up to water level, and a remova-
limited by availability of construction sites; and some are ble “follower” must be used during pile-driving opera-
chosen simply by subjective preference of an owner/oper- tions. Grouting procedures for the skirt sleeve-to-pile must
ator. Selecting a structure type is the first major structur- recognize that grout placement and inspection will be done
al design task after environmental and operational criteria remotely.
have been defined and might require preliminary design
of several concepts before a choice is made. Template/Jacket Construction. A typical construction
sequence for a template or jacket calls for yard construct-
Template/Jacket. “Template” was derived from the ing the unit on a pair of skid rails, skidding the structure
function of the first offshore structures: to serve as a guide onto a barge with matching skid rails, towing the barge
for the piles. The piles, after being driven, are cut off to location, and launching. After the structure comes to
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rest, usually floating horizontally, it is upended by bal- fabrication and transportation facilities and was finally
lasting members at the lower end. Once upright, it is placed with high cost overruns. The high cost overruns
moved onto the final site and lowered to the seabed by of the first steel structures opened the door to concrete
continued ballasting. structures. Although these structures also ran into severe
To date, the maximum water depth feasible for a single- cost overruns, they had the advantage of not being
piece jacket appears to be about 1,000 ft. The constraint payload-sensitive.
is a result of construction equipment and facility limita- The concrete structures were necessarily massive to
tions, although contractors are quick to point out that capa- resist overturning. Furthermore, the concrete members
bility can be extended quickly if the business climate were often controlled more from pressure than from axi-
warrants. Meanwhile, an alternative for deeper water is al forces of the deck load. Hence, changes in the payload
the multipiece structure. These structures are built in either requirement that occurred during construction and even
two or three pieces that are launched from separate barges. for years after placement could be accommodated with
The pieces can be mated while floating horizontally, like relative ease. This proved valuable as the prolific North
the Hondo t* platform, or stacked vertically and grouted Sea fields were developed and facilities were continually
together with pin piles, like the Cognac ” platform. Mat- added to existing structures.
ing of large structural sections has proved to be expen- Most concrete gravity structures were designed to store
sive and involves added risk over single-piece structures, crude oil until it could be loaded on a transport tanker.
so plans are under way to extend single-piece construc- This was required in the early stages of development be-
tion to water depths beyond 1,000 ft. cause building an adequate pipeline network for the North
Yard facilities are tailored to build structures in the Sea took many years. Only a few of the structures still
horizontal position. Lifting equipment is huge in both ca- are used for oil storage, and tanker-loading’systems are
pacity and reach because a deepwater structure might have active only in Norwegian fields where a deep coastal
a base width of more than 200 ft, which would require trench has delayed pipelines from coming ashore.
today’s equipment. om
lifts to be placed to the height of a 20-story building! A
structure for 1,200 to 1,500 ft of water could have a base
width of more than 300 ft, which is beyond the reach of
ft to develop an axial capacity of 15,000 tons. Most of ture is built by use of slipform methods and increases in
the advancement has come in the area of pile hammers. draft as construction continues. If the platform has been
Hammers can be built to energy levels of 1.2 million ft- designed for 450 ft of water, the draft of the completed
lbf, nearly 10 times that of the hammers used in 1960. substructure might be 300 ft.
Also, underwater hammers are becoming more depend- Meanwhile, the deck is built, outfitted, and skidded onto
able, which has the advantage of eliminating pile guides one or two barges, depending on the configuration. Sub-
and followers for skirt piles and saving the energy nor- structure and barge-mounted deck are towed to a mating
mally lost through the follower. site where water depth exceeds the design depth. The sub-
structure is ballasted until only a few feet are above water.
Concrete Gravity Structures. As the name implies, these The barge-mounted deck is towed carefully over the sub-
structures have large mat foundations instead of piles and structure, and the substructure is deballasted until it picks
are heavy enough to resist overturning and base shear the deck off the barges.
from lateral wave and wind loads. Whereas steel tem- After the mating is complete, the platform is deballast-
plate/jacket technology was largely a product of the U.S., ed to minimum draft for towing to location. Minimum
the concrete gravity structures were European designs. draft is still deep-perhaps 350 ft-and is limited by plat-
Three reasons are offered for the emergence of these de- form stability; further deballasting would raise the plat-
signs: (1) the European countries with offshore oilfields form until it became top-heavy and toppled over.
demanded a high percentage of national content-i.e., de- The tow to site is nearly as critical as the mating oper-
sign and construction money had to be spent within their ation. The tow route must be carefully surveyed, chart-
borders; (2) European design expertise, construction fa- ed, and marked. Deviation from this route could result
cilities, and construction skills leaned heavily toward con- in stranding the structure on a sand bar or hitting a sub-
crete and away from steel; and (3) template/jacket merged canyon wall. A fleet of the world’s largest tug-
technology was not prepared for the huge payloads and boats is required to tow the platform safely. Power,
severe environment of the North Sea. The first major steel steerage, and standby tugs must all respond to the direc-
structure met with severe design changes and inadequate tion of the tow master.
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towers, can cause substantial steady offset and “slow-drift cally has the least concrete or steel. Construction facili-
oscillation” at the natural surge period of 60 to 120 ties and skills in the area are important, and often the
seconds. operator’s preference will prevail. Here are some guide-
The tendon system and well system on the TLP are the lines, though, on the four concepts discussed.
most structurally critical and set the limits on horizontal
excursion. Often containing flex joints or tapered cantile- Template/Jackets. Around the U.S., these structures are
vered pipe sections, these systems require careful analy- the norm for water depths from 10 to 1,000 ft. Most U.S.
sis both for maximum stress and for fatigue life. offshore structures have a payload based on less than
The foundation system is subjected to cyclic loads su- 50,000 B/D production. These small payloads are con-
perimposed on a high tension. This system also requires ducive to templates and jackets. Future technology might
careful analysis based on the best possible geotechnical push these structures to 1,500 ft of water; limitations will
data for the site. be based on the structure’s natural period and cost.
TLP Construction. The TLP is structurally similar to the Concrete Gravity Structures. These structures require
common semisubmersible drilling structure, and most ef- deepwater construction sites in protected water. Norway
forts to design it differently or to different standards re- and England have such sites; the U.S. does not. These
sult in extreme cost and schedule overruns. The size of structures can readily carry the equipment for up to
the TLP is related directly to the payload required and 200,000-B/D production. The North Sea will probably
the environment it will withstand. This normally means need more structures with these production rates; we hope
that the displacement (buoyancy) will be between two and the U.S. will also. Depth limitation is probably around
five times that of a semisubmersible. Therefore, many 700 ft, unless new construction methods are developed.
shipyard facilities used for semisubmersible construction
will be too small for a TLP. Guyed Towers. These structures should be good for deep
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recognizing that facilities design and construction are In-Situ Analyses. The in-situ static procedure in Fig.
parallel. The economic studies are to determine the via- 18.26 shows the loading systems applied to the jacket.
l.c
bility of the program and must include a preliminary de- The stiffness analysis assumes these loads to be static, and
sign of the jacket to determine a cost estimate. Analysis the results must be combined with the wave data and the
will probably be limited to a single topside load and the natural periods of the structure to derive a dynamic am-
maximum storm wave, using a first guess at water depth, plification factor. The “combination processor” must
wind speed, wave height, and current velocity. combine static and dynamic loads to determine member
and joint forces, moments, and displacements. These are
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Fig. 18.26-In-situ “static” analysis. Fig. 18.27-Analysis procedure for tow and launch.
to the number of applied cycles, n. divided by the num- Offshore Production Operations
ber of cycles required for failure, N, or F,, For =tdN. Offshore production installations can be either very similar
example, if a steel can withstand 2.5 x 10’ cycles at 10 to or radically different from land installations. The pur-
ksi before failure occurs and 6.1 x lo6 cycles are applied, pose of this section is to provide a general overview that
then the damage is F,, x 106)/(2.5 x 10’)=0.244.
