26/10/2016 StudiesclearTLPcost,depthlimitmisconceptionsOffshore

StudiesclearTLPcost,depthlimitmisconceptions
07/01/1997

Nextgenerationtechnologyreadyfornewdeepwaterregions

ProgressionofTLPdeploymentdepths.

Authors:
JohnChianisisthefounderandManagingPartnerofHanPadronAssociatesHoustonoffice,whichhasbeenresponsiblefordetaileddesignand
fabricationsupportoftheAuger,Mars,Ram/Powell,andUrsaTLPhulls,andisnowresponsiblefordetaileddesignofvariousstructuresonthe
MarlinTLPproject.Chianishasnearly20yearsofengineeringexperienceindeepwaterplatformdesignandrelatedadvancements.Heparticipated
inhisfirstTLPprojectin1979.HeiscurrentlytheStructuralDesignManagerfortheMarlinTLPproject,andwasrecentlyappointedtotheISO
WG5Panel2floatingstructurescommittee.

PhilipPollisanengineerforHanPadronAssociatesspecializinginthedevelopmentandapplicationofautomatedfiniteelementanalysis
proceduresforTLPdesignprojects.Hehasovereightyearsofexperiencedevelopingandapplyingengineeringanalysismethodsinthefieldsof
aerospace,mechanical,andoffshoreengineering.

RecentsuccessesoftensionlegplatformsintheGulfofMexicoareleadingtocontinuedexpansionofthisdeepwaterconcept,bothdomestically
andworldwide.Thetensionlegplatform(TLP)offersnumerousadvantagesoverotherfloatingproductionconceptsforspecificrangesofpayload
andwaterdepth.ThisarticlediscussesconceptsofthedesignandimplementationofTLPtechnologywhichhavecontributedtothesystems
success.Futuretrendswhichpromotecontinuedstreamliningoftheentireprocess,andrecentworkexpandingtherangeofapplicabilityoftheTLP
towaterdepthsof6000ftarepresented.

Thetensionlegplatformisafloatingstructurewhichisverticallymooredtotheoceanfloorusinghighstrengthsteelpipereferredtoastendons.
ThetendonsaredesignedtoholdtheTLPtoadraftgreaterthanitsfreefloatingdisplacementsuchthatthetendonsarealwaysintension.The
axialstiffnessofthetendonpipeprovidesrestraintagainstverticalmotions,andthetendonpretensionprovideslateralrestraint.

TheworldsfleetofseveninstalledTLPsrangeinwaterdepthfromapproximately500ftto3214ft.Since1990,fiveTLPshaveeitherbeen
installed,orarecurrentlyinastateofdetaileddesignandfabricationfortheGulfofMexico.Thisacceleratedpacehasresultedintherapid
developmentofmoreefficientdesign,analysis,andfabricationprocedures.

TheTLPconceptofferssignificantadvantagesoverotherfloatingproductionsystemsandthishasledtoaconsiderableincreaseinthenumberof
plannedinstallations.Foroperations,theTLPprovidesdrytrees,verysmallmotionsintheoffshoreenvironment,andexpandabilityforfuture
production.TheimportanceofplanningforexpansionhasbeendemonstratedbytheoutstandingproductionindeepwaterGulfofMexico.Shell,a
leaderintheimplementationofTLPtechnology,hasexperiencedhigherthananticipatedproductionratesforboththeAugerandMarsTLPs.Both
platformsarebeingexpandedtoaccommodatetheincreasedproduction.

Duetothematurityoftheconcept,theTLPallowsaggressiveschedulesforearlierfirstoilandreducedriskforimprovedprojecteconomics.

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26/10/2016 StudiesclearTLPcost,depthlimitmisconceptionsOffshore

Waterdepth,cost
Recently,theTLPhashadsuccessincorrectingseveralmisconceptionsregardingtheconcept.AcommonmisconceptionisthatTLPsarelimited
towaterdepthsof3,000ft.Theoverallprojecteconomicsforaparticularfieldwillactuallydependonmanyfactorsinadditiontowaterdepth.

