Environmental Loadings and Geotechnical Considerations for the Northstar Offshore Pipelines

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Paulin ◽  
Derick Nixon ◽  
Glenn A. Lanan
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Offshore Pipelines ◽  
Upheaval Buckling ◽  
Production Pipeline ◽  
Pipeline Design

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. completed the installation of the first subsea Arctic oil production pipeline in April 2000 for the Northstar Development Project. The drilling and production facilities are located at Seal Island, approximately 10 km offshore of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast. Twin 273.1 mm (10-inch) oil and gas pipeline systems run approximately 10 km from Seal Island, through a lagoon area, to a shore crossing, and then overland for approximately 18 km. The unique aspects of this design included the pipeline environmental loadings, geotechnical considerations, and the use of limit state design procedures for extreme loading conditions. Environmental loadings and geotechnical conditions (in-situ and backfill) along the pipeline route were a major factor in the design of the offshore portion of the pipelines. Data collection of environmental conditions (e.g. ice gouging and strudel scour) and proper evaluation of the same were required to provide appropriate design data. Comprehensive field and laboratory programs were undertaken to generate the necessary geotechnical data for design. The evaluation of and design for unique Arctic environmental loading conditions including ice gouging, offshore permafrost, upheaval buckling, and strudel scour are described. Trenching and backfilling aspects of the pipeline design are also discussed. The paper closes with a general overview of the pipeline operations since the start of oil production in November 2001.

Northstar Development Project Pipelines Description and Environmental Loadings

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn A. Lanan ◽  
André C. Nogueira ◽  
Brian M. McShane ◽  
John O. Ennis
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Design Procedure ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Gas Pipeline ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Production Pipeline ◽  
Marine Environmental ◽  
Pipe Bending ◽  
Sea Coast

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. is presently developing the Northstar oilfield, 9.7 km offshore the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast. Northstar drilling and production facilities will be located at Seal Island and the project includes constructing the first subsea oil production pipeline in the Arctic. The twin 273.1 mm (10-inch) offshore and overland oil and gas pipeline systems are described along with major aspects of the design. A limit state design procedure for pipe bending is employed to safely and efficiently address the principal marine environmental loadings caused by seabed ice gouging and permafrost thaw settlement.

Probabilistic Design Methodology to Mitigate Ice Gouge Hazards for Offshore Pipelines

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Kenny ◽  
Jim Bruce ◽  
Tony King ◽  
Richard McKenna ◽  
Arash Nobahar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Compressive Strain ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Equivalent Stress ◽  
Numerical Algorithms ◽  
Burial Depth ◽  
Probabilistic Design ◽  
Limit States ◽  
Offshore Pipelines ◽  
Pipeline Design

For offshore pipelines located in ice environments, the mitigation of ice gouge hazards presents a significant technical challenge. A traditional strategy is to establish minimum burial depth requirements that meet technical and economic criteria. A probabilistic based approach to optimize burial depth requirements based on equivalent stress and compressive strain limit state criteria is presented. The basic methodology is to define ice gouge hazards on a statistical basis, to develop numerical algorithms that model ice gouge mechanisms and pipeline/soil interaction events, to define failure criteria, limit states and target reliability levels and to conduct a probabilistic assessment of pipeline burial depth requirements. Application of the probabilistic design methodology for a generic pipeline design scenario subject to ice gouge hazards is presented. Implications on pipeline design and future applied research initiatives are discussed.

Guyana: Liza Phase 1 Rapid Development in a Deepwater Frontier

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Styslinger ◽  
David Yost ◽  
Gina Dickerson ◽  
Antoine Minois ◽  
Renee Wiwel
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Cycle Times ◽  
Water Developments

Abstract The Liza Phase 1 development project, offshore Guyana, is an unique example of what the offshore oil and gas industry is capable of when working together to deliver a common objective. ExxonMobil and the Stabroek Block co-venturers, Hess Guyana Exploration Limited and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, commenced oil production from the Liza Destiny floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel in December of 2019, less than 5 years from the initial discovery of hydrocarbons in the Staebroek block. With the production and export of its first barrels of oil, the project completed the establishment of a nascent oil and gas industry in Guyana that is poised for tremendous growth in the coming years. The Liza Phase 1 development consists of a 120 kbd conversion FPSO (The Liza Destiny) and a network of subsea infrastructure to produce from and inject in two drill centers. It is expected to develop a resource of about 450 MBO gross estimated ultimate recovery. The water depth ranges from 1,690–1,860 m throughout the development which is located approximately 200 km offshore Guyana. This paper highlights the scope and pace of the project and discusses three specific challenges overcome: the uncertainty of the metocean conditions, extending the application of the selected riser technology, and executing in a challenging and frontier offshore location. A key to the success of the project was the unified approach between stakeholders and the commitment to act as One Team. The Liza Phase 1 project rapidly developed a newly discovered deep water resource in a frontier location while overcoming numerous challenges. By delivering Guyana's first ever oil production among industry leading cycle times, the Liza Phase 1 project has set the foundation for the future of deep water developments in Guyana.