=(6.1 will acquaint inexperienced persons with typical designs
This indicates that the member is 24.4% damaged. The and requirements for completing and producing wells off-
common procedure for checking total damage is Miner’s shore and describe alternative installations that are cur-
rule, which requires that the summation of all damage be rently available to engineers and operators for meeting
less than 1.0. The recommended fatigue curves and al- production objectives under varying conditions.
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Platform Production
valves, safety valves, and piping outlets are configured impose height limitations and dictate, for example, the
the same and use the same or similar components. Some use of horizontal instead of vertical separators.
of the valves probably will have pneumatic or hydraulic There is a major difference, however, in the way equip-
ment is packaged. If it is to be installed offshore after
actuators to facilitate remote and rapid closure in an emer-
placement of the platform jacket and decks, process equip-
gency. Also, some Christmas trees may have composite ment usually is built in modules at a land site. The mod-
block valves instead of individual valves flanged together. ule assemblies then are barged offshore, lifted onto the
The major difference, however, between land and plat- platform, and hooked up. This significantly reduces ex-
form well completions is the economic incentive on plat- pensive offshore installation and hookup time. In any
forms to reduce equipment weight wherever possible and event, the equipment and its piping, wiring, and controls
to minimize space requirements. Simply put, lighter, are installed as compactly as possible. The extra engineer-
smaller equipment and more compact installations result ing and fabrication costs needed to reduce deck area to
in less-expensive platforms. A good example is the use an absolute minimum are more than offset by savings in
of composite block valves to reduce Christmas-tree size platform structure cost.
and weight. Another example is the spacing of wellheads
as close together as drilling operations will permit, with Well Servicing and Well Workovers. On relatively small
just enough room for safe and efficient operation of tree platforms with no more than 5 to 10 wells, it is common
valves, control valves, and well-workover equipment. practice in some areas to drill all the wells before any of
Typically, this means centerline distances of 6 to 10 ft them is placed on production. The drilling rig is removed
between wellheads. after the last well is drilled, and future well workovers
Where only one drilling rig is on a platform, all the are performed with a portable workover rig or well-
wellheads usually are located in one bay. Larger platforms pulling unit. Downhole work that does not require pull-
that are designed to accommodate two drilling rigs may ing tubing (e.g., replacing safety valves, gas lift valves.
have two well bays (one for each rig) with two or more or standing valves) normally is accomplished with a wire-
rows of wells in each bay. line unit.
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Fig. 18.30– Platform well bay
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On larger platforms with more wells, drilling and pro- seafloor, hazards from commercial fishing equipment and
duction operations generally are carried on concurrent- boat anchors, the possible need for a weight coating such
ly. In this case, well workovers are performed by the as concrete to ensure negative buoyancy, cathodic pro-
drilling rig if it is still on the platform. Depending on the tection, corrosion-prevention coatings, water depth, the
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urgency of the workover and on economic considerations, possible need for burial beneath the seafloor, the type of
the work typically is scheduled to follow completion of beach crossing that will best protect the pipe and also be
the well that is currently being drilled. Wireline repairs environmentally acceptable, the best riser to use at the
can be performed without interfering with drilling oper- platform to afford protection from corrosion and physi-
ations unless the two wells involved are too close together cal damage from boats and waves, total length of pipe-
for safety considerations. line, pumping rates and pressures, the need for periodic
Even on the largest platforms, drilling rigs normally pigging and inspection, safety shutdowns to prevent or
are removed after all scheduled wells have been drilled. to minimize pollution in the event of failure or accident,
Depending on the number of wells and the amount of and the crude-oil properties and rheology. When crude
downhole work anticipated, a special workover rig may oil is shipped from more than one platform, a more de-
be installed permanently on the platform. An economic tailed study of rates and pressures will be required, and
comparison between using a portable rig and using a per- if crudes from different reservoirs are being pumped
manently installed rig should be the basis for selection. through the same pipeline, a much more detailed study
of oil properties and rheology will be necessary.
Crude-Oil Disposal. In the great majority of cases, crude- Depending on pipe diameter, length, need for burial,
oil production is “shipped” from platforms by subsea need for coatings and cathodic protection, water depth,
pipelines. Because most offshore producing areas involve and various construction considerations, an offshore pipe-
multiple platforms and more than one operating compa- line can be the single most expensive element of an off-
ny, the pipelines are generally common carriers. shore installation, sometimes far exceeding the cost of one
In the simplest of installations, where a pipeline trans- or more platforms. In the great majority of cases, how-
ports only one type of crude oil from a single platform, ever, piping is still the safest, most economical way to
an optimum pipeline design and installation can be in- transport crude-oil production to a land site.
volved and expensive. Numerous factors must be evalu- Occasionally, an offshore oil field is too remote, pro-
ated, such as seawater temperature, seafloor profile and duction rates are too low, or the field is too short-lived
geologic features, water currents between surface and to justify a pipeline economically. The alternative is to
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Fig. 18.31-Platform deck layout for process facilities.
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ship the oil by tankers. This usually requires some type ture sale. In some areas, gas flaring is still acceptable,
of loading system installed 1 to 2 miles from the platform, but many countries now forbid it except for short test peri-
such as a moored buoy or articulated loading tower. A ods and for the disposal of small amounts of residual waste
seafloor pipeline connects the loading facility to the plat- gas.
form, and a tanker is moored to the loading facility dur-
Water Disposal. Produced water is normally cleaned so
ing the transfer of oil.
that it may be either discharged offshore in accordance
The two most important drawbacks of a tanker-loading with governmental regulations or reinjected. In either
operation are sensitivity to weather and the need for case, a combination of mechanical and chemical means
separate oil storage. Tanker loading is best suited to mild- may be used to condition the produced water before dis-
weather areas to minimize downtime from storms. Oil posal. Tankage and filtration are used to remove oil and
storage requirements will depend on total field produc- other contaminants from the water. Chemical treatment
ing rates and reservoir characteristics (can the wells be is common to control bacteria and corrosion in injection
shut in for short periods without loss in productivity) as wells.
well as tanker downtime. This has led to the development
of permanently moored storage tankers. Subsea Completions
Seafloor well completions occupy a very small niche in
Gas Disposal. Disposition of gas from an offshore pro- the offshore petroleum industry, but they attract a lot of
duction site will depend on a combination of reservoir and attention. Their primary use has been as single satellite
economic factors. If well production is primarily oil, the wells producing to a nearby platform. They are a means
gas may be handled as a byproduct and be disposed of of producing field extremities that cannot be reached by
in the most economical way. Piping the gas to a land site directional drilling from an existing platform and where
for sale and use as fuel is generally preferred if it can be the economics do not justify the installation of one or more
done economically. Injection back into the producing for- additional platforms. Some multiwell templates and pip-
mation is a common alternative. This helps to maintain ing manifolds have been installed that go beyond the satel-
reservoir pressure and conserves the gas for possible fu- lite well concept.
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Fig. 18.33– Subsea tree–wet type. Fig. 18.34– Exploded view of diverless subsea tree and running
tools.
