Offshore Structures

OffshoreStructures_Committees.jpgThe E&P industry makes use of a wide variety of offshore structures. These include fixed jacket and concrete platforms, semi-submersibles, tension leg platforms, spars, jack-ups and Floating (Production) Storage and Offloading [F(P)SOs] – all of which need to operate safely and efficiently in widely differing locations and environmental conditions.

While many matters related to the design, fabrication and operation of offshore structures are company-specific and structure-specific, other issues are best progressed through co-ordinated industry initiatives. Among these are the development of structural design standards, technology development related to certain structural forms (e.g. load & resistance factor design application to jacket structures), lifetime extension issues and geohazards assessment. A co-ordinated approach also helps the industry to influence its service providers, such as the jack-up community.

Several recent, high-profile structure failures suggest there is scope for improvement in the approach the industry adopts to manage structural design.

To that end, the Committee aims to identify and address offshore structural matters that are generic in nature (i.e. not individual structure-specific) so as to deliver safer and more cost effective structures.

Subcommittees & Task Forces

  • Jack-up Task Force
  • Moorings Task Force