Arctic Offshore Pipeline Design and Installation Challenges

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Paulin ◽  
Duane DeGeer ◽  
Joseph Cocker ◽  
Mark Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Burial Depth ◽  
Upheaval Buckling ◽  
Offshore Pipeline ◽  
Design Loads ◽  
Thaw Settlement ◽  
Hydrocarbon Transport ◽  
Pipeline Design

With the oil industry’s continued quest for oil and gas in frontier offshore locations, several developments have taken place in regions characterized by seasonal ice cover including the US Beaufort, North Caspian, and Sakhalin Island. In these projects, pipeline systems have been used, which are a cost-effective, safe, and reliable mode of hydrocarbon transport. For pipeline development in Arctic, several years of data need to be collected to support the pipeline design and construction planning, and may be required by regulations. Therefore, Arctic offshore pipeline projects generally require repetitive mapping surveys and geotechnical programs to verify design loads, soil properties, and thaw settlement potential. The major design loads that are considered for Arctic projects include ice gouging, strudel scour, upheaval buckling as well as thaw settlement. These issues can have a significant influence on the pipeline engineering considerations such as strain based design, target burial depth requirements, cost, and safety. While important to the design of the pipeline, these issues account for just a few of the many criteria that must be considered when routing a pipeline; criteria which can be categorized as either engineering, environmental, social, administrative, or infrastructural. The pipelines which are currently operational in the Arctic are located in shallow water depths and close to shore but were influenced by the unique Arctic environmental loading conditions. The experience from these past projects provides a significant base for the design, and operating of future offshore arctic pipelines. Pushing the limits to developments further offshore in deeper water will require that additional consideration be given to aspects related to pipeline design, in particular with respect to burial for protection against ice gouging.

Offshore Arctic Pipeline Oil Spill Risk Assessment

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Comfort ◽  
A. Dinovitzer ◽  
R. Lazor ◽  
D. Hinnah
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Barrier Islands ◽  
Failure Criteria ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Upheaval Buckling ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Pipeline Failure ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Operational Failures ◽  
Pipeline Design

Renewed interest in offshore arctic oil and gas has led to the need for pipeline designs able to minimize environmental risk. A risk evaluation was conducted to assess the relative merits of pipeline concept designs for the Liberty Pipeline, which is intended to carry oil from BP/Amoco’s Liberty site to onshore Alaska. The Liberty site is inshore of the Barrier Islands in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, in 22 feet of water. The offshore portion of the pipeline is 6.12 miles long. Risk was defined as the oil volume expected to be spilled over the 20-year life of the Liberty Pipeline. Risks due to ice gouging, strudel scour, permafrost thaw subsidence, thermal loads leading to upheaval buckling, corrosion, third party activities, and operational failures were evaluated. Failure probabilities were assessed based on analyses of the pipeline’s response and failure criteria that were established. A consequence model was set up to quantify the oil volume released during a pipeline failure, considering the mode and location of failure as well as leak detection systems. The risk was evaluated by summing the product of event probability and consequence for each hazard. The relative risk is discussed for each pipeline design.

Rosenhain Centenary Conference - 1. Engineering requirements 1.2 Materials requirements for pipeline construction

1976 ◽  
Vol 282 (1307) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Thick Wall ◽  
Offshore Pipelines ◽  
Pipeline Construction ◽  
Gas Consumption ◽  
Control Procedures ◽  
Full Scale Tests ◽  
Fracture Arrest ◽  
Pipeline Design

A broad picture is presented of the current worldwide scene and future plans for oil and gas pipelines. Notwithstanding recent events, oil and gas consumption will continue to expand. As exploration moves into more remote areas of the world, longer and larger diameter pipelines will be required. Such areas are climatically increasingly hostile, throwing great demands on the performance of pipeline materials and equipment. The challenge to the metallurgist to produce low cost pipeline materials with the requisite levels of strength, toughness and weldability is being met. Developments in pipe steels technology which have been substantial during the past ten years will provide the basis for pipeline construction in the years ahead. The fracture behaviour of pipelines has received considerable attention in recent years. As a fracture can be inadvertently initiated by earth moving machinery, pipeline design is usually based upon demanding fracture arrest criteria. Full scale tests have led the way to the development of effective laboratory scale assessment methods which now find wide use in quality control procedures. Offshore pipelines present additional problems to the engineer. Relatively thick wall pipes are required to resist buckling stresses during laying and collapse loads during operation in deep water. Apart from problems of attaining the necessary high levels of toughness in such thick wall pipes, the requirements of offshore pipelines are unlikely to present major new challenges to the metallurgist. Overall, the principal requirements are for quality, reproducibility and reliability at reasonable cost.

scholarly journals Satellite Monitoring Systems for Shipping and Offshore Oil and Gas Industry in the Baltic Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.G. Kostianoy ◽  
E.V. Bulycheva ◽  
A.V. Semenov ◽  
A. Krainyukov
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Satellite Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring Systems ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Oil Rig