Multiwell Templates. A seafloor template with guide tial hazards from accidentally dropped tool joints or other
posts and wellhead receptacles for more than one well is heavy equipment during drilling operations. This may be
suitable for drilling a number of satellite wells in close a deterrent to producing completed wells until all wells
proximity to one another. Minor cost savings are real- in the template have been drilled. For a large template
ized during drilling operations because the drilling ves- with many wells, this would have a significant effect on
cash flow. A detailed economic analysis of all relevant
sel does not have to be moved and reanchored between
factors is essential to determine the optimum size and con-
wells. Any slight adjustment in position can be accom- figuration of a multiwell template.
plished by taking in or letting out opposing anchor lines.
A major savings in flowlines may be possible by com- Manifolds. One technique for combining some of the ad-
mingling well production at the template and transferring vantages of single satellite wells with the piping savings
it through one large pipeline instead of individual for multiwell templates is to produce moderately spaced
flowlines. Well testing can still be accomplished by in- satellite wells to a central, seafloor manifold installation
stalling one separate flowline with a valve manifold for (Fig. 18.36). The manifold would include valves and con-
switching wells. Multiwell templates offer additional op- trols to commingle or test each well selectively and would
portunities for reduced costs for control systems, gas-lift reduce overall piping- and control-system costs if plat-
piping, and water-injection piping. Obviously, potential form process facilities are located several miles away.
cost savings will be the greatest with a large number of Both dry and wet manifolds have been successfully in-
wells. Multiwell template designs should consider poten- stalled and operated.
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ible with corrosion-prevention designs for equipment at for circulating the tools. A decision favoring either
both ends of the flowline (wellhead equipment and usually wireline- or TFL-servicing procedures for an oil well
a platform jacket), as well as other nearby or crossing should be based on a full evaluation of operating condi-
pipelines. tions, anticipated downhole service requirements, the
In recent years, flexible pipe made of laminations of availability of trained personnel, and an economic com-
steel wires and other materials has become popular for parison of installed costs and servicing costs.
flowline service. Although the material cost for flexible
Well Workovers. Work on subsea wells that requires the
pipe is usually very high in comparison with convention-
tubing to be pulled or is otherwise beyond the scope of
al pipe, this may be more than offset by savings in the
wireline or TFL tools is a major undertaking and requires
installation cost. Work boats or special-purpose vessels
extensive planning and preparation. Unless a special-
equipped with large-diameter reels can lay long lengths
purpose vessel is available that is suitable for workovers,
of flexible pipe in short periods of time. Flexible pipe nor-
a semisubmersible or ship-shaped drilling rig must be
mally does not require a separate coating on the outside.
scheduled and mobilized with a workover riser and run-
but it may require cathodic protection of the end con-
ning tools specially designed for the Christmas tree and
nections.
All flowlines should be protected from abrasion and tubing hanger. This equipment is needed in addition to
physical damage from other crossing pipelines, and ex- a regular drilling riser and BOP stack, which must have
pansion loops may be necessary if the installed configu- a hydraulic connector that is compatible with the well-
ration does not allow for expansion and contraction from head. Space limitations on some drilling vessels may
temperature changes. Other considerations include pos- preclude their use, which further complicates the
sible scour damage or vibration fatigue where bottom cur- workover.
rents exist and high stresses where the line bridges low Floating Production Facilities
spots on uneven seafloor. Installation methods for
For many years, floating drilling rigs (semisubmersibles,
lines. These are discussed in the Offshore Pipelines
section.
well completions
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flowlines are generally the same as for other subsea pipe-
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Fig. 18.37-FPF with flexible pipe risers and floating loading hose for two subsea wells.
A third application for FPF’s is permanent process fa- Semisubmersibles vs. Tankers. Most FPF installations
cilities for a small or short-lived oil field where a con- have been converted semisubmersible drilling rigs or con-
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ventional platform is either uneconomical or marginally vetted oil tankers. Semisubmersibles are characteristically
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Fig. 18.38-FPF with seafloor manifold, composite riser, and seafloor pipeline to loading buoy and tanker.
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Fig. 18.39-Flow diagram for FPF process equipment for one-well, long-term test.
surplus vessels, the operating conditions, and the geo- Preliminary sizing of lines can be based on general-
graphic area. A careful investigation of the used-vessel purpose pressure-drop curves as long as the effects of the
market is essential to an economic decision. At the time ocean environment on fluid rheology are understood.
of this writing, new special-purpose vessels designed spe- Also, preliminary cost estimates can be made on the ba-
cifically for FPF service are being promoted. These in- sis of either estimating manuals prepared for this purpose
clude semisubmersibles with some storage capacity to or historical data for similar installations. Final pipeline
offset that drawback and ship-shaped vessels with anti- designs, detailed plans, and cost estimates for fabrication
roll devices to improve stability. A wide selection of FPF and installation, however, are best handled by pipeline
designs and vessels probably will make their use more contractors or consultants who specialize in this activity.
economically and operationally attractive in coming years.
Flowlines. Flowlines for subsea wells range in size from
2 to 6 in. As indicated previously in the Subsea Comple-
Disposal of Oil, Gas, and Water. Technically, there is tions section, conventional steel pipe is used for most in-
no reason why oil cannot be shipped from an FPF by pipe- stallations. It is readily available and does a good job when
line. Most installations to date, however, have transport- protected against corrosion and physical hazards. Flexi-
ed oil with shuttle tankers. Loading operations can be ble pipe made of laminations of steel wires and other ma-
accomplished by a floating hose directly between the FPF terials is now available from several sources and has been
and the shuttle tanker. This inexpensive approach is prac- used in a number of instances. It is made in a range of
tical in mild weather areas, especially with low produc- pressure ratings and a variety of materials that are suita-
tion rates. For higher production and transfer rates and ble for most applications.
for adverse weather conditions, a seafloor pipeline or hose Welded flowlines sometimes are made up on the beach
between the FPF and a dedicated loading buoy is safer and then towed to the point of placement. Towing can
and generally will result in less downtime. be at or near the surface of the water with the pipe sup-
Water produced with crude oil can be treated and dis- ported by buoys or other buoyant material, or it can be
posed of the same as on a platform. It can be cleaned and just off-bottom by a combination of buoys and chains for
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OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
18-37
SIDE VIEW
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Fig. 18.40-Conventional pipe-lay barge.
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buoyancy control. More common methods of installation, stallation starts at the tree (a first-end connection) or ends
however, are either by conventional lay barges (Fig. at the tree (a second-end connection). Most tree connec-
18.40) or by reel barges (Fig. 18.41). The former make tions have been a pull-in type, where the flowline is first
up straight lengths of pipe on the barge and feed it into laid on the seafloor and then pulled into a receptacle on
the water by way of a curved stinger as the barge is the tree base with a wire rope. One advantage of this is
winched along the flowline route. The purpose of the that it can be performed either on a first-end or second-
stinger is to control radius of curvature as the pipe is low- end connection. A pull-in procedure can also be used as
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ered into the water and thus to prevent buckling. Buck- the flowline is being lowered to the seafloor, making a
ling and overtensioning of the pipe as it contacts the connection at the tree base before laying the flowline on
seafloor are prevented by maintaining a predetermined
amount of tension on the pipe as it leaves the barge and
by controlling the forward movement of the barge.
