OFFSHORE STRUCTURES AND VESSEL IMPACT ANALYSIS

DURING OPERATION


BY


UMENWA, OLISAEMEKA E.F.



LECTURER: C. ONYEMECHI (PhD)
COURSE: OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY (MRT 608)



September, 2012




1

Introduction

An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform is a large structure with facilities to drill
wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be
brought to shore for refining and marketing. In many cases, the platform contains facilities to
house the workforce as well.
One of the greatest discoveries of 20th century was oil and it has so many applications that it
cannot be separated from mankind. Oil exploration started as early as 1900 but was initially
concentrated on land. As the need for oil began to expand in an explosive rate, the need for new
discoveries became eminent. During the middle of 20th century, oil discovery started in near shore
and medium range of water depth.
These offshore structures are sometimes they are built in large clusters with many being unmanned
or partly manned satellite platforms around a central hub platform which is usually manned.
Three key features tend to make up an offshore platform:
The Modules Large, pre-built units that include: accommodation, production and drilling zones.
The Jacket An intricate web of steel piles, beams and trunions combined to provide a
formidable foundation which the entire platform sits on. This is the preferred choice for platforms
on larger oil fields where the expense justifies the end outcome.
The Derrick Usually the highest point (apart from the helideck) on the platform where drilling is
carried out.
Other notable parts include the helideck which serves as a transportation hub, the flare tower
which burns off unusable hydrocarbons, pipelines, riser and equipment which process and deliver
the hydrocarbons ashore.
Depending on circumstances, the platform may be fixed to the ocean floor, may consist of an
artificial island or may float. Remote subsea wells may also be connected to a platform by
flowlines and umbilical connections; these subsea solutions may consist of one or more subsea
wells, or of one or more manifold centres for multiple wells.





2

Types of Offshore Structures

The offshore structures built in the ocean to explore oil and gas are located in depths from very
shallow water to the deep ocean. Depending on the water depth and environmental conditions, the
structural arrangement and need for new ideas required. Based on geometry and behaviour, the
offshore structures for oil and gas development has been divided into following categories.

1. Fixed Platforms
Steel template Structures
Concrete Gravity Structures
2. Compliant tower
Compliant Tower
Guyed Tower
Articulated Tower
Tension Leg Platform
Mini-Tension Leg Platform (Mini-TLP)
SPAR Platform
3. Floating Structures
Floating Production System
Floating Production, Storage and Offloading System

Fixed Platforms
These platforms are built on concrete or steel legs, or both, anchored directly onto the seabed,
supporting a deck with space for drilling rigs, production facilities and crew quarters. Such
platforms are, by virtue of their immobility, designed for very long term use (for instance the
Hibernia platform). Various types of structure are used, steel jacket, concrete caisson, floating steel
and even floating concrete. Steel jackets are vertical sections made of tubular steel members, and
are usually piled into the seabed. Concrete caisson structures, pioneered by the Condeep concept,
often have in-built oil storage in tanks below the sea surface and these tanks were often used as a
flotation capability, allowing them to be built close to shore (Norwegian fjords and Scottish firths
are popular because they are sheltered and deep enough) and then floated to their final position
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where they are sunk to the seabed. Fixed platforms are economically feasible for installation in
water depths up to about 1,700 ft (520 m).

Steel Template Structures
The steel template type structure consists of a tall vertical section made of tubular steel members
supported by piles driven into the sea be with a deck placed on top, providing space for crew
quarters, a drilling rig, and production facilities. The fixed platform is economically feasible for
installation in water depths up to 500m as stated earlier.
These template type structures will be fixed to seabed by means of tubular piles either driven
through legs of the jacket (main piles) or through skirt sleeves attached to the bottom of the jacket.
The principle behind the fixed platform design is to minimize the natural period of the structure
below 4 seconds to avoid resonant behaviour with the waves (period in the order of 4 to 25
seconds. The structural and foundation configuration shall be selected to achieve this concept.























Fixed Template Type Platform



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Concrete Gravity Platforms
Concrete gravity platforms are mostly used in the areas where feasibility of pile installation is
remote. These platforms are very common in areas with strong seabed geological conditions either
with rock outcrop or sandy formation.
These kinds of platforms are located in some part of North Sea oil fields and Australian coast. The
concrete gravity platform by its name derives its horizontal stability against environmental forces
by means of its weight. These structures are basically concrete shells assembled in circular array
with stem columns projecting to above water to support the deck and facilities. Concrete gravity
platforms have been constructed in water depths as much as 350m.
Concrete Gravity Platform






5

Compliant Structures
In addition to the developing technologies for exploration and production of oil and natural gas,
new concepts in deepwater systems and facilities have emerged to make ultra-deepwater projects a
reality. With wells being drilled in water depths of 3000m, the traditional fixed offshore platform
is being replaced by state-of-the-art deepwater production facilities. Compliant Towers, Tension
Leg Platforms, Spars, Subsea Systems, Floating Production Systems, and Floating Production,
Storage and Offloading Systems are now being used in water depths exceeding 500m. All of these
systems are proven technology, and in use in offshore production worldwide.

