A Coast Guard Perspective: Evaluation of Continued Service Proposals for Floating Offshore Facilities

摘要

The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflectingrnthe views of the Commandant or of the U. S. Coast Guard.rnAs floating offshore facilities approach the end of their design service lives, operators are working withrnthe Coast Guard and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to gain approval forrncontinued service. The two agencies work together to review these proposals; the Coast Guard evaluatesrnthe hull and associated safety systems, while BSEE evaluates the mooring and production systems. Thisrnpaper presents a Coast Guard perspective, beginning with a review of Coast Guard structural examinationrnrecords for the Gulf of Mexico. The results of this review are presented and analyzed for trends. Thernauthors accept that a well maintained facility, with a thoroughly documented service history andrninspection record, is a good candidate for life extension. This paper then discusses In Service InspectionrnPrograms (ISIP) and Structural Integrity Management (SIM) programs, both of which provide a methodrnof ensuring that floating offshore facilities are safely operated and maintained. These programs lay thernfoundation for discussions regarding continued service. This paper also discusses various information thatrncan be used by the Coast Guard to evaluate a proposal for continued service, including, but not limitedrnto, historical data, baseline surveys, cathodic protection, coatings, corrosion, maintenance records,rninspection results, fatigue data and weight changes. While the evaluations of continued service proposalsrnare handled on a case-by-case basis, the same basic principles apply to all floating offshore facilities whichrnare being considered for continued service.