Theseincludetopsidespayload,timetofirstoil,andriskfactorsassociatedwithconceptselection.SeveralexamplesexistinwhichtheTLPhas
proventobethebestsolutionforwaterdepthsbeyondthepreconceivedrange.TheUrsaproject(Shell)resultedinamassiveTLP(90,000tonsof
displacement)inapproximately4,000ftofwater.

Inaddition,feasibilitystudiesperformedforanotherproject,examinedasmallerTLPin6,000ftofwater.Hydrodynamicanalyseswereperformed
alongwithtendonsizingandpreliminarystructuraldesigntoevaluatethedeeperinstallation.Resultsoftheworkwereveryencouraging,
demonstratingthatforthesmallertopsidesfacilities,atechnicallyfeasibletendonsystemcouldbedevelopedevenforasignificantincreasein
waterdepth.

AsecondmisconceptionregardingtheTLPconceptisthatthesystemisexpensive,especiallyforsmallerpayloads.Recentexperiencehowever,
demonstratesthatforagivenfieldsizeandwaterdepth,theTLPcostiscompetitivewithothersystemsforbothlargeandsmallpayloads.Inother
words,aconventionalTLPdesignedforsmallerproductionrequirementsiscompetitiveincostwithotherproductionconcepts.

Schedulecompression
OnesignificantdevelopmentinmaturingtheTLPconcepthasbeentheabilitytocompresstheschedulefromstartofdesigntoendoffabrication.
UsingAuger(thefirstGulfofMexicoTLPofthe1990s)asareference,totalschedulehasbeenreducedbymorethanhalf.FortheMarsTLP
project,13monthsweresavedfromtheoriginaldesignschedule.

Thesavingsresultedfromanaggressivehulldesignschedulecoupledwithadesignwhilebuildapproach.Asdesignandanalysisprocedures
becomeevenmoreautomated,anddesignerandfabricatorcontinuetoworkcloselytogetherinanintegrateddesignenvironment,thistrendin
schedulecompressionisexpectedtocontinueintothefuture.

PastsuccessesinschedulereductionfortheTLPhavebeenenabledbyautomationofthedesign,analysis,anddraftingprocess.Shell,together
withHanPadronAssociates(HPA),havedevelopedanintegratedsoftwaresysteminwhichstructuralinformationisstoredinacentraldatabase
andisaccessedbyotherprogramsfordesign,finiteelementanalysis,hydrodynamicanalysis,anddrafting.

Thedrivingphilosophybehindthisprocessdevelopmentistoremovetheredundantspecificationofgeometricandotherfabricationrelateddatato
speedupthedesignprocesswhileimprovingquality.

Thesystemhasactualprojectexperience,havingbeensuccessfullyimplementedontheUrsaTLPproject.Everypieceofstiffenedplatestructure
intheTLPisstoredinthedatabase.Thisincludesplates,stiffeners,girders,brackets,endconnectionsanddetails,etc.Aftertheglobalsize
parametershavebeendefinedandpreliminaryscantlingisdesignedbasedonapplicablecodes,theinitialdatabasecanbegeneratedinjustafew
hours.

Whentheinitialdatabaseiscomplete,hydrodynamicandstructuralmodelsforglobalanalysisaregeneratedautomaticallyfromthegeometricdata.
Asthedetaileddesigneffortprogresses,thedatabaseisrefinedtoaccountforchangesinthedesign.Atanypointinthedesignprocess,the
databasecanbeusedtogenerateglobalordetailedlocalfiniteelementmodelsforanalysis,weightdataforweightmanagement,andmaterialdata
fororderingsteel.

Whenthedetaileddesigniscompletedforagivenassembly,shopdrawingsaregeneratedautomaticallyusingthegeometry,material,welding,and
trackinginformationstoredinthedatabase.Theshopdrawingiscompletedusingtraditionalcomputerdraftingtechniquesandthentransferred
electronicallytothefabricator.