Compliant Tower
These platforms consist of slender flexible towers and a pile foundation supporting a conventional
deck for drilling and production operations. Compliant towers are designed to sustain significant
lateral deflections and forces, and are typically used in water depths ranging from 1,200 to 3,000
feet (370 to 910 m).

Guyed Tower
Guyed tower is an extension of complaint tower with guy wires tied to the seabed by means of
anchors or piles. This guy ropes minimizes the lateral displacement of the platform topsides. This
further changes the dynamic characteristics of the system.

Tension Leg Platforms
A Tension-leg platform is a vertically moored floating structure normally used for the offshore
production of oil or gas, and is particularly suited for water depths around 1000m to 1200 metres
(about 4000 ft). The platform is permanently moored by means of tethers or tendons grouped at
each of the structure's corners. A group of tethers is called a tension leg. A feature of the design of
the tethers is that they have relatively high axial stiffness (low elasticity), such that virtually all
vertical motion of the platform is eliminated. This allows the platform to have the production
wellheads on deck (connected directly to the subsea wells by rigid risers), instead of on the
seafloor. This makes for a cheaper well completion and gives better control over the production
from the oil or gas reservoir.
Tension Leg Platform (TLP) consists of a floating structure held in place by vertical, tensioned
tendons connected to the sea floor by pile-secured templates. Tensioned tendons provide for the
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use of a TLP in a broad water depth range with limited vertical motion. The larger TLP's have
been successfully deployed in water depths approaching 1250m.
The "conventional" TLP is a 4-column design which looks similar to a semisubmersible.
Proprietary versions include the Seastar and MOSES mini TLPs.

Mini-Tension Leg Platform (Mini-TLP)
This is a floating mini-tension leg platform of relatively low cost developed for production of
smaller deepwater reserves which would be uneconomic to produce using more conventional
deepwater production systems. It can also be used as a utility, satellite, or early production
platform for larger deepwater discoveries. The world's first Mini-TLP was installed in the Gulf of
Mexico in 1998.

SPAR Platform
This consists of a large diameter single vertical cylinder supporting a deck. It has a typical fixed
platform topside (surface deck with drilling and production equipment), three types of risers
(production, drilling, and export), and a hull which is moored using a taut catenary system of six to
twenty lines anchored into the seafloor. SPAR's are presently used in water depths up to 1000m,
although existing technology can extend its use to water depths as great as 2500m.
Spars are moored to the seabed like TLPs, but whereas a TLP has vertical tension tethers, a spar
has more conventional mooring lines. Spars have to-date been designed in three configurations: the
"conventional" one-piece cylindrical hull, the "truss spar" where the midsection is composed of
truss elements connecting the upper buoyant hull (called a hard tank) with the bottom soft tank
containing permanent ballast, and the "cell spar" which is built from multiple vertical cylinders.
The spar has more inherent stability than a TLP since it has a large counterweight at the bottom
and does not depend on the mooring to hold it upright. It also has the ability, by adjusting the
mooring line tensions (using chain-jacks attached to the mooring lines), to move horizontally and
to position itself over wells at some distance from the main platform location. The first production
spar was Kerr-McGee's Neptune, anchored in 1,930 ft (590 m) in the Gulf of Mexico; however,
spars (such as Brent Spar) were previously used as FSOs.
Eni's Devil's Tower located in 5,610 ft (1,710 m) of water, in the Gulf of Mexico, was the world's
deepest spar until 2010. The world's deepest platform is currently the Perdido spar in the Gulf of
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Mexico, floating in 2,438 meters of water. It is operated by Royal Dutch Shell and was built at a
cost of $3 billion.
The first truss spars were Kerr-McGee's Boomvang and Nansen. The first (and only) cell spar is
Kerr-McGee's Red Hawk.

Articulated Tower
Articulated tower is an extension of tension leg platform. The tension cables are replaced by one
single buoyant shell with sufficient buoyancy and required restoring moment against lateral loads.
The main part of the configuration is the universal joint which connects the shell with the
foundation system. The foundation system usually consists of gravity based concrete block or
sometimes with driven piles. The articulated tower concept is well suited for intermediate water
depths ranging from 150m to 500m.

