Offshore Structures

Fixed and gravity platforms

Common Types of Drilling Rigs
DRILLING PLATFORMS

• A drilling barge is a large,

floating platform, which must be
towed by tugboat from location to
location and are used mostly for
onshore, shallow water drilling,
which typically occurs in lakes,
swamps, rivers, and canals.
• Because of the design and
suitability for use in relatively
calm shallow water ways, drilling
barges are not built to withstand
the water movement experienced
in large open water (oceanic or
rough sea) situations.
DRILLING PLATFORMS

• A drillship is a specialized vessel equipped with drilling apparatus, typically

built on a modified tanker hull and fitted with a dynamic positioning system.
• It is capable of operating in deep waters and carrying larger payloads compared
to semisubmersible drilling vessels.
• The drillship stays relatively stationary using multiple anchors, dynamic
propulsion, or a combination of both.
• Unlike jackup and semisubmersible platforms, it can quickly move from one
drill site to another under its own propulsion.
• Drillships are primarily used for exploratory drilling in deep water, but they can
also be used for scientific drilling and well maintenance activities.
• They have a moon pool which is an opening on the base of the hull and
depending on the mission the vessel is on, drilling equipment, small
submersible crafts, and divers may pass through the moon pool.
• While drillships offer mobility, they are less stable than semisubmersible
platforms and rely on anchors or dynamic positioning to maintain position.
DRILL
SHIP
 Jackup rig

• A jackup rig, also known as a jackup barge, is similar to a drilling

barge but has the added feature of legs that can be raised or lowered
independently.
• These legs are lowered to the sea bottom when the rig is towed to the
drilling site, allowing the working platform to rest above the water.
• Jackup rigs are suitable for shallower waters, as extending the legs too
deeply would be impractical.
• They are safer to operate than drilling barges as their platform is
elevated above the water level.
• Jackup platforms have become the most popular type of offshore
exploration and development rig since their introduction in 1954.
• They are self-elevating and can drill in waters up to 350 ft deep.
When drilling in deeper water is required, semisubmersibles and
drillships are recommended.
• Jackup platforms utilize either open-truss legs or
columnar legs for stability, with the former being
more adaptable to water stresses.
• Mat-supported jackup platforms or spud cans are
used to distribute weight and improve stability
on soft floors.
• The jackup rigs are equipped with hydraulic
cylinders or pinion gears for elevating and
lowering the legs, and drilling equipment is
mounted on the hull.
• Cantilevered jackups and slot-type jackups are
the two main designs for the drilling equipment,
with the former offering more flexibility in
drilling locations.
• Jackup platforms offer a steady and motion-free
drilling position and can be easily transported
between drilling locations.
• For very soft seabed formations
where high leg penetration is
anticipated (and non-acceptable), a
mat-supported JU can be mobilised.
• This mat transfers the weight of the
jack up through the large surface of
the mat.
• It is possible to bring the jack up very
close to the production platform
without undermining the platform.
• Nowadays, only a few mat-supported
JU are available.
Cantilever type

View of the legs going through

the hull
 Semisubmersible rigs

• Semisubmersible rigs are floating platforms that are primarily

supported by large pontoon-like structures submerged below the
sea surface.
• They can operate in various water depths and are usually anchored
with anchor chains. The platform design includes columns
connected to pontoon structures and a truss structure supporting
topside modules.
• Semisubmersible platforms offer benefits such as stability, large
payload capacity, and flexibility in relocation. They can be
column-stabilized or bottle-type, with both designs allowing for
drilling in deep and rough waters.
• These platforms are commonly used in offshore drilling
operations, such as the Thunder Horse project in the Gulf of
Mexico and the Cheviot production platform in the UK North Sea.
 Submersible rigs

