Improved operational limits for offshore pipelay vessels

<p>Subsea pipelines are used extensively throughout the world’s oceans to transport oil and gas from offshore facilities to land, often hundreds of miles. These pipelines range in diameter from three to sixty inches and are installed in deeper depths every year, currently as deep as 2,900 meters. Pipeline construction and installation costs are a large percentage of offshore projects and thus, methods toward reducing costs is an imperative objective. With pipeline installation projects taking place in harsher environments, vessel operability is vital. This work presents an improved method for determining limiting criteria for pipelay operations to more effectively plan and execute offshore projects. This improvement is based on the consideration of total effective pipeline stresses as the limiting criterion rather than the traditionally used limiting pitch angle. Limiting sea curves based on a sample dynamic pipeline analysis are shown and their incorporation in workability planning is discussed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Givan, Daniel Rey

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Brandon M. Taravella
• Dr. Lothar Birk
• Dr. Nikolaos Xiros

• Pipelay, Pipeline Installation, Offshore Construction, Hydrodynamics, Workability
• Other Engineering

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1439

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2447