Shrinking topsides size, weight, and cost: a new ABB project

摘要

Oil and gas companies operating in stormy or remote areas are desperate to minimise the size, weight, and cost of deepwater floating and other topside offshore structures. The answer may lie in the development of new technologies, and the Swiss engineering group ABB believes (as reported in the 2/2003 issue of ABB Review) that the industry can aspire to cost reductions of up to 50% within three to five years. Continued exploitation of deep-water acreages at depths beyond 1000m is supported by the industry's confidence in the ability of technology to deliver enabling solutions and, particularly, to achieve development global capital expenditure (Capex) targets of under US$3/barrel. Whereas much has been written about the achievements and the role of technology in the areas of subsurface, subsea, riser systems and hull systems, little attention has been given until now to the opportunities to be gained from the development of topsides.