• Submersible rigs, also suitable for shallow water, are like jackup rigs
as they come in contact with the ocean or lake floor.
• These rigs consist of platforms with two hulls positioned on top of
one another. The upper hull contains the living quarters for the crew,
as well as the actual drilling platform. The lower hull works much like
the outer hull in a submarine—when the platform is being moved
from one place to another, the lower hull is filled with air—making
the entire rig buoyant.
• When the rig is positioned over the drill site, the air is let out of the
lower hull, and the rig submerses to the sea or lake floor. This type of
rig has the advantage of mobility in the water but the use is usually
limited to shallow water areas.
TYPES OF OFFSHORE STRUCTURES
• Fixed Platform (FP)- Jacket, Jack up etc.,
• Complaint Tower (CT)
• Tension Leg Platform (TLP)
• Spar Platform
• Semi-submersible
• Articulated Tower
• Floating Production System (FPS)
• Floating Production, Storage and Offloading
System (FPSO)
• Gravity Platform (Concrete Structure)
• Source: MMS, USA
Jacket Platform
• The term ‘jacket’ here means a
steel structure in the shape of a
truncated pyramid that rises from
the seabed to above the water line.
• This is built from tubular steel
members and not structural irons.
• The cylindrical shapes of the
tubular members create less
resistance to waves and currents,
reducing the amount of steel and
thus its weight and cost.
• These skirt piles are used to
increase the capacity of the
structure in resisting the
overturning moment.
Jacket Platform
• The jacketed platform consists of
the ‘decks’ or the ‘superstructure’
on which the drilling, production
and all other equipment rest, and
‘piles,’ which are driven through
the leg of the jacket for securing
the platform to the seabed.
• The superstructure generally
comprises three decks, namely,
(1) drilling deck or main deck, (2)
wellhead/production or
mezzanine deck, and (3) cellar
deck.
Jacket Platform
• The jacket consists commonly
of eight large-diameter tubular
legs framed together by many
relatively smaller sized tubular
members known as ‘braces.’
These braces can be of three
types, that is,
(1) horizontal bracing,
(2) diagonal bracing both in the
vertical and horizontal plane
and
(3) X- or K-type bracing
Jacket Platform
• The leg spacing at sea deck level (i.e. at an elevation of 10–14 ft above
mean water level [MWL]) in the longitudinal direction is
approximately 36–45 ft, and the spacing between the two central legs
is approximately 45–60 ft.
• Other than three main components of an 8-leg platform, that is, jacket,
superstructure and piles, there are some auxiliary elements in it. Those
are skirt-pile sleeves, drilling area deck substructure, deck modules,
drilling area, conductor/riser area, boat landing facility, barge
bumpers, launch runner, bracing stub and jacket leg can.
Jacket Platform
• The deck substructure in between two decks or between the cellar deck
and the top of the jacket is usually made up of a group of parallel
Warren trusses with Warren type bracing to form the planar trusses
into a space frame. The web members and the upper and lower
portions may be tubular.
• There are two deck levels – the lower level is high above the splash
zone and the upper deck is placed at a sufficient elevation to place and
operate the equipment at the lower level.
Installation of Platform
Installation of a platform consists of transporting the various
components of the platform to the installation site, positioning the
platform on the site, and assembling the various components into a
stable structure in accordance with the design.
The installation procedure is classified as below:
a. Transportation
b. Removal of jacket from transport barge
c. Erection
d. Pile installation
e. Super structure installation
f. Grounding of installation welding equipment
Transportation
• The jacket is normally taken to the site on a launch barge itself which
is properly balanced before sailing and sea fastenings are done at
several places.
• By sea fastening, the jacket almost becomes an integral part of the
barge. The jacket is provided with a launch truss on the side of it
laying on the barge.
• The jacket is supported on these two launch trusses on the barge with a
thick layer of grease in between to provide a smooth launching of the
jacket into the sea. The other platform parts should be loaded on the
barge in such a manner to ensure a balanced and stable condition.
• Ballasting of the barge as required is done to provide a good balance.
• From the fabrication yard to the installation site, a safe route is fixed
based on ocean survey maps, to ensure a safe journey in the sea.
b. Removal of jacket from transport barge
c. Erection
d. Pile installation
e. Super structure installation
f. Grounding of installation welding equipment
b. Removal of jacket from transport barge:
• Jacket is launched into the sea around 1½ miles away from the exact
location of installation.
• The launch barge consists of launch ways, rocker arms, controlled
ballast and dewatering unit and a power unit (hydraulic ram, etc.)
to assist the jacket to slide down the ways.
• So, for launching the jacket, the barge is first anchored in the opposite
direction of launching.
• The hydraulic rams are placed on the launch ways, sea fastenings are
cut, and a winch is connected to the jacket via a pulley so that pulling
the sling on the winch helps in launching the jacket.
• After that the ballast tanks of the launching barge are flooded.
• Then by giving hydraulic pressure in rams, the winch sling is
simultaneously pulled to assist the launching.
• Rocker arms take care of the easy dropping of the jacket into the sea.
A jacket that is to be launched has to be water-tight and buoyant.
b. Erection:
• Erection is accomplished with the help of a ‘derrick barge,’ which has
a high capacity derrick (crane) that can rotate in any direction, living
facilities for about 100–200 people, a helipad, all necessary diving
facilities, NDT facilities and all sorts of facilities for anchoring, power,
steam and so on.
• Anchors should hold the barge tight enough so that at the time of
erection, the barge should not move from its position.
• When the jacket floats in the sea, with the help of two boats, it is
brought to the site of erection where the derrick barge is already
anchored.
• Anchors should hold the barge tight enough so that at the time of
erection, the barge should not move from its position.
b. Erection:
• At the site of installation, four slings are attached to the top portion
of the jacket for which lifting eyes are provided and the jacket is
slowly upended.
• In this process, the jacket comes to the position of installation. It is
kept in this position (orientation) with the help of slings and tugs.
• Then flooding valves are opened slowly by which water starts
entering into the legs and buoyancy tanks and the jacket starts sitting
down.
• But before upending, divers survey the sea bottom for any possible
collection of debris and other things that may create problems in the
installation.
• When the jacket is put on the sea bottom, the level of the top portion
is measured and levelled so that after piling proper correction could
be avoided
Pile Installation
• Platform and pile identification
• Penetration of pile under its own weight
• Blow counts throughout driving with hammer identification
• Penetration of pile under its own weight and weight of hammer
• Unusual behaviour of hammer or pile during driving
• Interruptions in driving, including ‘setup’ time
• Lapsed time for driving each section
• Elevations of soil plug and internal water surface after driving
• Actual length of each pile and cut offs
• Pertinent data of a similar nature covering driving, drilling, grouting,
or concreting of grouted or belled piles
Grouting
• Grouting is the next step that is performed after piling. For this there
is a grout line for each leg and sleeve which is connected to the
bottom of the leg.
• Cement slurry is pumped into this and from the top return water
present in the annular space comes out through an outlet connection.
After some time when the cement is fully filled in the annular space,
cement starts coming out.
• The samples of cement slurry going in and coming out of each leg
and sleeve are taken and cubes are made out of them by placing in
wooden frames which are later sent for hardness tests to get an idea
of cementation in the annular space.
• Diver survey the cementation of sleeves.
Superstructure installation
• Normally four decks are installed on an unmanned platform. These are
1. Cellar deck 2. Main deck 3. Mezzanine deck 4. Helideck
• The main deck and the cellar deck are fabricated in one piece and the
mezzanine deck and helideck are in another piece. They are transported on a
cargo barge and are directly lifted and stabbed over the piles.
• But before stabbing a transition piece is added which makes slanted piles
vertical.
• The main deck with the cellar deck is lifted with the help of a derrick and set
with proper care being exercised to ensure proper alignment and elevation.
The deck elevation shall not vary more than ±3 in. (76 mm) from the design
elevation shown in the drawing. The finished elevation of the deck shall be
within ½ in. (13 mm) of level.
• Once the super structures are installed, all stairways, hand rails, boat
landings, rub strips and barge bumpers and other similar systems are
installed.
• After this all piping hook up work takes place. Simultaneously, all electrical
connections are made, various pumps and generators are tested and
commissioned.
• After hook-up of all piping systems, they are hydraulically tested according
to the codes and contract specifications
Template Type Tower Type
Concrete gravity structures