Probably the most popular method of installing
flowlines, both conventional steel pipe and flexible pipe,
is with special-purpose reel ships or reels mounted on
large work boats. Depending on pipe diameter, several
miles of pipe can be reeled onto one or more large reels’
at a shore-mobilization site and then rapidly reeled off
at the placement site. The main advantage of this t&h-
nique is the speed of installation. Fast installation reduces
not only the number of offshore construction days but also
costly interruptions caused by bad weather. A job that
might require a week of offshore construction time with
a conventional lay barge is much more susce tible to
weather downtime than a job that can be camp Peted in 1
or 2 days with a reel ship. Reel Capacity
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-_r
RUN FLOW LINE POSITIONER 0 LAND FLOW LINE POSITIONER RETRIEVE FLOW LINE
POSITIONER RUNNING TOOL
Fig. 18.42-J-lay method for installing flowlines away from subsea well (first-end connection).
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the seafloor. A procedure particularly applicable to sub- designing a line and planning its construction to minimize
sea wells in very deep water is the J-lay first-end connec- installation difficulties and to ensure satisfactory opera-
tion (Fig. 18.42), where the flowline is run vertically to tion throughout the expected life of the line. Many tech-
the tree base from the drilling rig, stabbed into a recepta- nical papers and magazine articles have been written about
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cle, and then laid down into a horizontal position as the this subject and are excellent sources of further
drilling rig or pipe-lay vessel moves away from the well- information-e.g., proceedings from the annual Offshore
site toward the platform. A trunnion-type assembly on the Technology Conference.
end of the flowline permits the line to be laid down without
bending. The mating of the flowline to the Christmas tree
Arctic
is made after the line is fully horizontal. Production operations in the offshore Arctic regions are
Many different devices and procedures have been de- within the reach of existing technology. Procedures used
veloped for making the actual connection between the onshore and offshore in less hostile regions, however,
Christmas tree and the flowline. In shallow water, divers must be modified to meet the challenges of the harsh cli-
can install a piping spool with flanges or couplings on each matic conditions in these remote locations. I5
end. Diverless connections usually have some type of In the last decade, the major areas of industry interest
hydraulically actuated device that is operated remotely have been the offshore regions of Alaska I6 and Canada.
from the drilling rig. The environmental conditions vary significantly in each
of these regions. Major factors that affect normal offshore
Larger Pipelines. Pipeline diameters from 8 to 36 in. or operations are extremely cold temperatures, fog, gusty
more are used extensively for the transfer of crude oil winds, short open-water seasons, permafrost, and the per-
and gas from offshore fields to land sites. Installations sistence of ice. The specific production system that is
typically have been made with conventional pipe-lay selected must be tailored to each unique combination of
barges as described previously, but reel barges also are these factors to ensure safe oilfield development.
used extensively for the smaller sizes. Both bottom tows
and surface tows are used in limited applications where Environmental Conditions
logistics favor them. As discussed previously, a pipeline Ice Characteristics. Sea ice is the principal environmental
can be the single most expensive element of an offshore factor in all of the offshore Arctic areas. I7 The most
installation, sometimes exceeding the cost of one or more abundant type of sea ice that is encountered offshore is
platforms. Numerous factors must be considered when less than 1 year old. This first-year ice begins to form
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during fall and grows to a thickness of 4 to 8 ft during proaches equilibrium. The multiyear ice floe is near zero
the winter. Sheets of ice close to shore become landfast salinity and has a relatively cold temperature through its
and remain locked in place throughout the winter. Beyond thickness. This results in an ice strength several times
the landfast zone, the ice is kept in constant motion by greater than a first-year ice sheet.
wind, currents, and, in some areas, the influence of the Another parameter that influences the strength of sea
Arctic polar pack. This dynamic movement causes shear- ice is the loading rate. When ice is loaded at a very slow
ing and impacting between ice features that produce ridges strain rate, it exhibits a plastic behavior. Loaded rapidly,
of ice several miles in length. Ice ridges formed in this it behaves as a brittle material. Empirical equations have
manner are called pressure ridges. Localized ridging been developed that relate the ice movement rate and
around a grounded ice feature, the shoreline, or a struc- shape of the structure or indenter to the strain in the ice
ture is considered a rubble pile. In areas of extremely cold feature.
winter temperatures, the ice blocks within a ridge or rub- The shape of the structure is also a primary factor in
ble pile begin to refreeze into a contiguous feature. De- producing a crushing, buckling, or flexural failure of the
pending on the conditions, the refrozen consolidated ice feature. For narrow structures relative to the ice thick-
thickness could become several times larger than the first- ness, crushing is the predominant failure mode. As the
year ice thickness. width increases, a combination of crushing and buckling
Sea ice that survives one or more melt seasons is con- of the ice field around the platform results in the devel-
sidered multiyear ice. The predominant source of mul- opment of a rubble pile. This rubble pile will then shield
tiyear ice features is the polar pack. The pack consists the structure from direct impact of subsequent ice floes
primarily of floes 2.5 to 50 ft thick with embedded ridges and ensure failure of the ice mantle away from the pro-
50 to 100 ft deep. During the summer, northerly winds duction facility. And finally, sloping-sided structures nor-
break off portions of the pack and push them toward shore. mally force a flexural ice failure. Because ice flexural
These multiyear floes are commonly 1,000 to 2,000 ft in strength is 20 to 40% of the crushing strength, an ap-
diameter.
The other major type of ice is not formed from sea-
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water but is freshwater ice from the glaciers of Northern
Canada. In the Arctic Ocean, the glacial fragments are
called ice islands. These tabular-shaped features are sever-
al thousand feet in diameter and more than 200 ft deep.
Because of the enormous size and slow movement rates
of these features, they can be tracked for several months
preciable reduction in ice forces can be achieved when
a bending failure is induced.
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Production Structures 16
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Fig. 18.43A– Protected-slope production island.
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Fermafrost cement
Permafrost cement
Non freezing
insulating fluid
-Class G cement
Stage collar
] KeStage collars
Permafrost cement
hanger
-+ 9000’
TV0 Class G cement
---Safety joint
--Class G cement
Hydraulic set packer
i 9700'
TVD
Fig. 18.44-Hole
om Arco
casing programs,
hole-casing
Alaska.
+
program
ing or winter transport of onshore borrow material over areas, subsea permafrost. To prevent thaw settlement, an
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the ice to the desired location. The side slopes for sum- artificial refrigeration system for the fill material could
mer dredging are approximately 1 : 20 (vertical to be installed. Placement of equipment and accommodation
horizontal), and for winter construction are 1 : 3. On com- modules should account for predominant wind, ice move-
pletion, sandbags or concrete mats are placed on the ex- ment, and wave directions to ensure safe year-round op-
posed slopes of the island to prevent ice and wave erosion. erations.