Asmoredeepwaterfieldsaredeveloped,andtheemphasisforaggressiveschedulescontinues,advancementsindesignprocessautomationare
expectedtocontinue.

Structuralteam
Anothertrendwhichhasresultedinsignificantimprovementsinstructuraldesign,withacorrespondingreductionincostandschedule,isthe
integrationofthedesignengineersandfabricatorsintoacommonteam.

OnrecentTLPprojects,severalfabricationyardpersonnelhaveworkedcloselywithengineersanddraftersatthedesignoffice.Thefabricator
providesinputonthedesign,whichsignificantlyimprovestheconstructabilityofthestructurewithoutaffectingperformance.Aformalprocedureis
establishedbywhichconstructabilitysuggestionsaresubmitted,reviewed,andincorporatedintotheproject.

Theresultofthecollaborationbetweendesignerandfabricatorisstandardizationofcomponents,simplificationofdetails,andastructurewhichis
easierandfastertofabricateoverall.Theintegrationprocesswillbefurtherenhancedbycontinuedimprovementsincommunications,network
connectivity,andcontractingstrategy.

Itshouldbenotedthatthedevelopmentworkrelatedtoautomateddesignandanalysis,andtheintegrationofdesignandfabrication,isactually
independentoftheparticularstructurebeingdesigned.HanPadronAssociateshasdevelopedtheproceduresandassociatedsoftwarewhichare
applicabletoawiderangeoffloatingdrillingandproductionconcepts.

Concepttrends

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26/10/2016 StudiesclearTLPcost,depthlimitmisconceptionsOffshore
DifferentdesignvariationshavebeenconsideredandevaluatedforfutureTLPs.Typicalconfigurationvariationsformarginalfieldsarethree
columnandotherminiTLPconcepts.Thegoaloftheseconceptsistoincorporatetheimprovedmotioncharacteristicsofthetendonsysteminto
smallerplatformswhicharesimpler(andfaster)tofabricateformarginalfields.

Fordeeperwater,variationsofthetraditionaltendonsystemarecriticaltomaintainingtheTLPsreducedmotionadvantage.

TheTLPreliesonalownaturalperiodtomaintainreducedverticalmotionswhensubjectedtothetypicaldesignwavespectrum.Aswaterdepth
increases,thetendonstiffnessmustbeincreasedinacosteffectivemannertomaintainthelownaturalperiod.Alternatetendonconceptsinclude
theuseofhighstiffnessmaterialssuchascompositesandotherhighperformancematerials,steppedtendons(nonuniformdimensionsfrommud
linetohull),cables,andothers.Again,theseeffortstodeveloptendontechnologyfordeeperwaterarebeingpushedbythevirtueoftheTLPs
favorablemotioncharacteristics.

Fleetexpansion
TheworldwidefleetofTLPshasmorethandoubledsinceearly1990.GiventheadvantagesoftheTLPconcept,andtheexistingandfuture
technologydevelopmentsrelatedtothedesign,analysis,andfabricationproceduresusedtoimplementtheconcept,itcanbeexpectedthatthe
TLPwillcontinuetoplayamajorroleindeepwaterintothenextcentury.Lookingattheoffshoredeepwaterfieldsslatedfordevelopmentinthenear
future,manyareasareidealcandidatesfortensionlegplatformtechnology.Inparticular,severalGulfofMexicodeepwaterfieldsremaintobe
developed.Inaddition,waterdepthsoffthecoastofWestAfrica,anupandcomingregionforoffshoreactivity,isidealforexistingTLPtechnology.

Copyright1997Oil&GasJournal.AllRightsReserved.

Copy right 20072016 P ennWell Corporat ion, Tuls a, OK . A ll Right s Res erv ed. Terms and Condit ions | P riv ac y P olic y

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