• It rest directly on the ocean floor by virtue of their own weight.

These structures offer an attractive alternative to piled steel template
platforms in hostile waters like the North Sea.

• The advantages are that the structures can be constructed onshore or

in sheltered waters, towed semisubmerged to the offshore location
and installed in a short time by flooding with seawater (ballasting).

• There are various designs of gravity platform, namely

condeep platforms,
seatank platforms,
andoc platforms and
CG Doris platforms.
Caisson: In the condeep platforms, the caisson which remains
submerged in water is hexagon-shaped and usually consists of 19
vertical, interconnected cylindrical cells with spherical domes at each
end. The cells provide buoyancy during construction and towing and
sheltered deepwater construction site.
Skirt:
• For foundations resting on clay layers which often show sufficient
slipping strength, more resistant soil layers must be reached with
skirts installed beneath the base raft.
• These skirts must be thin enough to penetrate the ground and yet be
capable of transmitting the vertical and horizontal forces imposed on
the foundation. The skirts serve three purposes, namely penetration
to the weaker soils, transmitting the load to the stronger soil
below and protecting the foundation from scour.
Towers/columns/shafts/legs:
• The shafts or towers have a conical shape for about the lower two-
thirds to three-quarters of their height.
• As the shafts are extensions of the cells, the lower shaft diameter is
the same as that of the cells, that is, 66 ft (20 m). The shaft diameter
reduces to 39 ft (12 m) at the top. The wall thickness of the conical
shafts decreases from 30 or 41 in. (75 or 105 cm) at the bottom to 20
in. (50 cm) at the upper end of the conical section.
• The concrete legs serve as enclosures for well conductors by
protecting those from wind and waves. Steel guides with drilled plugs
are cast into the lower concrete domes so that conductor tubes may be
inserted past the plugs with little effort.
Deck structure:
• All the deck structures are made of three-dimensional steel elements.
• The main load-carrying members may be classified as plate girders,
box girders or trusses. Truss girders are composed either of tubular or
plate sections.
• Deck types have been categorised into two groups: integrated and
modularised.
• In the integrated deck system, the equipment is installed as the
structure is fabricated. In the modular system, a deck substructure is
fabricated, and equipment modules are lifted and placed within or on
the substructure.
• Concrete platforms have steel decks to minimise the topside
structural weight. The topside structural weight is of great
significance during tow-out of the platform to its final offshore
location.
• The deck structure is connected to the platform towers using
transition pieces designed to spread the applied loads from the steel
elements to the concrete columns.
Deck structure:
• For concrete platforms, the girders are
generally of larger dimensions than
girders for steel template platforms
because of the larger total deck
weights for concrete platforms and the
smaller number of support columns.
• Tower concrete platforms have from 2
to 4 legs whereas steel template
platforms have from 4 to 12 legs,
depending on water depths and wave
forces.
• Concrete platforms of the manifold
type support the deck structure on
columns extending upward from the
outer wall and on the extended core
cylinder.
Compliant Tower (CT)
• Consists of a narrow, flexible
tower. Can withstand large
lateral forces by undergoing
large lateral deflections as
compared to jacket.
• Water depth: 300m to 600m.
• Four legged.
Types of compliant platforms are
1. Compliant tower
2. Guyed tower
3. Tension leg platform
• A compliant tower structure can be divided into four basic structural
components:
• The foundation piles.
• The base section.
• The tower section(s). Depending on the water depth and the
means of transport, the tower can be made in one or more
sections.
• The deck.
• To help it sway, several rigid steel sections of which the C.T. is made
of are joined together by hinges.
• It is fairly transparent to waves and is designed to flex with the forces
of waves, wind and current. It uses less steel than a conventional
jacket platform
Two Methods of installation:
(1) Tendons are preinstalled before the arrival of hull or the platform and
(2) Tendons and hull are installed simultaneously
Some salient features of the TLP are:

1. Less weight and cost-effective in water depths of 1500–2000 ft.

2. Field development time is significantly lower than that of other
platforms since it is possible to fabricate a TLP before actual water
depth and other design criteria are established.
3. This has the capability for shifting. Thus, it can be relocated if
delineation wells indicate the necessity of relocation and could be
moved from a depleted reserve to a productive field.
4. Wells are required to be completed as subsea. But it allows the
extension of the wellhead to the surface which permits easy
workover and maintenance of the wells.
5. The sway and surge motions are not critical to equipment and
personnel.
Bottom-Supported Unit
Submersible:
1. Normally used in shallow waters such as rivers and bays, usually in
waters up to 50 ft deep.
2. The submersible has two hulls:
3. The upper hull, sometimes referred to as the ‘Texas’ deck, is used
to house the crew quarters and equipment, and the drilling is
performed through a slot on the stern with a cantilevered structure.
4. The lower hull is the ballast area and is also the foundation used
while drilling.
Jack-Up
Jack-ups basically are made-up
of four main components.
1. Footing
2. Leg
3. Jacking system
4. Hull
• Footings are at the bottom of the legs and their purpose is
to increase the legs’ bearing area, thereby reducing the
required capacity of the soil to provide a solid foundation
to withstand the weight of the jack-up.
• There are two types of footings:
(a) spud cans/tanks and (b) mats.
• On the basis of the type of footings a jack-up uses, these
are classified into two basic categories:
1. Independent leg type 2. Mat-supported type
• Legs of a jack-up are steel structures that support the hull when the
unit is in the elevated mode and provide stability to resist lateral
loads. Some independent leg units are able to cant (or slant) the legs
for adding strength against overturning in deep water. The legs can be
either
(a) trussed legs or (b) cylindrical legs/columnar legs.
• Trussed legs may be of triangular or square cross-section consisting
of chords and braces. The braces provide the shear capacity of the leg
while the chords provide the axial and flexural stiffness.
• The columnar legs or cylindrical legs are hollow steel tubes fabricated
from 1½ in. to 2¾ in. thick structural steel. Each leg is 10–12 ft in
diameter and 225–312 ft long.
Jacking system or elevating system is used for
lifting and lowering the hull and is of two types: 1.
Rack-and-pinion type 2. Electro-hydraulic type
1. Electrically operated rack-and-pinion jacking
systems are designed for manual, individual leg
or fully automatic operation. Features include
pairs of pinions which engage a double rack to
balance the spreading forces between the rack-
and-pinion gear teeth.
2. Electrically controlled hydraulic jacking system
can be operated manually, semiautomatic,
automatic, semiautomatic interlock and
automatic interlock. The components include
the ram and yoke assemblies, hydraulic pumps
and electrical control system
Semisubmersible Platform
• Semisubmersibles are multilegged floating structures with a large deck.
These legs are interconnected at the bottom underwater with horizontal
buoyant members called pontoons.
• The pontoons are the principal elements of floatation and stability. The
pontoons or hulls are used as ballast compartments to achieve the
necessary drilling draft.
• Semisubmersibles permit drilling to be carried out in very deep water
beyond 1000 ft of water depth and they are held on location either by
a conventional mooring system or by dynamic positioning.
• The motion that causes problems for the semisubmersible is heave or
the vertical motion. Because of forces on the drill string when the
vessel is heaving, these semisubmersibles with a low heave response
are considered to be the most suitable.
• Heave is generated in response to exposed waterplane and is
expressed as:

where T = time in sec; t = tons per foot immersion; and d =

displacement in tons. The smaller the waterplane area, or ‘t’, the lower
the heave response.
• Before the drilling rig arrives on location, several preparatory
operations should be completed:
1. Bottom soil conditions determined
2. Prevailing winds and sea states known
3. Surveys made and buoy markers placed for exact anchor locations
4. Equipment conditioned and supplies inventoried
5. Lines of communication definitely established: operating company,
drilling contractor, anchor handling boat and special crew.
After its arrival, the anchor should be placed using a conventional
mooring method following the spread mooring pattern.
Drillship:
• The drillship, because of its surface contact with the sea, develops a
very large heave response compared to the semisubmersible.
• It is possible, by means of stabilising tanks and other methods, to
reduce roll on drillships but heave cannot be reduced.
• A subsequent increase in ‘rig downtime’ or ‘lost’ time occurs, hence
there is a bigger demand for the use of compensation devices.
• Briefly then, drillships have many advantages: like proven
deepwater capability, capacity to transport much larger loadings
of drilling supplies, faster travel time to remote locations, self-
propelled and hence no need for tug.
• Disadvantage is that it should only be considered for use in areas of
small wave heights and low wind velocities.
 Station Keeping

• Generally, surge and sway are the motions that are considered for
station keeping.
• In a drilling vessel to carry out drilling operations, its horizontal
movement should be limited because the vessel is normally connected
to the wellhead at the sea bottom by a drilling riser and any
displacement from its origin, known as offset, will cause damage to
the riser, even snapping.
 Station Keeping

