Technical challenges of opening the Atlantic Frontier

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:433895

Ball, I G; Brookes, D A

The deepwater at and beyond the margins of the UKCS West of Shetland Islands, presents a most demanding set of technical challenges to oilfield development. The paper gives an appreciation of the dominant environmental characteristics, including the complex high currents which affect all activities in the area. The Foinaven and Schiehallion reservoirs are relatively shallow and thin, with large areal extent, necessitating multiple drilling centers. The crudes have relatively low API gravity and low GOR, and the low reservoir temperature presents particular challenges for wax management at the low seabed temperatures. The large wave response motions of floating production and construction/support vessels, combined with the high and variable currents, create difficult conditions for design, tie-in and operation of flowlines, flexible risers and umbilicals. This paper reviews these challenges and the solutions for the selected options of FPSO`s and subsea systems for the Foinaven Development.

• OSTI ID: 433895
• Report Number(s): CONF-960525--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
ATLANTIC OCEAN
FIELD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
MOORINGS
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
OIL FIELDS
RESERVOIR TEMPERATURE
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ROBOTS
UNITED KINGDOM
WATER CURRENTS
WAVE FORCES