CAN ICE BARRIERS AROUND OIL AND GAS DRILLING STRUCTURES REDUCE SYSTEM COST?

摘要

In the Canadian Beaufort Sea, the design ice load can often govern the cost of gravity based (GBS) oil or gas production structures. By installing suitable ice barriers around the structure, the design ice load for the GBS and hence its cost may be reduced. The cost of three candidate GBS were calculated as a function of design ice load and soil strength. Similarly the cost of the ice barrier was estimated as a function of barrier type, design ice load and soil strength. It was found that for some of the production structures on cohesive soils, the overall cost of the GBS plus the cost of the barrier was less than designing the GBS for the full ice load.