Components:
• Anchors:
 Station Keeping

Components:
• Anchors:
 Station Keeping

Components:
• Anchors:
 Station Keeping

Components:
• Mooring lines are freely
hanging lines connecting the
floating platform to anchors
or piles on the seabed
positioned at some distance
from the platform.
• Mooring lines can be either
steel-linked chain or wire
rope or a combination of
rope and chain depending on
the strength-to-weight ratio.
 Station Keeping

Components:
Winches:
• Winches are used to handle and store wire rope.
• The size of a winch depends on the amount of wire rope to be stored
on the drum and the maximum line pull to be exerted.
Windlasses
• Used to pull in and run out chain. The chain is not stored on the
windlass itself, but in chain lockers below.
Station Keeping
 Station Keeping

• Turret mooring systems are the mooring systems that permit the
vessel to freely ‘weathervane’ 360° thereby allowing normal
operations in moderate to extreme sea conditions.
• The turret mooring system got its name because of the use of a turret
structure (turret means a small tower or tower-shaped projection
having great height in proportion to its diameter and having an ability
to revolve or rotate).
• Types: moonpool turret mooring, external turret mooring and
‘internal turret mooring.
• Moonpool turret mooring is used with drillships. From a roller-
mounted turret in the ship’s well beneath the derrick, eight anchor
lines extend outward to the anchors (Figure 3.89). The marine
conductor is the vertical axis around which the entire ship rotates
Station Keeping
Station Keeping
 Dynamic Positioning System

• Referencing/sensing system, which continuously measures the

position with respect to the ocean bottom borehole. The position
referencing sensors along with wind sensors, motion sensors and
gyrocompasses provide information to the computer.
• Control system or controller, which is a major part of the on-board
computer which after receiving the information from the earlier one
determines the magnitude and direction of the thrust to be provided
and also sends command to the thrusters.
• Propulsion system or thruster, which is instrumental in providing
the thrust as per command received from the controller
Dynamic
Positioning
System
 Dynamic Positioning System

Reference Systems:

(1) position reference system,

(2) heading reference system, and

(3) sensors.
 Dynamic Positioning System

Position reference system :

Acoustics System: Hydrophones and subsea beacons
Two types of subsea beacons are employed:
a) free-running pinger that continuously transmits signals at a
specified rep rate, or a transponder that responds only to a
command from the surface.
b) The transponder is more accurate because it measures the water
depth and requires no additional measurement for tides.
Taut wire system: Backup position reference system which is known
as the taut wire system
 Dynamic Positioning System
Acoustics System:
1. The vessel is an equilateral triangle.
2. The Kelly bushing (KB) is in the geometric center
of the vessel.
3. The hydrophones are located at the points of the
triangular vessel, that is, equidistant from the KB.
4. The subsea beacon is in the center of the well.
5. No pitch, no roll, no yaw and no heave are
permitted.

The position X and Y (vessel offset forward (X) and

starboard (Y)) can be calculated by knowing:
1. The difference in times of arrival of a single pulse
at the different hydrophones
2. The distance between these hydrophones
3. The speed of sound in water
4. The water depth
 Dynamic Positioning System
Taut Wire System:
• The taut wire system uses a small diameter
line attached to a weight on the sea bottom.
• A two-axis inclinometer used to pick off
the angle of the wire line with respect to
the vertical.
• The vertical angle is referenced to a
shipboard coordinate system of bow-stern
axis inclination and port-starboard axis
inclination.
• Knowing water depth and the angle of
inclination, the offset can be easily
calculated
 Dynamic Positioning System
Heading Reference System
• Gyrocompasses are normally used to determine heading.
Sensors
Besides position and heading, other variables are fed into the DP system
through sensors:
1. Motion reference units (MRU) or vertical reference units (VRU)
determine the ship’s roll, pitch and heave.
2. Wind sensors are fed into the DP system feed forward, so that the
system can anticipate wind gusts before the ship is blown off
position.
3. Draught sensors are used because any change in draught influences
the effect of wind and current on the hull
 Control Systems
• The basic control in DP system has three degrees of freedom, that is,
surge, sway and yaw. No attempt will be made to control roll, pitch and
heave by the DP system.
• Sequence of Events:
1. The computer receives the vessel position from the position
referencing system and the heading from the gyrocompass.
2. The computer compares the position and heading of the vessel with
Xo, Yo and θo that would place the vessel directly over the well and
maintain the proper heading.
3. The forces required to bring the vessel over the well are estimated.
Vessel position, heading and wind data are used.
4. The controller allocates thrust to the individual thrusters.
5. Then the commands are sent to the thrusters and it is checked to see
if they responded properly.
6. And, thus, the cycle is repeated
Control Systems
 Propulsion System/Thrusters

• The element of a dynamic positioning

system which produces the forces and
moment to counter the disturbance forces
and moments acting on the vessel is the
thrusters.
• In a propulsion system or thrusters
system, two main components are there:
(1) Thrust producing mechanism or
device, that is, thrusters and
(2) Thrust control system (The purpose of
the thrust control system is to
implement the command variable in
the thrust producing mechanism).
The thrust control system can be electrical,
hydraulic, mechanical or a combination
 Normal Drilling Operation