Floating Structures
The main types of floating structures are Floating Production Systems (FPS) and FPSO (floating
production, storage, and offloading system). FPSOs consist of large mono-hull structures,
generally (but not always) ship-shaped, equipped with processing facilities. These platforms are
moored to a location for extended periods, and do not actually drill for oil or gas. Some variants of
these applications, called FSO (floating storage and offloading system) or FSU (floating storage
unit), are used exclusively for storage purposes, and host very little process equipment. This is one
of the best sources for having floating production. The world's first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas
(FLNG) facility is currently under development.

Floating Production System
Floating Production System (FPS) consists of a semi-submersible unit which is equipped with
drilling and production equipment. It is anchored in place with wire rope and chain, or can be
dynamically positioned using rotating thrusters. Production from subsea wells is transported to the
surface deck through production risers designed to accommodate platform motion. The FPS can be
used in a range of water depths from 600m to 2500m feet.



8

Floating Production, Storage and offloading System
Floating Production, Storage and Offloading System (FPSO) consists of a large tanker type vessel
moored to the seafloor. An FPSO is designed to process and stow production from nearby subsea
wells and to periodically offload the stored oil to a smaller shuttle tanker. The shuttle tanker then
transports the oil to an onshore facility for further processing. An FPSO may be suited for
marginally economic fields located in remote deepwater areas where a pipeline infrastructure does
not exist. Currently, there are no FPSO's approved for use in the Gulf of Mexico. However, there
are over 70 of these systems being used elsewhere in the world.























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Drilling platforms

Semi-submersible platform
These platforms have hulls (columns and pontoons) of sufficient buoyancy to cause the structure to
float, but of weight sufficient to keep the structure upright. Semi-submersible platforms can be
moved from place to place; can be ballasted up or down by altering the amount of flooding in
buoyancy tanks; they are generally anchored by combinations of chain, wire rope or polyester
rope, or both, during drilling or production operations, or both, though they can also be kept in
place by the use of dynamic positioning. Semi-submersibles can be used in water depths from 200
to 10,000 feet (60 to 3,000 m).
Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's
position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors,
combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyro compasses, provide information to the
computer pertaining to the vessel's position and the magnitude and direction of environmental
forces affecting its position. Examples of vessel types that employ DP include, but are not limited
to, ships and semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU), Oceanographic Research
Vessels and Cruise ship.

J ack-up drilling rigs
A jack-up rig or a self-elevating unit is a type of mobile platform that consists of a buoyant hull
fitted with a number of movable legs, capable of raising its hull over the surface of sea. The
buoyant hull enables transportation of the unit and all attached machinery to a desired location.
Once on location the hull is raised to the required elevation above the sea surface on its legs
supported by the sea bed. The legs of such units may be designed to penetrate the sea bed, may be
fitted with enlarged sections or footings, or may be attached to a bottom mat. Generally Jackup
rigs are not self propelled and rely on tugs or heavy lift ships for transportation.
Jack up platforms are used as exploratory drilling platforms and offshore and wind farm service
platforms. Jackup platforms have been the most popular and numerous of various mobile types in
existence. Total number of Jackup 'Drilling' rigs alone in operation shall be about 540 by the end
of 2013.
Jack-up rigs are so named because they are self-elevatingwith three or four movable legs that
can be extended (jacked) above or below the hull. Jack-ups are towed to the site with the hull,
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which is actually a water-tight barge that floats on the waters surface, lowered to the water level,
and the legs extended above the hull. When the rig reaches the drill site, the crew jacks the legs
downward through the water and into the sea floor (or onto the sea floor with mat supported jack-
ups). This anchors the rig and holds the hull well above the waves.
"Preloading" takes place, where the weight of the barge and additional ballast water are used to
drive the legs securely into the seabottom so they will not penetrate further while operations are
carried out. After preloading, the jacking system is used to raise the entire barge above the water to
a predetermined height or "air gap", so that wave, tidal and current loading acts only on the
relatively slender legs and not on the barge hull.
Modern jacking systems use a rack and pinion gear arrangement where the pinion gears are driven
by hydraulic or electric motors and the rack is affixed to the legs.
Jackup rigs can only be placed in relatively shallow waters, generally less than 400 feet (120 m) of
water. However, a specialized class of jackup rigs known as premium or ultra-premium jackups
are known to have operational capability in water depths ranging from 500 to 625 feet.