Abstract Shipping activities, oil production and transport in the sea, oil handled in harbors, construction and exploitation of offshore oil and gas pipelines have a number of negative impacts on the marine environment and coastal zone of the seas. In 2004-2014 we elaborated several operational satellite monitoring systems for oil and gas companies in Russia and performed integrated satellite monitoring of the ecological state of coastal waters in the Baltic, Black, Caspian, and Kara seas, which included observation of oil pollution, suspended matter, and algae bloom at a fully operational mode. These monitoring systems differ from the existing ones by the analysis of a wide spectrum of satellite, meteorological and oceanographic data, as well as by a numerical modeling of oil spill transformation and transport in real weather conditions. Our experience in the Baltic Sea includes: (1) integrated satellite monitoring of oil production at the LUKOIL-KMN Ltd. D-6 oil rig in the Southeastern Baltic Sea (Kravtsovskoe oil field) in 2004-2014; (2) integrated satellite monitoring of the “Nord Stream” underwater gas pipeline construction and exploitation in the Gulf of Finland (2010-2013); (3) numerical modeling of risks of oil pollution caused by shipping along the main maritime shipping routes in the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Proper, and in the Southeastern Baltic Sea; (4) numerical modeling of risks of oil pollution caused by oil production at D-6 oil rig and oil transportation on shore via the connecting underwater oil pipeline.

Limit State Philosophy in Pipeline Design

1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. Ellinas ◽  
P. W. J. Raven ◽  
A. C. Walker ◽  
P. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Safety Factor ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Structural Behavior ◽  
Major Conclusion ◽  
Safety Factors ◽  
Suitable Framework ◽  
General Aspects ◽  
Pipeline Design

This paper considers the application of the limit state philosophy of structural analysis to pipeline design. General aspects of the philosophy are discussed and the approach to the evaluation of safety factors is reviewed. The paper further considers the various limit and serviceability states which would be relevant to a pipeline and reviews the various factors which may require consideration, before a code embodying the limit state philosophy could be formulated. A review of the state of current knowledge on various aspects of geometry and material characteristics, loading and structural behavior is presented. It is intended that such a review can be used as the basis for a larger study to provide guidance and data for the evaluation of rational levels of safety factor. The major conclusion reached by the authors is that a limit state philosophy would be valuable in providing a suitable framework, which may highlight the significant aspects of pipeline design and which can most easily accommodate new requirements and results obtained from research.

Evaluation of the Effect of Yield to Tensile (Y/T) Ratio on the Structural Integrity of Offshore Pipeline by Limit State Design Approach

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Mannucci ◽  
Giuliano Malatesta ◽  
Giuseppe Demofonti ◽  
Marco Tivelli ◽  
Hector Quintanilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Reliability ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Minor Effect ◽  
Offshore Pipelines ◽  
Limit State Design ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Probabilistic Failure Analysis ◽  
Failure Probabilities

Nowadays specifications require strict Yield to Tensile ratio limitation, nevertheless a fully accepted engineering assessment of its influence on pipeline integrity is still lacking. Probabilistic analysis based on structural reliability approach (Limit State Design, LSD) aimed at quantifying the yield to tensile strength ratio (Y/T) influence on failure probabilities of offshore pipelines was made. In particular, Tenaris seamless pipe data were used as input for the probabilistic failure analysis. The LSD approach has been applied to two actual deepwater design cases that have been on purpose selected, and the most relevant failure modes have been considered. Main result of the work is that the quantitative effect of the Y/T ratio on failure probabilities of a deepwater pipeline resulted not so big as expected; it has a minor effect, especially when Y only governs failure modes.

scholarly journals Potential Use of Water Associated with Conventional Oil Production and Sea Water as Base Fluids for Hydraulic Fracturing Operations: Effect of Water Chemistry on Crosslinking and Breaking Behaviors of Guar Gum-Based Fracturing Fluid Formulations

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayanand Saini ◽  
Timea Mezei
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Water Chemistry ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Guar Gum ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Fracturing Fluid ◽  
Conventional Oil

 Even though water consumption per hydraulic fracturing (or fracturing) job is relatively low; nearly all of the fresh water used for fracturing in California is in the regions of high water stress such as San Jouquin and Los Angeles Basins. However, water availability should not be a concern as huge volumes of water are being produced along with oil and gas from conventional formations (i.e. associated water) in the Kern County of California, a region where most of the fracturing activities take place. This associated water can potentially be used for preparing fracturing fluids in stimulating the unconventional formations. The present study reports on the relevant investigation done in this area of interest.The results suggest that associated water chemistry has limited effect on the viscosity of cross-linked formulations. However, guar gum concentration was found to affect the breaking behaviors of cross-linked fracturing fluid formulations. The new type of commercially available biodegradable breaker was found to be effective in breaking the tested cross-linked formulations at elevated temperature which was as high as 85°C (185°F). Both crosslinking and breaking behaviors of fracturing fluid formulations evaluated in this study were found comparable to the behaviors of commonly used cross-linked formulation (guar gum + 2% potassium chloride). These results suggest that both the associated water (i.e. water resulting from regional conventional oil production activites) and sea water (offshore oil fields) could serve as alternative sources of base fluid for use in fracturing jobs without putting significant burden on precious regional fresh water resources.

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