Offshore Petroleum Production Systems (A brief history)

Brief History (Mid 19th century)

Early large scale petroleum production Onshore with wooden derricks

Brief History (1900s)

Lakes (wooden piles) and Jetties

California, Venezuela, Russia

19th and early 20th Century

Petroleum production characterized as opportunistic Shallow drilling (by todays standards) Recovery without significant enhancement Somewhat inefficient

Brief History (1940s-1950s)

First offshore developments

Shelf development in the Gulf of Mexico

New design environments new challenges (deeper water, wind, wave and current, combined) Early steps in shallow water with wooden structures Quick evolution to steel tubular structures

Fixed Platform Components

Offshore Environment
Global variability Wind, wave and current Current speed and direction varies with depth Wave height and period varies with direction Wind varies with height and direction A random environment defined by statistics, hindcasting and forcasting Mild Moderate Extreme

Brief History (1940s-1950s)

Fixed platform evolution required development of methods and procedures for: Design Fabrication Installation Maintenance

Fixed Platform Design

Demand

Vertical weight & buoyancy

Lateral environmental Jacket bracing resists shear Legs and piles Resist vertical loads and differential end loads that arise from overturning moments Structural period increases with water depth Structural analysis using software tools

Brief History (1950s -1980s)

Progressive development of steel jackets
Deeper water Greater environmental loads New field developments - Harsher environments Improved understanding of environment Wind, wave and current Ice Earthquake Geotechnical conditions Improved understanding of structural response through analytical methods (finite element methods) New installation methods (and bigger equipment)

Brief History (1950s 1980s)

Brief History (1950s 1980s)

Brief History (1950s -1980s)

Steel and concrete gravity base structures as alternative to tubular jackets Internal storage of product Large process area (topside weight) Limited by water depth and seabed conditions

Gravity Base Structures (GBS)

Fixed Platform Design

Sometimes the environment gets the better of us unanticipated severity

Fixed Platform Design

Sometimes the environment gets the better of us understanding long term loading

Fixed Platform Design

Sometimes we gets the better of ourselves

Adaptability of Steel Jackets

Economic drives for a minimal structure in shallow water or for fields with limited

production

Exploration Jack up Platform

Mobile can be moved to different sites for exploration (drilling) Three or four legs with a hull that can be elevated (self

elevating units)
May be supported on a mat or legs may be independent Legs may be truss structure or cylindrical Elevation by jacking mechanism, gear/ratchet or cylinder/pins

Mat Supported Jack up

Limits of Jacket Design

Water depth Platform size increases with water depth

Construction becomes difficult

Installation becomes more difficult These difficulties are the sure sign of increased cost

and at some point, this becomes uneconomic

So what are the alternatives to a fixed structure? At some water depth a jacket period will coincide with the peak period of the wave environment Not desirable for design as this leads to dynamic amplification

Compliant Towers
Used in water depths of about 1000 ft to 2000 ft Structural period is designed to be greater than spectra peak (>15 sec)

Compliant tower characteristics

Articulated upper jacket Fixed lower jacket May have guy lines

Floating Systems

Floating Systems

Floating Systems
Common components for floating systems Hull form (TLP, Spar Semi-submersible, FPSO) Mooring system and anchors to keep hull on station

Riser and flow lines to transport fluids between seabed and hull

Semi-submersible Hull
Free floating hull Pontoons, columns and bracing Moored using catenary or taught mooring lines Anchors at base of mooring lines Vertical or catenary risers Y

Tension Leg Platform (TLP)

Ballasted hull keeps tendons in tension Tension eliminates heave motion

Spars
Vertical column floater First spars had solid hull 2nd generation truss hull 3rd generation cell hull Mooring system similar to semi sub

2nd Generation Spar

Shipshape Hull

Choice of Hull
Hull selection is combinations of: Company economics Field layout and production capacity Wet/dry tree and process requirements Reservoir layout Environment For large fields in international setting, politics

Hull Motions
It is not feasible to hold a floating hull at a fixed position in the same way as a fixed platform The hull will response to waves in surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw high frequency response Depending on mooring and riser systems, the hull will move in a watch circle slow drift or 2nd order motions

High Frequency Response

Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs)

Slow Drift Motion

Caused by

Second order wave loads

Current loads on hull Wind loads on structure above waterline Slow drift motions have periods in the 100s of seconds and motions of 100s of feet (wave loads have periods of less than 20 seconds and motions less than 10 feet) Controlled by mooring lines (and risers)

Mooring Line Design

Mooring line acts as a catenary

Seabed end termination is a fixed location

Vessel end termination moves with vessel In deepwater the line weight is controlled by using combinations of materials Anchor types include: Drag embedment Suction caissons

Anchor Types

Risers and Flow l ines

Line Types Steel line pipe Unbonded flexibles Composite pipe Design conditions Internal pressure (burst) Hydrostatic collapse Strength (survival) Fatigue (operational)

Riser variants on the basic theme

Different Riser Configurations

Catenary Analysis
Applicable to risers, flow lines, umbilicals & mooring lines Equation of motion at a point on line

F(t) Static and dynamic forces on the system (self weight, buoyancy etc.) [c] hydrodynamic (Morisons eqn) and structural damping

ma hydrodynamic added mass

Catenary Analysis
Change in configuration with vessel motion

Riser End Connections

Line pipe Flexible joints Taper stress joints

Riser End Connections

Flexibles Bend stiffeners Bend restrictors (vertebrae)

Riser Buoyancy

Challenges in Floating Systems

Floating system design still has areas where research is ongoing

Riser Soil Interaction

Complex fluid/riser/soil interaction After 25 years there is still no definitive solution Line vortex shedding (VIV) Vortex shedding on risers and hulls generates significant fatigue loads We are only beginning to truly understand this phenomena

Integrated System Design

System design covers all aspects of: Topsides (structures and process) Hull Mooring system Riser system Subsea components Expensive anywhere from $300M to $2B Design must cover all aspects of system life including installation and

decommissioning

Installation Costs
Vessel day rates $200k to $1.5M Poor choice of equipment or installation schedule can be very costly Contracting strategy is important

The Future
Petroleum production will continue in many areas of the world while product is in demand Demand will drive industry to areas with harsher environment This is the challenge for the future 50