Sandbags, stiffer soils for embankments, or caisson units The well systems should be vertically drilled through
are used on retained islands during construction to reduce the frost-susceptible island surface and permafrost and
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the required volume of fill. The caisson units typically then directionally drilled to true vertical depth (TVD).
consist of vertical walled concrete or steel units. The cais- Wells should be spaced close together to minimize the
sons also provide easy access to the island as a dock for overall size of the island surface and to reduce the effects
resupply and could be used for storage of consumables of thaw subsidence. The casing program should be de-
or oil. signed to withstand freeze-back loading during periods
Artificial islands must be designed to withstand the of well inactivity and to accommodate differential move-
horizontal forces exerted by ice. The potential failure ment in the tubing string owing to the thermal effects of
modes of the island consist of slope instability, bearing the drilling fluids. Two casing programs in the Prudhoe
failure, or horizontal shearing of the island near the water- Bay field are shown in Fig. 18.44, I8 which shows that
line. Each of these failure modes can be predicted by clas- both systems incorporate the use of a permafrost cement
sic geotechnical analysis. The only variable in the analysis and provide a safety valve in the production tubing string
is the properties of the island fill material. During winter below the permafrost for emergency shut-in.
construction, the fill is delivered to the site at the cold
ambient temperature and dumped into the sea. Ice forms Gravity Structures. Various types of gravity structures
on the granular material and inhibits consolidations. As are being proposed for use in the Arctic. Many of the con-
the island surface thaws, considerable settlement may take ventional gravity structures that are used in the North Sea
place. To minimize the effects of thaw settlements, ther- are being adapted for the deepwater and moderate-ice-
mal analysis of the freezing and thawing interface should concentration areas. In the more hostile areas of the high
be conducted to determine the proper gradations of fill Arctic, vertical- and sloping-sided gravity structures are
material. being proposed. These structures provide the large deck
The design of production facilities placed on an island load and space requirements, protection of the wells within
is similar to that on land. Equipment foundations must tower shafts, and storage of oil. Because of the extreme
be designed and insulated to reduce the potential for frost winter ice conditions in many areas, the production fa-
heaving, pile jacking, and thaw settlements from seasonal cilities will have to operate 9 months without major
thawing and freezing of the island surface and, in some resupply.
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degradation of permafrost.
in the seabed from
ice gouges or settlements in the foundation from local
Transportation Systems
Pipelines. Offshore pipelining is the predominant mode
Fig. 18.46-Arctic mobile drilling structure: sloping-sided of crude-oil transport proposed for Arctic regions. The
structure. pipelines will interconnect platform facilities, mooring
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in a single ice-movement event. Pipelines must be buried
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be designed for minimum weight and space while still cal certifying authority, it generally is good practice to
offering a high degree of flexibility, reliability, access, design all systems to meet normal U.S. requirements for
and maintainability. Because of deck space and layout that type of facility.
limitations, hazardous area considerations are more com-
plex and often are governed by different regulatory codes Platform Loads
depending on the type of structure, its location, and the
With the exception of the hotel loads that serve accom-
responsible governmental agency. Additionally, environ-
modations and personnel needs, normal platform loads
mental considerations are much more demanding because
are not greatly different from the normal assortment of
of the generally salt-laden atmosphere and the possibility
onshore loads. Processes are likely to be concentrated in
of saltwater washdowns and sea spray.
a single location offshore, and the loads are appropriately
Several wiring methods are approved for offshore in-
higher. Loads usually consist of a mix of transfer pumps,
stallations, but the method used frequently depends on lo-
compressors, fans, and heaters as well as utilities (air com-
cal practices and personal preferences. There is no single
pressors, sump pumps, fire water pumps, water makers,
correct method for wiring an offshore installation as long
sewage facilities, etc.). Other typical loads include pumps
as the appropriate codes are satisfied and the craftsman-
and gas compressors associated with shipping, artificial
ship is of average quality or better.
lift, secondary recovery, and pressure-maintenance op-
Offshore-production instrumentation and control sys-
erations. Depending on platform type and production fa-
tems also tend to differ from their onshore counterparts.
cilities and rates, the loads on any given platform in a
Offshore oilfield operations are confined to a relatively
small spot on the ocean rather than being spread over field can range from less than 25 kVA to more than 40
MVA.
several acres. Consequently, controls tend to be much
more centralized. This trend toward centralization has be-
Layout of Facilities
come more pronounced with increased use of computer-
based production-monitoring and control systems.
Safety shutdown systems onshore and offshore are
roughly equivalent. However, offshore requirements re-
garding functionality and reliability are somewhat moreom
stringent because of the greater potential for spills and
resultant pollution. Increased concern for personal safe-
ty and environmental protection creates a more stringent
atmosphere for approval, testing, and inspection by out-
Considerations that govern layout of offshore electrical
facilities are similar to those for land installations, but the
options are more restricted because of the space limita-
tions. The primary requisite is to separate to the maxi-
mum extent possible the sources of ignition from the
process facilities. Electrical equipment should be kept out
of hazardous areas when economically feasible. Primary
electrical switch gear is frequently grouped in a pressur-
side agencies, as well as thorough documentation of the ized, central electrical-equipment room. Remote motor-
control centers (MCC’s) sometimes are used to reduce
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entire process and facility by the operator.
Alternative methods of addressing and satisfying these the amount of platform wiring. Installing MCC’s near load
and other considerations peculiar to offshore operations concentrations and supplying the MCC’s with high-
will be discussed. The intent is to lay out the problems, voltage feeders shortens branch circuits that feed individu-
to highlight areas of concern, and to discuss possible so- al loads. Remote MCC’s frequently must be purged or
lutions, rather than to present specific, detailed engineer- pressurized because of their location. The design approach
ing methods for design and installation of electrical and/or appropriate in each individual case must be based on prac-
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large platforms with high horsepower loads. As with land- Type MC (metal-clad) cable, which has a corrugated
based systems, accepted good practice and system capacity aluminum sheath and an overall PVC jacket, is another
determine the maximum allowable horsepower for in- preferred system that is frequently used offshore. Ar-
dividual loads and the appropriate supply voltages. mored shipboard cable and type TC tray cable are viable
Motor-control centers and switchgear usually are in- alternatives to MC cable in many instances and are suita-
stalled inside pressurized or purged enclosures or mod- ble as long as the installation complies with the Natl. Elec-
ules. The pressurizing or purging frequently is required tric Code. I9 Cable systems are more flexible, quicker to
to ensure a nonhazardous operating environment for the install, and less subject to corrosion than conduit offshore,
electrical equipment so that air-break switching equipment but they are more subject to mechanical damage.
can be used safely. Code requirements for purging are As with onshore facilities, all electrical equipment in-
prescribed in the Natl. Electrical Code I9 and Natl. Fire stalled in locations classified as Class 1, Div. 1 must be
Protection Assn. Bull. NFPA 496. *’ As indicated in the explosion-proof. Requirements for equipment in Class I,
references, interlocks usually are provided either to sound Div. 2 areas are slightly less stringent as long as no arc-
an alarm or to shut down all supplies when a loss of pres- ing contacts are exposed. Electrical equipment in non-
surization or purge occurs. Depending on the particular hazardous areas generally is chosen for its applicability
operations involved, a simple alarm may be permissible to the situation. Switches, for instance, generally are
if shutdown of the process could create a greater hazard provided with explosion-proof enclosures for mechani-
than continuing operation during a short-term loss of pres- cal protection and durability even if the contacts are en-
surization or purge protection. Each installation is site- closed. General-purpose enclosures are normally used in
specific and must be considered on its own merits. protected areas. Fiberglass enclosures are seldom used
System transformers may be installed either indoors or in open areas because of their susceptibility to mechani-
outdoors. Both single- and double-ended line-ups are used cal impact damage.
offshore, depending on the nature of the operation. Explosion-proof motors are required in Div. 1 areas.
Double-ended 100%~capacity supplies with bus tie break-
Hazardous Areas
The possibility of fire or explosion because of the igni-
om
ers are frequently used for increased reliability and con-
chapter J, “Electrical Engineering,” Parts 110-l 13. *’ less of whether they have been heated in the interim.
