Page 42: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2000)

Workboat Report • Offshore

ABS Innovates For Petrobras Project

Risk-based inspection (RBI), long a source of theo- retical interest to the offshore industry, is the key ele- ment of a new first-of-its-kind program being devel- oped by ABS Group Inc., for the Petrobras 100,000- bpd 35 FPSO (pictured on page 27), operating in the

Campos Basin offshore Brazil - Marlin Field, in 2,788 ft. of water. The program, when developed and imple- mented, is designed to significantly reduce lifecycle maintenance and the potential for accidents by pin- pointing areas of higher concern and focusing addi- tional inspection and maintenance efforts on them.

Previously, risk-based inspections typically have been focused on individual components of an offshore structure. This project will provide the entire offshore structure with a single comprehensive RBI program.

In one very critical study, the U.S. Minerals Manage- ment Services (MMS) engaged the Offshore Technolo- gy Research Center and EQE International to conduct a risk analysis to compare the risks of FPSOs with existing deepwater production systems currently oper- ating in the GOM.

The existing deepwater production systems consid- ered in the study were TLPs, Spars, and fixed jacket platforms serving as both production facilities and transportation hubs for deepwater production. Risks were evaluated for each system over a 20-year opera- tional life, beginning at first oil and ending with pro- duction shut-in. The risk analysis addressed personnel safety and environmental pollution.

In order to incorporate this information into the risk analysis, teams of technical experts were assembled for each study production system. Input from the tech- nical experts was obtained through a series of work- shops facilitated by EQE. "The study approach relied extensively upon industry expertise provided by Deep- star participants," said Dr. Andrew J. Wolford, EQE

Offshore Risk Manager. "This process may well establish a precedent for cooperative risk assessment addressing fundamental regulatory issues pertaining to the U.S. outer continen- tal shelf.

The results from this study will be used by the U.S. government to develop a policy concerning the use of

FPSOs in the GOM. "This study represented a rare opportunity for engineers to provide meaningful and objective information to policy makers before a major policy is developed," according to Wolford.

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Deepwater Studies Seek To Ease

Field Development

DeepStar Contractor Paragon Engineering Ser- vices is currently conducting two deepwater stud- ies — entitled "Flow Assurance Practices/Methods for Deepwater Facilities" and "Pipeline Blockage

Remediation Strategies for Long Offset Subsea

Flowlines and Pipelines" — that are designed to facilitate an industry information exchange while creating avenues for safe, reliable production in water depths exceeding 5,000 ft (1,524 m).

The studies, undertaken on behalf of DeepStar and in conjunction with the U.S. MMS, seek to build on lessons learned to avoided repeated flow assurance problems in ultra-deep waters. "At pre- sent, both major oil companies and independents

The Full Scope Of FLOW ASSURANCE

Intacratar/Syttmu Arc hi loci

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