University of Alexandria Dept.

of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering

Faculty of Engineering Instructor: H. W. Leheta

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Offshore engineering predominantly concerns methods for the recovery of
hydrocarbon resources from deep beneath the seabed, the installation of fixed
platform structures, the operation of mobile and floating platforms as well as fixed
platforms, and the laying of pipelines and associated oil/gas transport systems.

Other offshore engineering work includes the use of wave, current and wind energy,
and the recovery of minerals from the seabed in shallow or deep water. Whatever
the work, equipment must be designed, built, installed and operated so that it can
work reliably, safely and efficiently for perhaps long periods of time without
maintenance, and with limited supervision. This is the challenge of offshore
engineering!

1.1 Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbon fuels – oil and gas – are a main source of energy. They provide power
for cars, aeroplanes, factories, trucks, trains and ships. They are also used to
generate heat and electricity. Crude oil comes from deep within the earth. It is a
mixture of many different hydrocarbons, which are made up of the elements
hydrogen and carbon. Most crude oil is refined into petrol, heating oil, and other
fuels. The rest of the oil is converted chiefly into industrial raw materials and
lubricants. Petrochemicals are used in manufacturing cosmetics, detergents, drugs,
fertilizers, insecticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, and hundreds of other products. By-
products of petroleum refining include asphalt, the main roadbuilding material, and
wax, an essential ingredient in such products as candles, milk cartons, and furniture
polish.

1.2 History of Offshore Drilling

The offshore oil industry began off the coast of California in the late 1890s, in a few
feet of water. In 1910, an oil well was drilled in Ferry Lake, Louisiana. Internationally,
the first wells were drilled in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1929. Marine drilling in
the Gulf of Mexico began in the 1930s. The Arabian (Persian) Gulf and the North
Sea experienced oil finds and subsequent offshore platform development starting in
1960.

Development in the 1970s was explosive, and offshore platforms and drilling
advanced into deeper water at a rapid rate. In 1973, the North Sea was the site of
the first concrete gravity platform which is a concrete structure built on land, floated
to the site, and sunk to the bottom. In 1978, Shell placed their Cognac platform in
312.5m of water in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1984, Conoco placed the first tension leg
platform (the Hutton) in the North Sea in 147.9m of water. In 1988, Shell installed the
Bullwinkle fixed platform in 548.8m, and five years later (1993), Shell installed the
Auger tension leg platform in a water depth of 852m in the Gulf of Mexico. The
1990s experienced the push to deeper waters (>600m) with the installation of
tension leg platforms, and floating production systems to produce oil in marginal
fields (2-6 years production life).

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University of Alexandria Dept. of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
Faculty of Engineering Instructor: H. W. Leheta

New platform concepts continue to be proposed with the goal to reduce the cost of
production and to be able to work in greater and greater water depths since large oil
reserves have been found in very deep water depths (>1800m).

1.3 Offshore Operations

Offshore operations must use knowledge from various branches of science,

engineering and, in particular marine technology.

Gas and oil exploration and production is one of the most urgent tasks and offshore
operations can be broken down into five main areas:
(i) Exploration
(ii) Drilling
(iii) Production
(iv) Storage
(v) Transportation

(i) Exploration

Prior to the commencement of drilling activities, the services of a survey vessel are
enlisted to carry out a seismic investigation.
Seismic surveys provide the means by which underground rock formations are
examined to determine if potential hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs exist. Figure (1)
shows an oil/gas field schematic.
The surveys are carried out by specially equipped survey vessels which traverse the
area under investigation in a systematic pattern, emitting bursts of sound energy
from a submerged air or water gun array towed behind the vessel. The sound waves
radiate through the water and into the rock formations under the seabed where they
are refracted and reflected by the different layers of rocks. The return signals are
absorbed by hydrophones (geophones) towed behind the vessel, up to 240
contained within a streamer, several kilometers in length, see Figure (2).
Interpreting seismic survey information takes many months. These provide some
indication of where hydrocarbon deposits may be located.

(ii) Drilling

The drilling of a wildcat or exploration test well is still the only fool proof means of
confirming the existence of a hydrocarbon reservoir. If drilling operations prove
successful, a well test programme is needed to evaluate reservoir conditions and
determine the nature of the hydrocarbon deposits. This is followed by drilling a series
of appraisal wells at locations considered to represent the boundaries of the field.
This will give an indication of the dimensions of the field and its development
potential. If the field is believed to be economical, one or more offshore installations
depending on the size of the field are needed.
Depending on water depth, the drilling of exploration wells will be carried out by
either a self-elevating jack-up, a semi-submersible vessel or a monohull drillship.
The jack-up is limited to operations in water depths of approximately 120 metres.
Currently, drilling depths of more than 2000 metres have been reached (10000 ft).

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University of Alexandria Dept. of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
Faculty of Engineering Instructor: H. W. Leheta

Figure 1

Figure 2 Seismic reflection system

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University of Alexandria Dept. of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
Faculty of Engineering Instructor: H. W. Leheta

(iii) Production

Once the wells prove to be economical, structures referred to as “production

platforms” must be used to produce oil and gas. The main function of the process
plant on an offshore installation is to separate hydrocarbon products into liquid and
gaseous phases and to remove any impurities that could inhibit transportation, such
as water. This refinement process is described as production.
Crude oil exists in an underground reservoir accompanied by large quantities of
hydrocarbon gas and water and it is the gas, and to a lesser extent the water that
provides the driving force required to bring the oil to the surface, for a new well.

(iv) Storage

Ideally, oil and gas are pumped via undersea pipelines. This is not always possible
because of the distances involved, e.g. the refinery being located too far away. Then,
it is more suitably reached by other transportation methods.
Means for storing oil and gas produced from production platforms include undersea
or floating storage tanks and supertankers.

(v) Transportation

The transport of offshore oil and gas after production at offshore platforms often
requires the transport of these fluids through horizontal pipelines that are placed on
the seafloor or buried just beneath the seabed-seawater interface. Oil transport may
also be accomplished by shuttle tankers. Modern designs for such tankers specify
double hulls, segregated engine rooms and dynamic positioning (DP) equipment.
Typically, three bow thrusters and two stern thrusters are provided. These ships tend
to be in the 100,000 dwt to 125,000 dwt tonnage range.

1.4 Important Offshore Oil and Gas Producing Regions of the World

The following are the important producing areas:

1) The North Sea (mainly UK and Norway)
2) The Gulf of Mexico (USA and Mexico)
3) Southern California
4) Arabian (Persian) Gulf and the Sea of Arabia
5) Lake Maracaibo and Venezuela Coastal Basin (Venezuela)
6) Campos Basin (Brazil)
7) Niger Delta (Nigeria)
8) Gabon Coastal Basin
9) Off Angola
10) Off Congo
11) Carnarvon Basin (Australia)
12) South China Sea Basin
13) San Jorge Basin, Malvinas Basin and Magallanes Basin (Argentina)
14) South East Asia
15) Gulf of Suez and Mediterranean sea (Egypt)
16) India
17) The Caspian Sea

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