Certifying agencies outside the U.S. have some different
rules and categories, but in general, they are no more strict
than the U.S. rules for the same situation. General Instrumentation
The primary guide for the instrumentation of offshore in-
Wiring Methods and Equipment Enclosures stallations is API RP 14C. 24 In conjunction with the ap-
Several wiring methods are applicable to offshore instal- plicable U.S. OCS Orders, 2s,26 the API guide provides
lations, and opinions differ as to whether conduit-and-wire an excellent reference for guidelines in the design of mon-
or cable-and-cable-tray systems are best. Each has advan- itoring and control systems for offshore-production fa-
tages and disadvantages. If the installation complies with cilities. Most offshore installations have local control
the appropriate procedures as outlined in the Natl. Elec- panels for packaged equipment, such as gas compressors,
trical Code I9 and API RP 14F,20 each method is safe low-temperature gas separation (LTS) units, and electri-
and reliable. Rigid steel conduit and wire systems pro- cal generators. Beyond this, the choice of individual lo-
vide the maximum mechanical integrity, but the conduit cal display/controllers or centralized control rooms with
and fittings should be coated with plastic (PVC) to elimi- field transmitters and local displays depends on the na-
nate corrosion effectively. PVC-coated fittings and acces- ture of the facility, the complexity of the operation, eco-
sories are readily available in most locations. Copper-free nomics, and preference of the operator. Most large,
aluminum conduit systems have been used successfully modern offshore facilities are planned with centralized
in lieu of galvanized steel. Aluminum systems require spe- controls. The one design principle that must be followed
cial wrapping of the conduit wherever steel support clamps regardless of the overall design philosophy is that all sys-
are used to prevent setting up corrosion cells where dis- tems should be designed to be fail-safe so that loss of a
similar metals would come in contact. Overall, conduit signal represents an alarm or shutdown condition.
systems provide excellent protection for wiring systems, Even when a centralized control room has been provid-
but they have the disadvantage of being bulky and rela- ed, continuous remote, closed-loop (analog) control is sel-
tively expensive to install, maintain, and modify. dom used. Remote, closed-loop controls usually are
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considered only when the process includes complex sepa- ing the sensor. Units are calibrated and have known
ration processes, sulfur removal and handling, or gas variations in their electrical output that are based on the
processing. Most oil/gas handling processes are sufticient- gas concentration in the area of the sensor. Gas sensors
ly simple and straightforward that local control loops are normally are connected to a central monitoring panel
satisfactory. equipped with individual sensor readouts calibrated in per-
Centralized controls can be based on conventional in- cent of lower explosive limit (LEL). Each readout has at
strument and relay control panels, but advances in elec- least two alarm outputs. Normally, one alarm is set for
tronics have increased the use of programmable about 20% LEL and the other for 60% LEL. Some oper-
controllers and microprocessor-based instrument systems. ations/regulations require automatic shut-in at the higher
These advanced system designs have multiplexed moni- level. Although gas detection technology has improved
toring and control systems that frequently offer signifi- over the years, malfunctioning caused by poisoning of the
cant savings in wiring costs and space for a complex sensing heads by contaminants in the air and loss of cir-
installation. They are more compact and much more flex- culation caused by dirt accumulations on the sensors con-
ible than conventional control panels. tinues to be a problem.
Offshore instrumentation is very similar to onshore in- H 2 S gas detectors are essential where sour crude and
strumentation. Process controls frequently include a com- sour gas is handled or produced because of the extreme
bination of pneumatic, hydraulic, electric, and electronic toxicity of Hz S. Sensors continue to improve, but relia-
instrumentation. Process variables that must be monitored bility and maintenance are continuing problems.
and/or controlled include level, pressure, temperature, Because of their vulnerability, gas detectors must be
flow, oil/water interface, and gas/oil interface. In most installed where they are protected from water spray, drill-
offshore installations, the considerations in designing in- ing mud, and other contaminants; yet they must be in areas
strument systems to accommodate these variables are iden- where they can adequately monitor the environment. They
tical to those for their land-based equivalent. Foam, gas generally are installed in areas where leaks or accumula-
cutting, sand, wax, and HzS are typical considerations.
om
Radios are used extensively for offshore communications,
and radio interference can present some unique problems.
Some electronic-based sensors are sensitive to radio-
frequency interference and may give false alarms or shut-
down signals when high-powered radios are keyed nearby.
Most operators prefer to separate emergency shutdown
circuits from alarm and control circuits. Typical exam-
tions might be expected under abnormal conditions-
above gas compressors, in a wellhead or manifold area,
over drilling mud pits, or in dead-air spaces-or
where a gas build-up could be catastrophic, such as in
ventilation system inlets.
in areas
correct initial installation, every instrument should per- siders viewing angles, range, and sensitivity.
form its intended function reliably over the life of the fa- Infrared (IR) fire sensors were tried on early offshore
cility. platforms, but they had many operating problems. IR sen-
sors are seldom used today, primarily because of diffcul-
Safety Systems ties with their calibration and reliability.
Separation of process-related shutdowns from instrument- Fusible plug fields that consist of pressurized stainless
control loops was mentioned earlier. Process shutdowns steel or plastic tubing, heat-sensitive solder plugs, and
generally involve process-related variables that have ex- pneumatically held pilot shutdown valves are popular and
ceeded preset limits. Other key safety-related systems reliable systems for fire detection. With this system, tub-
should be kept separate. These systems are covered in var- ing is run through and around various critical areas of
ious U.S. Coast Guard Regulations and OCS Orders. 26 an offshore facility. The tubing runs are segregated by
Examples of these systems are combustible-gas detectors, process area or some other criterion. Multiple solder plugs
poisonous-gas sensors, fire detectors, surface-controlled are included within each field. If a fire occurs in that field,
subsurface safety valves (SCSSV’s), surface safety valves
the solder plug melts, depressurizing the field and trip-
(SSV’s), and emergency shutdowns (ESD’s). Proper de-
ping a shutdown valve. The major problem with plug
sign and installation of these systems is perhaps the sin-
fields is maintenance and accidental shutdown because of
gle most critical aspect of offshore instrumentation and
control systems. (Safety shut-in systems are covered in leaks.
Overall, a judicious combination of strategically placed
more detail in Chap. 3).
Combustible-gas detection systems are required in most UV sensors and fusible plugs forms the optimum fire de-
offshore operations. They are intended as early warming tection and automatic shut-in system. With such a SYS-
devices to alert operators to potentially hazardous condi- tern, it is possible to shut in production facilities, to blow
tions where none normally exist. Modern systems have down pressurized vessels, and to activate the appropriate
catalytic sensing heads whose electrical characteristics de- fire suppression system simultaneously and immediate-
pend on the concentration of hydrocarbon gases surround- ly, thus minimizing fire danger.