• Hoisting
• Rotation
• Circulation
 Difference in Spudding from Land Drilling

• The word ‘spudding’ in the context of drilling means the very start of
drilling operations in a new well or that moment when the drilling bit
penetrates the surface.
• In offshore drilling, all the drilling equipment and its ancillaries have to
be transported over the sea/ocean surface.
• The next step before spudding is to make the drilling bit touch the ground
surface, in this case the sea bed or mud line, for which a conduit between
the topside and the sea bottom is essential which is commonly known as
conductor or drilling riser.
• To connect this conductor or riser at the sea bottom, some provision has
to be made and that is known as subsea facility or subsea unit. Among the
subsea units, common ones are subsea template, subsea wellhead and
subsea BOP.
 Topsides

• Topsides come in many sizes and shapes but can be loosely categorised
into three main types:
1. Skid-mounted equipment
2. Integrated decks
3. Modularised decks

Skid-mounted equipment
• Advantage of this design was that the structural deck could first be used
to accommodate the drilling and completion rigs and then later receive
the production skids.
• A disadvantage was the reality that doing offshore hook-ups cost 5 to 15
times as much as those done onshore.
 Topsides

• Integrated deck:
• An integrated deck may be divided into many levels and areas depending
on the functions they support. Typical levels are as follows.
• Main (upper) deck, which supports the drilling/production systems and
several modules (drilling, process, utilities, living quarters, compression,
etc.)
• Cellar deck, which supports systems that need to be placed at a lower
elevation and installed with the deck structures, such as pumps, some
utilities, pig launchers/receivers, Christmas trees, wellhead manifolds,
piping and so on.
• Additional deck levels, if needed. For example, if simultaneous drilling
and production operations are planned, some process equipment may be
located in a mezzanine deck.
 Topsides

Modular deck
• As the deepwater decks became larger and larger, it was a necessity to
split the deck into smaller, liftable pieces and to allow them to be built
more cost-effectively.
Typical modular deck components are as follows:
• Module Support Frame (MSF) – It provides a space frame for supporting
the modules and transferring their load to the jacket/tower structure. The
MSF may also be designed to include many platform facilities, such as
the storage tanks, pig launching and receiving systems, metering/proving
devices and the associated piping systems.
• Modules – These provide a number of drilling/production and life support
systems.
 Topsides
Modular deck
• Modules – These provide a number of drilling/production and life support
systems.
• Living quarters module: supports a heliport, communication systems, canteen,
office and recreational facilities.
• Utilities module generally supports power generation and electrical and
production control systems including a control room.
• Wellhead module generally supports the wellheads, well test and control
equipment.
• Drill rig module contains the derrick, draw-works, drillers and control rooms, drill
pipe and casing storage racks and pipe handling systems.
• Production module contains the oil/gas/water separation and treatment systems,
other piping, control systems and valves.
• Power module contains either gas turbines or diesel engines for generation of
electricity to drive rotating equipment such as compressors and pumps.
• Pumps and compressors module contains various pumps for different purposes in
drilling and production as well as compressors for pneumatic lines.
Topsides
Topsides
 Linkage between Topside and
Subsea
• Conductors or risers are such devices which act as conduits from the
topside to the ocean floor and primarily act as guides for the drill string.
• The conductors are used in the case of fixed platforms whereas risers are
used with the compliant platforms and mobile units.
• Conductor
• In a conventional fixed platform, individual conductor pipes must be
provided for each well to be drilled through them for protecting the
surface casing from the natural forces of the sea as well as geomechanical
conditions such as mudslides.
• These conductors are large diameter steel pipes usually 26–36 in. in size
which are driven into the soil at the sea bed through guides connected to a
jacket or within the legs of gravity platforms and the deck structure of the
platforms.
• Conductor guides for positioning and guiding the conductors are framed
at various elevations within the jacket and decks to provide support for
the conductors such that the usual effects of environment such as waves,
etc. can be safely withstood.
 Linkage between Topside and
Subsea
• Conductor
• The first system consists of guides that are rigidly connected to the
jacket and deck framework. The conductors are placed through these
guides.
• The conductor guides and structural framework provide support for the
conductors at various levels throughout the jacket and deck or decks.
• This type of system generally includes three kinds of conductor guide
assemblies.
• The first kind are those within the horizontal framework levels of the
jacket and typically consist of vertical guides made from steel tubes
welded to the horizontal jacket tubular members.
• The other types are located in the upper and lower deck levels.
• Second System: Jacket conductor guides positioned inside a large
diameter pile which has previously been driven through a jacket sleeve.
The pile protects the conductors from environmental loading.
 Linkage between Topside and
Subsea

