Developing an Innovative Deepwater Riser System: From Concept to the Full Production of Buoy Supporting Risers (BSR)

摘要

This paper describes the evolution of Buoy Supporting Risers (BSR), from inception to successfulrndeployment and full production in the Santos Basin development, offshore Brazil. It was a process thatrnstarted with the early engagement of the operator and contractors on concept and feasibility studies,rnthrough identification of potential application scenarios and into a fast track development of basicrnengineering, bidding, detailed design and construction. The process involved the early selection ofrndevelopment partners and the joint management of R&D and engineering in order to identify and developrnexisting and emerging technologies, as well as managing the construction of assets and identifyingrnmethodologies, all under a single commercial structure. Then, the specifications and work scopes werernjointly developed and fixed lump-sum prices were agreed, under a competitive bidding. This modelrnavoided the going back-and–forth and eliminated most of the delays, introducing a great deal ofrncollaborative spirit and transparency. In this case, following an initial feasibility engagement some 20rnyears before and the identification of a real application scenario, through the above process, it has beenrnpossible to develop the major BSR decoupled riser technology from concept selection to full productionrnmode in about five years. The major portion of such period is related to the complete execution of thernlargest EPIC SURF project executed in Brazil up to that date, where several world-first technologies werernimplemented in a harsh weather environment, allowing the operator to achieve the production ramp-uprnplan. In this journey, it took a lot of focus and tenacity from all involved parties to overcome majorrnchallenges and ensure that pioneer technology is implemented and available for further applications.