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SCSSV’s should form an integral part of every offshore by shut-ins-and the complexity of the subsea facility de-
production system. These valves are installed in the pro- termine the optimal design of the control system.
duction tubing below the mudline. They are hydraulical- Subsea facilities require two separate sets of controls.
ly actuated and held open during normal operation by Production controls provide day-to-day operational con-
pressurized hydraulic fluid in their individual control lines. trol of the subsea equipment. Initial completion and sub-
They are designed to be fail-safe in that they close when sequent workover of subsea wells require controls
a loss of hydraulic pressure occurs. On modem platforms, designed specifically for installation/maintenance func-
the SCSSV hydraulic system is generally a separate, cen- tions. Completion/workover systems generally provide
tralized, hydraulic power unit dedicated solely to their control over more functions than the associated produc-
control. Surface power units and their associated alarms tion system. Production controls normally exclude con-
and controls are available as specialty packaged units. trol over hydraulic connectors, test ports, and vertical
Their design and component selections have been devel- access valves.
oped over the years to the point where it is not cost-
effective to try to design alternative units. Reliability/Maintainability
Platform wells also are equipped with surface safety Reliability of a control system can be considered to be
valves (SSV’s) between the wellhead and the production the probability that the control will not malfunction in such
manifold. The actuators on these valves are designed to a manner as to preclude performing an intended function.
be fail-safe closed and can be actuated either hydrauli- Reliability usually is quoted over some specified period,
cally or pneumatically by the automatic safety shutdown such as the intended operating life of a particular project
system and/or the manual emergency shutdown. or the planned time between scheduled maintenance. For
SCSSV’s normally are actuated only in extreme emer- any system, the probability that the system will fail to per-
gency to preserve their integrity. Repairs are expensive. form its intended functions over a given time period is
SSV’s, on the other hand, usually are activated in almost a function of the design, quality of the system components,
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substantially reduce repair costs. In addition, built-in courage higher leak rates, display lower corrosion
redundancy allows operations personnel to schedule the inhibition, and are subject to biofouling from bacterial
work on the basis of convenience without incurring un- growth. All of these shortcomings can be overcome with
necessary production losses or potential well damage. proper component selection, design, and operating prac-
Although potentially economical, redundancy is not tices. Water-based fluids are used in most subsea and drill-
free. The decision on the extent to which it should be in- ing control systems.
cluded in a design must be based on a careful examina- The single most important factor with any hydraulic
tion of the cost impact on the project and the potential control system, regardless of the type of fluid, is fluid
benefits. cleanliness. Failure to keep the hydraulic system clean
virtually guarantees an early malfunction.
Operational Considerations
Many operational factors and operating philosophies must Umbilicals
be weighed when the control system for a specific instal- Platform control of subsea facilities requires a control um-
lation is selected. Among the items that should be con- bilical between the platform and the subsea facility. The
sidered are response-time requirements; potential need for umbilical may consist of multiple hydraulic lines in a com-
diver or remote-operated vehicle intervention; require- mon jacket, a composite of hydraulic hoses, power wires,
ments for feedback regarding subsea valve operation, and communication pairs in a common jacket, or separate
wellhead pressures, and temperatures; single-well or mul- hydraulic and electrical bundles. The makeup of the um-
tiwell completions; use of subsea manifolds, commin- bilical depends entirely on the nature of the control sys-
gling, and application of subsea chokes; type of control tem and the field conditions.
fluid; and the type of control-system design. Hydraulic bundles can be fabricated with either stain-
Response time for opening a tree valve usually is not less steel tubes or elastomeric hoses. Because of the im-
critical if it is not unreasonably long, particularly with portance of quick response and because hose expansion
low flow velocities and clean production. Closing times
are of considerable concern,
wells
than clean-gas wells, which, in turn, are less critical than
is a major determining factor in response time, manufac-
turers have upgraded hoses to the point that their expan-
sion characteristics approach that of steel tubing. Hose
and tubing display different installation and operational
characteristics, however, and the decision on umbilical
design must consider the unique aspects of the materials
and specific project requirements.
Protection of control lines laid on the ocean floor is al-
oil wells. ways a concern. One of the principal means of protect-
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All other factors being equal, a system that provides ing control lines that are not buried is to armor them with
discrete control over each subsea valve and allows the galvanized wires applied in two separate, contrahelically
operator to verify or to infer valve operations would al- wound layers. Because of the cost of armoring the large
ways be recommended over one that does not. Some type diameters encountered in most hose bundles, however,
of feedback on valve position is almost mandatory for safe they are seldom armored. As armoring costs are reduced
operation of subsea facilities. If there is any concern about with improved technology, armoring of hose bundles may
wellhead temperature or pressure because of flowline ma- become more common. Hose bundles that are armored
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terials or other considerations, the ability to sense this in- usually have a polyethylene bedding jacket under the ar-
formation and to transmit it to the surface can be an mor and may have a thin covering over the armor. Some
overriding consideration in the selection of a control unarmored designs include a small-diameter wire rope
system. molded integrally with the jacket to provide tensile
strength and additional weighting. An alternative hose-
Control Fluids bundle design makes use of a thick outer urethane jacket
High-pressure control fluid is the means of converting a in lieu of armor. The high density of urethane provides
control command into subsea valve operation in both all- the necessary negative buoyancy, and it provides excel-
hydraulic and electrohydraulic control systems. Military- lent abrasion resistance.
grade, low-viscosity, conventional oil-based hydraulic oil A viable alternative to hose bundles uses stainless steel
and highly water-based fluids are the two types of fluids tubes laid side-by-side in a flat configuration. Relatively
in subsea control systems. Oil-based fluids provide the large-diameter wirelines (ropes) normally are placed on
best system performance from the standpoints of lubrici- the outside of a flat bundle to provide mechanical protec-
ty, component wear, internal leakage, corrosion protec- tion and resistance to kinking.
tion, and ultimately, system reliability. Oil can be used The generally accepted practice is to armor subsea elec-
only in closed systems, however, because it cannot be dis- tric control cable for mechanical protection, weighting,
charged into the ocean when a control loop is vented to and tensile strength. Even though it means a substantial
deactivate a control. Closed systems imply higher costs reduction in cost, few, if any, unarmored cables have been
and, over long distances, slower response times. Oil-based installed subsea.
systems can be particularly troublesome in cold climates.
Water-based fluids, on the other hand, are inexpensive, Alternative Subsea Control System
are biodegradable (so they can be discharged into the en- There are currently two primary approaches to the con-
vironment), exhibit very low viscosity, and provide the trol of subsea equipment-all hydraulic and a hybrid of
fastest response times. electric and hydraulic (electrohydraulic). Each offers a
Unfortunately, water-based fluids also have certain in- number of variations with unique advantages, disadvan-
herent deficiencies. They exhibit lower lubricity, en- tages, and associated costs that must be considered and
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SUPPLY
CONTROLLER
SUBSEATREE VALVE
AND ACTUATOR
evaluated before a system design is finalized. Usually, inherent feedback on subsea operations, and minimum
one design will prove superior to the others for a given cost of the basic control hardware. The disadvantages are
situation. Applicability of a given design depends on fac- slowest response time for a given control-line size, highest
tors such as water depth, operating environment, offset control-line costs, and potential problems with corrosion
distances, equipment to be controlled, operating require- and biofouling of the subsea actuator when a water-based
ments, operating philosophies, reservoir characteristics, control fluid is used because the fluid is never renewed.
and field economics. System costs are directly proportional to the number of
The following sections include brief discussions of functions controlled and the distance between the control
several basic system designs and their primary advantages
and disadvantages.
Direct Hydraulic
When the final selection is made,
trade-offs must be made between simplicity, response
Control
Direct hydraulic control (Fig. 18.49) is the most straight-
forward design approach. It uses a single three-way sur-
om
time, operability, and costs on a site/project-specific basis.
point and the subsea device. This type of system is sel-
dom used with producing wells at offset distances of more
than 10,000 ft, or with injection wells at more than 15,ooO
ft, because of the cost and response-time considerations.
