Deepwater Pipelaying Research Articles

Asia Pacific Deepwater Capabilities Expand To Meet Growing Energy Demand

This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper OTC 25002, “Deepwater Growth in Asia Pacific and Growing Regional Installation and Pipelay Vessel Capability To Meet the Challenges,” by Biren Kumar Dash, SapuraKencana Petroleum, prepared for the 2014 Offshore Technology Conference Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 25–28 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. The Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest-growing region in deepwater development in the next 5 years. Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India, and Australia together are expected to drive 85% of deepwater spending in the region. This paper presents various deepwater developments in the region, with a focus on deepwater pipelay involving steep S-lay/J-lay requirements and the availability of regional offshore deepwater installations and pipelay vessels to meet the challenges posed by future deepwater development. Deepwater Growth in Asia Pacific The Asia Pacific region is traditionally a shallow-water-development region, with most of the fields operating in water depth of less than 100 m. Currently, only a few fields operate in water more than 500 m deep, and most of these came on stream in the last 5 years. With the energy demand growing in the region, international oil companies and national oil companies are partnering to exploit more-remote deepwater fields. Key Asia Pacific Deepwater Developments Malaysia. Currently, 19 deepwater blocks are active with a water depth from 520 to 1735 m, where the average depth of deepwater development is 1224. m. Murphy Kikeh is the first deepwater development, in water depth of 1340 m, and has been producing oil since 2007. Deepwater capital expenditure offshore Malaysia over the next 5 years is expected to place Malaysia eighth globally over the period, with USD 6.5 billion directed toward 19 separate deepwater-field developments. The two key developments for the period are the Shell-operated Gumusut-Kakap and the Murphy- operated Rotan, with a new-built floating liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) facility expected to enter production by 2017. Eleven deepwater fields are expected to enter production over the next 5 years. Indonesia. Currently, Chevron’s West Seno is the only deepwater development in Indonesia, producing in water depth of 975 m and using tension-leg-platform and floating-production-unit concepts since 2003. Nineteen deepwater developments are expected in the next 5 years in Indonesia, with the most-capital-intensive one being Chevron’s ultradeepwater Gendalo Gehem development.

Roll motion analysis of deepwater pipelay crane vessel

For a large floating vessel in waves, radiation damping is not an accurate prediction of the degree of roll unlike other degrees of freedom motion. Therefore, to get the knowledge of roll motion performance of deepwater pipelay crane vessels and to keep the vessel working safety, the paper presents the relationship between a series of dimensionless roll damping coefficients and the roll response amplitude operator (RAO). By using two kinds of empirical data, the roll damping is estimated in the calculation flow. After getting the roll damping coefficient from the model test, a prediction of roll motion in regular waves is evaluated. According to the wave condition in the working region, short term statistics of roll motion are presented under different wave parameters. Moreover, the relationship between the maximal roll response level to peak spectral wave period and the roll damping coefficient is investigated. Results may provide some reference to design and improve this kind of vessel.

Research Development of Deepwater Pipelaying Technology and Facilities

With the exploitation of oil and gas resource in deepwater, pip-laying vessels have been the main way used for deepwater pipelaying. This paper introduced the three pipelaying methods widely used in offshore oil & gas field exploitation, and the characteristics of methods are analyzed. The latest development of pipelaying system in China was investigated.

Research Development of Deepwater Pipelaying Technology and Facilities

With the exploitation of oil and gas resource in deepwater, pip-laying vessels have been the main way used for deepwater pipelaying. This paper introduced the three pipelaying methods widely used in offshore oil & gas field exploitation, and the characteristics of methods are analyzed. The latest development of pipelaying system in China was investigated.

Dynamic Analysis of the Pipe Lifting Mechanism on the Deepwater Pipelaying Vessel

Based on requirements of pipe transport systems on deepwater pipelaying vessel, a new pipe lifting mechanism was designed. It was composed of crank-rocker and rocker-slider mechanism with good lifting capacity and high efficiency. When the slider went to the upper limit position, the mechanism could approximatively dwell, meeting the requirement for transverse conveyor operation. According to the theory of dynamics, numerical analysis method was used to the dynamic analysis of the mechanism. The results showed the maximum counterforce was at the joint between the rocker and ground, and this calculation could be a guideline for the kinematic pair structure designing.