A Comparison of Pre- and Post-2005 Sanctioned Gulf of Mexico Tension Leg, Semi-submersible, and Spar Floating Platforms

摘要

Between 2005 and 2010, three major events led to a significant increase in design demands of deepwaterfield developments in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM):1. Category 5 hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005),2. The Macondo well blowout (2010), and30 The development of deeper, tighter, more remote reservoirsThese events have resulted in increased metocean criteria, new safety regulations and functionalrequirements associated with producing deeper, higher pressure and lower porosity reservoirs. This paperwill examine and contrast the design impacts on Tension Leg Platform (TLP), Semi-submersible and Sparfloating platforms before and after these events. The overall impact of these new requirements on topsides,hull, station-keeping and riser systems of recently sanctioned TLP, Semi-submersible and Spar platformswill be compared with pre-2005 sanctioned platform analogues to demonstrate the resulting impacts onplatform size and cost.Increased demands of post-2005 sanctioned GoM floating platforms have resulted in higher deckelevations, greater topsides payload, more robust station-keeping systems and larger hull displacements.Further, the feasibility of proven risers and well systems is challenged by the higher wave induced motionsassociated with greater design and survival sea-states and high pressure reservoirs. The design impacts ofpre- and post-2005 sanctioned TLPs (Mars A, Olympus), Semi-submersibles (Atlantis, Jack St. Malo) andSpars (Tahiti, Lucius) on topsides, hull, station-keeping and riser systems will be compared anddifferences explained.This paper will enable Operators and platform designers to:1. Appreciate the magnitude of impact on size and cost of floating platforms of post-2005 requirements,2. Understand the relative impacts on the three major hull types commonly used for GoM developments,and3. Update analogues and norms used in benchmarking and concept selection