Pipeline Routing and Engineering for Ultra-Deepwater Developments

摘要

As oil and gas explorations venture into deeper water and more hostile, "frontier" subsea conditions, pipeline routing and engineering activities become more critical to the planning and relaization of these projects. Of particular improtance is the requirement that survey and engineering activities are planned and started early, to ensure that a complete technical and economic model can be established at the outset and that risks are well understood and managed. This paper provides an overview of the governing issues relating to the successful execution of route planning and surveys for ultra-deepwater pipeline projects. It includes the improtance of desktop studies, the planning and execution of surveys, the selection of survey techniques and equipment, and "semi-real time" engineering activities performed onboard the survey vesel. The use of Limit State Design concepts is also briefly discussed.