A catenary of a Steel Lazy Wave Riser (SLWR) consists in fact of at least three catenary

segments. The top and the seabed segments of the catenary have negative submerged weight, and
their curvatures 'bulge' towards the seabed. The middle segment has buoyant material attached
along its entire length, so that the ensemble of the steel pipe and the buoyancy is positively
buoyant. Accordingly, the curvature of the buoyant segment 'bulges' upwards (inverted
catenary), and its shape can also be well approximated with the same stiffened or ideal catenary
equations. The positively and negatively buoyant segments are tangent to each other at the points
where they join. The overall catenary shape of the SLWR has inflection points at those locations.
SLWRs were first installed on a turret moored FPSO offshore Brazil (BC-10, Shell) in 2009,[10]
even though Lazy Wave configuration flexible risers had been in a wide use for several decades
beforehand.

The deepest application of Lazy Wave SCRs (SLWRs) is at present on the Stones turret-moored
FPSO (Shell), which is moored in 9,500 feet water depth in the Gulf of Mexico.[11] The Stones
FPSO turret features a disconnectable buoy, so that the vessel with the crew can be disconnected
from the buoy supporting the SLWRs, and moved to a suitable shelter before an arrival of a
hurricane.

First SLWR riser deployed for Santos basin well RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil

The SLWR connects well 7-SPH-007 to the FPSOCidade de Ilhabela

Deepwater Application of Steel Lazy Wave Production Risers For Offshore Oil and Gas
Developments

Steel Lazy Wave Risers (SLWRs) provide a cost effective riser solution for challenging
deepwater production systems used in the offshore oil and gas industry.

SLWRs, a variation of the steel catenary riser (SCR), have recently gained popularity in
moderate to deepwater applications. Due to their simple design, qualfied fabrication and
installation methods and design flexibility, SLWRs can be a potentially good alternative to SCRs
and flexibles.

SLWR configurations are developed for a range of water depths and riser performance is
evaluated. The pros and cons of SLWRs compared to other riser types are discussed as a cost
effective development option for deepwater oil and gas fields.