• While the conductor is lowered through the guides located at different levels
in the jacket and the decks, different types of centralisers are used to hold
them centrally inside those guides.
 Risers
• Drilling risers are categorized into two types –
(1) marine drilling riser and
(2) tie-back drilling riser
• Marine drilling risers are used by a floating vessel when the
blowout preventer (BOP) is placed at the sea bottom.
• Tie-back drilling risers are used with bottom supported units
like jack-up platforms or compliant types like TLPs when the
BOP is placed at the platform deck.
Risers
 Risers
Tie-back drilling risers:
 Risers
Marine risers:
The components of a marine riser
system from bottom to top are
• hydraulic connector
• lower flexible joint (ball joint)
• flexible piping for choke and kill
lines
• riser pipe and connectors
• choke and kill lines and
connections
• telescopic (slip) joint
• diverter system or bell nipple
• riser tensioning equipment
 Risers
Marine risers:
• The hydraulic connector joins the bottom section of the marine riser
to the top of the BOP stack. Clamps and release mechanisms are
activated by hydraulic pressure from the BOP system.
• Flexible or ball joints at the base of the marine riser package
accommodate up to 10° of deviation from the vertical to allow for
any horizontal movement to which the drilling vessel might be
subjected.
• Riser pipe is a seamless pipe with mechanical connectors welded on
the ends. Its size is determined by the bore of the BOP stack and
wellhead with allowance for clearance in running drilling assemblies,
casing and casing hangers.
Risers
Integral marine riser pipe
with choke and kill lines
 Risers
• The telescopic, or slip joint, is used at the top of a marine riser
and performs these functions:
1. Compensates for vertical movement of the vessel while
drilling and for added dimension required for any horizontal
displacement of the platform.
2. Provides fitting for choke and kill line hoses.
3. Provides for connecting bell nipple or diverter assembly.
4. Provides for attachment of riser tensioner system.
 Risers
• A diverter system controls flow of gas or other fluids which
may enter the wellbore under pressure before the BOP stack
and the casing which supports it have been run.
• The diverter is an integral part of the bell nipple. It may be a
bag-type unit or a modified rotating BOP.
• The diverter redirects the flow of mud and cuttings during a
kick when the BOPs are not used and the diverted fluids flow
overboard.
• Control is from a hydraulic system. It is valuable at the time of
drilling through shallow gas zones or for diverting gas kicks in
deep high-pressure zones.
 Risers
• Riser tensioners support a major portion of the weight of
the marine riser system plus the drilling mud it contains.
• These tensioners also provide a means of compensating
for heave motions of the platform.
• Without the riser tensioning system, only a very short
riser could be supported by the BOP stack.
 Guide Base and Drilling Template

There are two types of guide bases that are in use:

(1) temporary guide base (TGB) and
(2) permanent guide base (PGB)

1. Temporary Guide Base (TGB)/Mud Mat

• To get the well spudded, a heavy steel template to guide
the bit to the right spot on the ocean floor is necessary.
• A temporary guide base (TGB) serves as a foundation
for all other sub-sea equipment and as an anchorage for
the guidelines on which the equipment will be run down
to the sea bed.
Temporary Guide Base (TGB)/Mud Mat
 Temporary Guide Base (TGB)/Mud Mat

• The TGB or mud mat is a circular, octagonal, or square flat steel frame of about 400
sq. ft. in area that has compartments in which ballast materials can be placed.
• It is designed to be installed through the moonpool of a drilling vessel.
• With the wings folded, the mud mat has dimensions of 20 ft × 20 ft.
• The unit alone weighs about 4–8 tons, but is heavily weighted with bags of cement,
barite, or other heavy materials before being lowered to the seabed on the end of a
string of drill pipe.
• In the centre of the TGB frame is a wide circular aperture with a funnel shape
projecting above it into which the bottom of another frame – the permanent guide
base – will fit.
 Permanent Guide Base (TGB)/Mud Mat

Permanent Guide Base (PGB)

• The PGB is another heavy, steel frame, about 3 tons in weight and square
in shape, that has a wide central aperture and a tall post in each corner
through which the four guidelines run.
• The PGB serves as a landing seat for the wellhead and as a guide for
drilling tools and the BOP stack, which is eventually located above the
wellhead.
• The posts are used to locate the BOP stack, which has arrangements to
accept them within its own frame.
Permanent Guide Base (TGB)/Mud Mat
Well head
assembly
Wellhead
Housing