Drillships
A drillship is a maritime vessel that has been fitted with drilling apparatus. It is most often used for
exploratory offshore drilling of new oil or gas wells in deep water or for scientific drilling Early
versions were built on a modified tanker hull, but purpose-built designs are used today. Most
drillships are outfitted with a dynamic positioning system to maintain position over the well.
The drillship can also be used as a platform to carry out well maintenance or completion work such
as casing and tubing installation or subsea tree installations. It is often built to the design
specification of the oil production company and/or investors, but can also be a modified tanker hull
outfitted with a dynamic positioning system to maintain its position over the well.
The greatest advantages these modern drillships have is their ability to drill in water depths of
more than 2500 meters and the time saved sailing between oilfields worldwide. Drillships are
completely independent, in contrast to semi-submersibles and jackup barges.
In order to drill, a marine riser is lowered from the drillship to the seabed with a blowout preventer
(BOP) at the bottom that connects to the wellhead.
Drillships are just one way to perform exploratory drilling. This function can also be performed
by semi-submersibles, jackup barges, barges, or platform rigs.
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The first drillship was the Cuss 1, and the fleet size has been growing ever since. By 2013 the
worldwide fleet of drillships is expected to top 80 ships, more than double its size in 2009.[1]
Drillships are not only growing in size but also in capability with new technology assisting
operations from academic research to ice drilling.
Stena drillings 'DrillMAX ICE' being constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea is
to be the most expensive drillship built to date and is to complete exploration in Arctic regions
when completed in 2012.




Comparison of deepwater semi-submersible and drillship.

Functional Classification
The offshore platforms for oil and gas exploration purpose can be classified based on functionality
and purpose of installation.
Wellhead platform - primarily meant for drilling and supporting wellhead equipment. It supports
very few equipment such as wellhead control panel and piping. Occasionally it also supports
helicopter landing structure for emergency evacuation.
Process Platform - primarily meant for production facilities (oil or gas) and it may support in
addition to equipment for production, such as power generation, utilities and living quarters.
Riser Platform - This is another kind of structure specially built to support all the incoming and
outgoing risers on a planned complex. This will also be connected to the main platform by bridge.
Living Quarters Platform - Sometimes due to safety requirements, the living quarters will be
supported on a separate structure away from the wellhead and process platforms. These types of
platform will be located at least 50m away from the neighboring process platforms and will be
connected by a bridge.
Flare Support Platform- The flare boom structure to flare the excess gas from well reservoirs may
be supported on a separate structure either a tripod or four legged jacket for safety reasons. This is
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to avoid excessive heat on wellhead and process equipment on the neighboring platforms. Usually
this will located away by a distance to be calculated based on the heat output during flaring.

Geometrical Classification
The structural configuration of fixed template type structures vary extensively from location to
location depending on the requirement and environmental conditions such as water depth, wave
and current loads etc. Based on geometry, jackets can be classified in to following categories.
Tripod - basically to support minimum facility such as few wellhead and riser or to support a
bridge between two major platforms or to support a flare boom
4 Legged- typically for wellhead platforms
6 or 8 Legged - mainly for process complex

Vessel Impact Analysis in offshore operations
In an offshore development, often service boats and supply vessels have to serve the offshore
operations. During their trips, due to harsh weather conditions, ships may drift and hit the the
jacket legs or braces. These vessels during their normal approach to the platform may arrive in
with normal operating speed or may arrive at accidental speed depending on the weather
conditions at the time of arrival. API RP2A specifies an operating speed of 0.5m/sec and
accidental speed of 2 m/sec.
The jacket legs and braces in the splash zone shall be designed for such loads to avoid premature
failure and collapse of the platform. Where such impacts are not allowed, a properly designed boat
impact guard (sacrificial) shall be provided. For example, the risers located outside the jacket
perimeter shall be protected with riser guard or riser protector and this kind of riser guard shall be
located sufficiently away (at least a 1m) so that during vessel impact, risers do not experience large
detection.
The purpose of the boat impact analysis is:
Normal Impact - To ensure the adequacy of the jacket leg and brace members in the splash zone
such that they can absorb the energy imparted by a design vessel traveling at normal operating
velocity.
Accidental Impact - To ensure the adequacy of the jacket leg and brace members in splash zone
such that they can absorb the energy imparted vessel traveling at accidental velocity.
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Post Impact Strength - To ensure the compliance of the damaged platform for operating (1-year
wave) design requirements after the boat impact.

