OFFSHORE OIL RIG

(offshore platform or colloquially oil rig)

To Drill Wells
To Extract and Process
Oil and Natural Gas

Temporarily Store Product

(Raw Oil/Gas for Refinery)
In many cases, the platform contains facilities to house the workforce as well.

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Types of offshore oil and gas structures include (from left to right):
1-2) CONVENTIONAL FIXED PLATFORMS 3) COMPLIANT TOWER 4-5) VERTICALLY MOORED TENSION LEG AND MINI-TENSION LEG PLATFORM 6) SPAR 7-8) SEMI-SUBMERSIBLES 9) FLOATING PRODUCTION, STORAGE, AND OFFLOADING FACILITY 10) SUB-SEA COMPLETION AND TIE-BACK TO HOST FACILITY
ALL RECORDS FROM 2005 DATA.

1.

DERRICK

A derrick is a lifting device composed of one tower, or guyed mast such as a pole which is hinged freely at the bottom.

2. HULL GEOMETRY
The Kulluk (DrillBarge) is 24-sided, nearly round, and flares out below the waterline.

3. SPREAD ANCHORS
The Kulluk is anchored above the well by a dozen 3.5-inch-thick lines. In an emergency, these can be released with an acoustic signal.

4. MUD-LINE CELLAR
Vital well components are positioned in a 40-foot-deep, 20-foot-wide cavity (a mud-line cellar)

5. DRILLING SO FAR
In 2012 the Kulluk drilled to 1090 feet below the rig floor and cemented 30-inch-diameter casing to a depth of 330 feet. In 2013 the company hoped to reach potential oil-bearing layers thousands of feet deeper.

6. BLOWOUT PREVENTER
A failed blowout preventer (BOP) was a big factor in BP's Gulf of Mexico spill. The Kulluk's BOP has three mechanisms (pipe rams, blind-shear rams, and annular valves) to shut off the well. A capping stack can also be placed on top of the BOP.