Anchor Deployment Planning Using Simulated Annealing

In this work a planning methodology for deep-water anchor deployment of anchor lines for offshore platforms and floating production systems aiming at operational resources optimization is explored, by minimizing a multi criteria objective function. A Simulated Annealing Algorithm was used to optimize the objective function. As an additional advantage, inherited from the proposed methodology, the planning automation is achieved. Planning automation overcomes the traditional way based on trial error exercise, where an engineer using an anchoring application, decides how much of work wire and anchoring line must be paid out from both the floating system and the supply boat and additionally which horizontal force must be applied to the line trying settle the anchor on a previously defined target in the ocean floor. Some cases, from anchor deployment of some MODUs operating in deep-water oil fields in Brazil, are shown demonstrating some potentialities of the proposed model.