Principle
The general methodology for ship impact analysis involves the following three primary steps:
Impact Local - Impact analysis to estimate the damage to the members which are directly hit by the
ship and the impact force.
Impact Global Analysis - Static analysis to ensure that the jacket will be able to withstand the
impact force safely. In this analysis the member and joint stresses are allowed up to yield limit as
this force is temporary.
Post Impact Analysis - Static analysis to verify if the damaged platform can sustain the 1 year
operating environmental loads.

Method of Computing Impact Energy Dissipation
As the boat hits any member, equal and opposite forces are applied to the member and to the boat.
These forces cause the following effects:
Local denting of the member under the point of impact, which causes a local reduction in
the effective cross-sectional area and section modulus of the member. The relationship
between dent depth and lateral forces causing the dent is given by the DNV curve (Furnes
and Amdahl) for knife-edge contact.
Bending of the member, initially elastic and subsequently, elasto-plastic until a plastic
mechanism form.
Denting of the boat - The force/indentation curves contained in DnV TN A202 document is
used for this purpose.
Global deformation - Elastic deformation of the rest of the structure.


Energy dissipation by member
The total energy dissipation is computed in four stages as described below by iterating on the dent
depth.
Stage 1: Elastic Beam Bending - Stage 1 of the energy absorption process covers the period from
the moment of impact until the section starts yielding due to the axial load and moments at the
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dented section. The impact is conservatively assumed to occur at midspan of the member. For a
given dent depth, X, the lateral force, Pd , causing the dent depth is calculated in accordance with
the DNV curve for B/D = 0, where, B is the central length of the dent and D is the mean diameter
of the member.
The equation given below approximates the DNV curve for B/D = 0:

where
m
p
= is the plastic moment capacity of tube wall equal toFyt24
D = is the mean diameter of the tubular member
R = is the mean radius of the tubular member
t = is the thickness of the tubular member
X = is the dent depth
The energy absorbed, E
d
, by a dent of given depth, X, is found by integration of the
force over the dent and is given as,

The lateral force, P
d
, causes a change in the bending moment distribution of the member. The
moments at the ends and at the middle depend on the original moments and the rotational stiffness
of the ends of the member. The energy absorbed by the bending deformation is given by,

Where, is the lateral displacement of the member centre line. The other energy absorbing
components are energy due to the longitudinal strain, global structural transitional energy and ship
distortion energy. Stage 1 of the energy absorption mechanism ends when the sum of the axial and
bending stresses at the centre of the tube is equal to the plate yields stress. This point is found by
iterating on the dent depth.
Stage 2: Elasto-Plastic Beam Bending -
The behaviour of the member in Stage 2 is similar to that in Stage 1. Stage 2 ends at the formation
of full plasticity at the dented section. By iterating on the depth of dent until the formation of first
plastic hinge, the end of Stage 2 is found. The energy associated with the formation of the first
plastic hinge is calculated in the same way as in Stage 1.
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Stage 3: After Formation of First Hinge
This phase of energy absorption process continues until a 3-hinge mechanism is formed. For a
given dent depth, the lateral force is found. The deflection at the centre of the beam is calculated
assuming that the dent force is carried by the two cantilevers. If the energy absorbed at the end of
Stage 3 is less than the impact energy of the ship, then the absorption mechanism enters Stage 4.
Stage 4: After Formation of Three-Hinge Mechanism
At this stage, it is assumed that no further dent growth occurs and the dent has absorbed all the
energy it is capable of. The energy absorption at this stage is due to the triangulation effect of
longitudinal strain, structure distortion and ship deformation energy. Rupture of the brace being
impacted and consequently penetration of the boat within the jacket shall be prevented by limited
the tension strain to 10%. The displacement of the braces on gridline 1 shall be limited to prevent
damage of the conductees.
All the computations involved in the above four stages of energy absorption process are
incorporated in the IMPACT program. Starting from Stage 1, the energy computations are
continued over the four stages till the full ship impact energy is absorbed. Energy absorption by
global deflection of the structure shall be included in the calculation of total energy of absorption.
Another analysis conducted for operations such as described above is the post impact strength
analysis carried out to check the structure against one year environmental loads with all gravity
loads. This is to ensure the structure is able to function as normal for some period of time so that
any repair needs to be carried out due to the impact. Push over analysis is also carried out to check
the global integrity in terms of collapse behaviour.

These analyses are very important for offshore structures serviced by various utility vessels. Not
only can a well-managed asset help operators identify and reduce safety risks before they escalate,
but focusing on outcomes can also play a major role in both achieving operational excellence and
extending the life of ageing structures.





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