• The subsea wellhead

housing (typically 18¾ in.)
is, effectively, a unitized
wellhead with no annulus
access.
• It provides an interface
between the subsea BOP
stack and the subsea well
support each casing string
by way of a mandrel-type
casing hanger.
Casing Hangers
• All subsea casing hangers are mandrel type. The casing hanger provides a
metal-to-metal sealing area for a seal assembly to seal off the annulus
between the casing hanger and the wellhead. The casing weight is
transferred into the wellhead by means of the casing hanger/ wellhead
landing shoulder.
Pack Off Assembly
• The seal or pack off assembly isolates the annulus between the casing
hanger and the high-pressure wellhead housing. The seal incorporates a
metal-to-metal sea.
Bore Protectors and Wear Bushings
• Once the high-pressure wellhead housing and the BOP stack are installed,
all drilling operations will take place through the wellhead housing. The
risk of mechanical damage during drilling operations is relatively high, and
the critical areas in the wellhead system need to be protected with a
removable bore protector and wear bushings.
Running and Test
Sub-Sea BOP
These major components are:
(1) hydraulic wellhead connectors;
(2) ram type BOPs;
(3) annular type BOPs;
(4) hydraulic or electrohydraulic control
system for actuation of all the
components on the BOP stack; and
(5) a four-post guide frame used to guide the
BOP stack down the guidelines to the
wellhead landing base and line up the
BOP stack with the wellhead for proper
seating.
The process of landing a BOP stack is described sequentially below:
1. A riser running tool is made up on the drill pipe, lowered through the rotary
table and connected to the riser stab assembly.
2. The preventer stack is positioned on the spider beams and guidelines strung
through guide funnels.
3. The riser stab assembly is made up on top of the preventer stack and the
assembly is pressure tested.
4. Next the riser running tool is released and the next joint of riser is made up
on top of the riser stab assembly.
5. The assembly is lifted to clear the spider beams; the spider beams are
removed, and the assembly is lowered to hang off on the first joint of the
riser.
6. The remaining joints of the riser pipe are added as the assembly is lowered.
7. The telescoping joint is added to the top of the riser; the riser tensioning
system is connected and the BOP stack landed on the wellhead.
8. The connector is latched.
9. The diverter, bell nipple and choke and kill lines are connected at the top of
the riser.
10. The preventer stack and choke and kill lines are pressure checked.
Drilling operation in Jack-up Rig:
• Running 20″ Casing and Cementing
• Installation of 20¾″ Wellhead and 21¼″
BOP
• Drilling 16" Hole
• Running and Cementing 13⅜″ Casing
• Installing 20¾″ x 13⅝″ Casing Spool
and ⅝″ BOP Stack
• Drilling 12¼″ Hole and Running and
Cementing 9⅞″ Casing
• Installing 13⅝″ Wellhead Casing Spool
and 13⅝″ BOP Stack
• Drilling 8½″ Hole to Total Depth
• Running and Cementing 7″ Liner
Drilling operation in Jack-up Rig:
• Moving and Installing the Jack-Up
The air gap for the operation is 41 ft, the
distance from RT (rotary table) to MSL
(mean sea level) is 30 m.
• Driving 30″ Conductor
The conductor pipe is normally driven into
place with the use of a pile hammer, if the
sea bed is soft. In the case of a hard bed,
either jetting or drilling is to be done.
• Driving 30″ Conductor
The conductor pipe is normally driven into
place with the use of a pile hammer, if the
sea bed is soft. In the case of a hard bed,
either jetting or drilling is to be done.
Wet Satellite Completions components:

A. Tubing Hanger
B. Subsea Christmas Tree
1. Tree guide frame 2. Wellhead connector 3. Valve
block(s) 4. Wye spools swab valve block 5. Flow-line
loops and crossovers 6. Tree manifold 7. Tree cap
assembly
C. Control System
D. Flow-Line Connection System
 Floating Production Units

• Tension Leg Platforms (TLP)

• Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO)
• Floating, Drilling, Production, Storage and Offloading (FDPSO)
• Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO)
• Floating Production System (FPS)
• Spar
 Floating
Production
Units
 Floating Production Units
Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO)

• The industry has found scores of remote or hostile

environments that call for the FPSO design:
1. At sea where no pipeline infrastructure exists
2. Where weather is no friend, such as North Sea
3. Close to shore locations that have inadequate
infrastructure
• After the oil moves from the reservoir to the FPSO via the
turret, it goes through the processing equipment and then
to the storage compartments.
• Floating, Drilling, Production, Storage and Offloading (FDPSO):
FPSO plus a drillship or a semisubmersible come together in the form of a
floating drilling production storage and offloading (FDPSO) to do it all in
deepwater.
• Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO):
This specialty vessel stores crude from a production platform, fixed or
floating, where no viable alternatives for pumping oil via pipeline exist.
FSOs almost always had a former life as an oil tanker and generally have
little or no treating facilities onboard.
• Floating Production System (FPS):
FPS can have a ship shape or look like a semisubmersible or TLP, with
pontoons and columns providing buoyancy. Either way, the FPS stays
moored on station to receive and process oil and gas from subsea wet
trees, often from several fields. After processing, the oil and gas can move
ashore via export risers, or the gas can go into reinjection and the oil to an
FSO.
 SPAR

Three types of production spars have been built to date:

the ‘classic’ spar, ‘truss’ spar and the third generation ‘cell’ spar.
The basic parts of the classic and truss spar include:
1. Deck
2. Hard tank : provides the buoyancy to support the deck, hull, ballast and
vertical tensions (except the risers). The term ‘hard tank’ means that its
compartments are designed to withstand the full hydrostatic pressure.
3. Midsection (steel shell or truss structure): The midsection extends below the
hard tank to give the spar its deep draft. In the early ‘classic’ spars, the
midsection was simply an extension of the outer shell of the hard tanks. There
was no internal structure, except as required to provide support for the span of
risers in the midsection. Later spars replaced the midsection with a space
frame truss structure
4. Soft tank: at the bottom of the spar is designed to provide floatation during
the installation stages when the spar is floating horizontally. It also provides
compartments for the placement of the fixed ballast once the spar is upended.
The soft tank has a centre well and a keel guide which centralizes the risers at
that point.
SPAR
• The distance GM, that is, the
distance between the centre of
gravity and the metacentre of a
floating body, is called the
‘metacentric height,’ and the
distance BM, that is, the distance
between the centre of buoyancy
and the metacentre of the floating
body, is called the ‘metacentric
radius.
GM = BM + KB − KG
• The point K which is known as
KEEL indicates the bottom of the
unit.
 Fabrication, Loadout, Transportation and
Installation

Fabrication Yard
Loading the Jacket
Loading of Jacket at Site and ready for
towing
Decks
Jacket on the barge
Launching the Jacket in to the sea
Sequences of launching
Gravity structure Installation
Gravity structure Construction
Towing and installation
Gravity steel base structure