Response time of the direct hydraulic controls for the
valve-closing (shut-in) operation over a given distance
with a given line size can be improved significantly by
installing a subsea dump valve on each tree-valve actua-
face control valve-a single, relatively large-diameter, tor. This approach also permits the introduction of new
dedicated high-pressure control line between the surface control fluid into the control lines because the fluid in the
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control valve and the subsea tree hydraulic-valve actua- actuators is vented to the ocean whenever a valve is closed.
tor and the valve actuator. When the surface control valve This provides a gradual renewal of control fluid with each
is operated, high-pressure fluid is introduced into the con- valve operation.
trol hose, causing the subsea valve actuator to open the The disadvantage of dump valves is that they introduce
tree valve. When the surface valve is deactivated, the fluid additional flow-rate/direction-sensitive hydraulic-control
that opened the subsea valve is returned to the surface elements that require very clean control fluid. This in-
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fluid reservoir. The advantages of this system are sim- creases subsea hardware cost and markedly reduces the
plicity, discrete remote control over each subsea function, overall system reliability.
/ PILOT VALVE
(1 PER FUNCTION)
COMMON H P SUPPLY J
1
I
I
I
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Discrete-Piloted Hydraulic rosion is not a problem because pilot valves usually are
Discrete-piloted control (Fig. 18.50) has a single three- made of stainless alloys. Biofouling, however, can still
way control valve at the surface for each subsea function, be a problem.
a corresponding
om
subsea pilot control valve, and single
small-diameter dedicated signal line between the two con-
trol valves. A single common high-pressure line provides
hydraulic supply from the surface to the tree. When the
subsea pilot valve is actuated, it switches high-pressure
fluid from the supply line to the subsea valve actuator.
When the pilot valve is deactuated, it vents the actuator
Sequential-Piloted Hydraulic
Sequential control is similar to discrete-piloted control in
that it also has subsea pilot valves that direct high-pressure
hydraulic fluid to tree-valve actuators (Fig. 18.5 1). How-
ever, subsea pressure-sensitive pilot valves that are
manifolded to a common signal line are used in this de-
sign. Rather than discrete control over each individual pi-
fluid subsea rather than returning it to the surface.
The advantages of this design are its relative simplici- lot valve, they are switched in groups according to the
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ty, discrete remote control over each subsea function, in- signal pressure and the pilot-valve set points. The valves
herent inferred feedback on subsea operations, relatively are interconnected so that supply pressure is applied to
low-cost hardware, and relatively fast response compared the subsea tree actuators in a predetermined sequence in
to the direct hydraulic design. The disadvantages are that response to changes in signal pressure. Up to six combi-
cost and response time are both proportional to distance nations of valve operations can be implemented reliably
just as they are with direct hydraulics, but the effects are with a single control line and a single supply line. The
significantly less. The pilot lines are dead-ended, but cor- advantage of this system is its relatively lower cost for
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SOLENOID
-I---- VALVE \
ACCUMULATOR
SUBSEATREE
VALVE WITH
HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR
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hardware and control lines. It has a somewhat slower 2. The Tt4~nolog~ oj’Qfj~hore Drilling, Coi,~pl~tiotc md Pmductim.
response than a discrete-piloted hydraulic system, and it ETA Offshore Seminars, Inc.. The Petroleum Publishing Co.. Tulsa
(1976).
is less reliable because it is more complex. The really sig-
3. Silcox, W.H.: “Floating Drilling: The First 30 Years--Part I and
nificant disadvantages, however, are that independent Part 2,” J. Per. Tech. (Jan. and Feb. 1983).
valve control is impossible, there is no ready means of 4. Burke, B.G.: “Downtime Evaluation for Operations from Float-
confirming valve operations, and operating sequences ing Vessels in Waves,” Proc., 1977 Society of Naval Architects
must be predetermined before manufacture and installa- and Marine Engineers Second Ship Tech. and Research Symposi-
um. New York City, 279-301.
tion. Further, the sequence approach offers no means for 5. Sheffield, R.: “Floating Drilling: Equipment and Its Use,” Prrw
independent valve control for performing operational tica/ Drilling Technology. Gulf Publishing Co., Houston (1980) 2.
tests, troubleshooting or diagnosis, or for changing flow 6. “Recommended Practice for Blowout Prevention Equipment Sys-
paths through a subsea system in the event of a mal- terns,” second edition, API RP 53. API, Dallas (Jan. 1984).
function. 7. “The Analysis of Spread Mooring Systems for Floating Drilling
Units,” latest edition, API RP 2P. API, Dallas.
Multiplexed Electrohydraulic Control 8. “Design and Operation of Marine Drilling Riser Systems.” latest
edition, API RP 24, API, Dallas.
This design (Fig. 18.52) has a single high-pressure 9. “Recommended Practice for Care and Use of Marine Drilling
hydraulic supply line and an electric cable that, in its sim- Risers,” latest edition. API RP 2K. API. Dallas.
plest form, consists of one pair of signalling wires and IO. “Recommended Practices for Safe Drilling of Wells Contaimng
one pair of power wires. The limited number of electri- Hydrogen Sulfide.” latest edition, API RP 49, API, Dallas.
I I. “Strengthening for Navigation in Ice.” Rulrsfor Buikditlg trnd Clms-
cal conductors permits the use of inductive couplers rather ing Steel Vessels, latest edition. American Bureau of Shipping, New
than the more conventional pin-and-socket connectors. Pin York City.
connectors historically have been troublesome in subsea 12. Bardgette, J.J. and Irick, J.T.: “Construction of the Hondo Plat-
production applications, while inductive couplers have form in 850 Feet of Water,” paper OTC 2959 presented at the 1977
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston. May 2-S.
proved to be relatively foolproof. Inductive couplers are
13. Kinra, R.K. and Marshall, P.W.: “Fatigue Analysis of the Cognac
easily and reliably remotely mated and unmated subsea,
which provides maximum flexibility in hardware layout.
Encoding and decoding multiplex logic are provided at
the surface and subsea to enable transmission of coded
valve-open and valve-close commands and associated stat-
us feedback over one pair of single wires. The multiplexed
valve commands trigger electric solenoid pilot valves that
activate hydraulic-switching
om
valves to direct high-pressure
Platform,” paper OTC 3378 presented at the 1979 Offshore Tech-
nology Confeience, Houston. April 30-May 3.
14. Tan&ill, C.A., Isenhower, W.M., and Engle. D.D.: “Cerveza-A
Project Overview of a Deep-water Platf&m,” paper OTC 4185
presented at the 1982 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston.
May 3-6.
15. Goodman, M.A.: Handbook of Arciic Well Completions. Gulf Pub-
lishing Co., Houston (1978).
16. “U.S. Arctic Oil and Gas.” Natl. Petroleum Council, Washing-
ton, DC (Dec. 1981).
fluid to the tree-valve actuators. The advantages of this
17. “API Bulletin on Planning, Designing, and Constructing Fixed Off-
system are (1) fastest possible response independent of
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shore Structures in Ice Environments,” latest edition, Bull. 2N.
distance, (2) simplicity of control lines, and (3) total flex- API, Dallas.
ibility. With some designs, a totally hydraulic backup sys- 18. Willits, K.L. and Lindsey, W.C.: “Well Completions in the Prudhoe
tem can be included with the multiplexed system at little Bay Field,” Pet. Eng. Id. (Feb. 1976) 48-56.
19. Narl. Elecrrical Code, latest edition, Natl. Fire Protection Assn..
increase in cost to provide some measure of temporary
Quincy, MA.
operability in the event of an electrical failure. The obvi- 20. “Recommended Practice for Design and Installation of Electrical
ous disadvantages of this design are its increased com- Systems for Offshore Production Platforms,” latest edition, API
oi
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