Geophysics

Innovative approaches to deepwater drilling and production, the role of government regulations in promoting offshore safety, breakthroughs in seismic surveying, and coping with ice forces in arctic construction are just a few of the topics that offshore experts will address during the 1984 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) May 7—9 at Houston's Astrohall.

Offshore engineers, scientists, and managers from around the world will attend the meeting for three days of high-level discus- 70 sions and technical presentations.

Now in its, 16th year, OTC is the leading worldwide forum for exchange of technical information related to ocean resources development and the environment.

Speakers at four Topical Luncheons will cover key technical issues facing the offshore community.

These luncheons are designed to stimulate an open exchange of views among those who attend.

The technical program will include almost 200 papers focusing on case studies of major offshore developments, new drilling and producing technologies, arctic operations, diving support, ocean mining, geological and geophysical advances, the environment, and special topics. Sessions of particular interest will feature discussions of Exxon's Lena Guyed Tower, an innovative deepwater platform in the Gulf of Mexico; Shell's record water-depth well; and floating production facilities.

The OTC Awards Luncheon on Monday, May 7, will honor outstanding technical achievements by an individual and an organization in the offshore industry. Recipients are Ronald L. Geer, a pioneer in floating and subsea completion technology, and Exxon Company U.S.A., cited for design and installation of the Lena Guyed Tower.

There will be no exhibition at the 1984 OTC. The 1985 OTC will return to the conference and exhibition format.

OTC is sponsored jointly each year by 11 of the world's most prominent engineering and scientific societies with a combined membership of more than 500,000.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers, headquartered in Dallas, is the managing group for OTC.

Technical Program The Program Committee has chosen almost 200 technical papers from 537 abstracts received last year. Authors will present these papers in 35 sessions Monday through Wednesday, May 7—9, in the Astrohall.

"The abstracts we received for this year's meeting have better technical quality and less commercial flair than many we have received in the past," said Brian J.

Watt of Brian Watt Associates in Houston, chairman of the Program Committee. The papers come from around the world, with particularly strong representation from the U.S., Canada, and Japan, and contributions from the U.K., Norway, and other North Sea countries.

Mr. Watt said the committee recognized its responsibility for success of the 1984 OTC, as the meeting does not include a technical exhibition this year. "We have emphasized coherence and currency on major subjects," he said.

The committee strove to make the 1984 program especially relevant by organizing special ses- sions on significant current issues, including sessions on the Lena Guyed Tower, the Deepwater Well, Floating Production Systems, Limited Driving Force in Ice, and High-Resolution Geophysics. Committee members actively solicited specific authors and papers in those areas. "Our work was active, not reactive," Mr. Watt said. "This insures that the program will cover the topics that the offshore industry most wants to hear about." Other program topics include offshore pipelines, platform dynamics and construction, diver support systems, arctic drilling, mooring and anchoring, seafloor processes, ocean mining, and environmental concerns.

The Program Committee also organized the Topical Luncheons that are an innovative feature of the 1984 OTC. Mr. Watt explained: "We asked the luncheon speakers to look into the future and to speculate on where we go from here. We're looking for opinions as much as facts—we want controversy on an informed level." The Topical Luncheons Speakers at four Topical Luncheons May 8 and 9 will address key technical and regulatory issues now facing the offshore industry.

These luncheons have been designed to encourage the exchange of information among the engineers, scientists, and managers who attend OTC seeking the solutions to current technical problems.

Each of the luncheons will include a question and answer period after the keynote speech.

Two luncheons are scheduled for May 8. At the Shamrock Hilton Hotel, Carl Wickizer, engineering manager with Shell Offshore Inc., will discuss "Shell's Exploratory Well in 6,448 Feet of Water on the U.S. Atlantic Coast." Shell drilled this well in a record water depth offshore New Jersey during late 1983. Mr. Wickizer will present an overview of the deep water drillings project including planning, special requirements, and problems encountered.

"Does Regulation Promote Offshore Safety?" Capt. Thomas Tutwiler of the U.S. Coast Guard will address this question at the Astro Village Hotel luncheon. He will discuss how offshore casualties have influenced government regulatory programs.

The luncheons on May 9 will focus on frontier offshore oil and gas production. At the Astro Village Hotel, four industry leaders will examine "Design Considerations in the Transition From Fixed to Floating Platforms." Panelists will be Joe W. Key, president of Key Ocean Services (moderator); Alan C. McClure, president of Alan C.

McClure Associates Inc.; Jay B.

Weidler, senior vice president of Brown & Root Inc.; and Andrew F. Hunter, supervising marine engineer with Conoco Inc. They will cover technical, economic, and regulatory problems related to innovative concepts such as the guyed tower, tension-leg platform, floating systems, and special support equipment.

Also on May 9, at the Marriott Astrodome Hotel, Christopher Fay, director of exploration and production with AS Norske Shell, will speak on "Frontier Hydrocarbon Production: Commercial Development in the Troll Field." He will describe technical innovations needed to produce oil and gas in deep waters and hostile ocean environments, using as an example Shell's Troll field in more than 1,000 feet of water offshore Norway.

In addition to the Topical Luncheons, OTC will hold Roundtable Luncheons in the Astrohall Ballroom May 8 and 9. These luncheons will allow OTC registrants to share information informally on topics covered in the technical sessions.

The Awards Luncheon Ronald L. Geer and Exxon Company U.S.A. have been named recipients of the 1984 OTC Distinguished Achievement Awards.

These awards represent the highest honor conferred by the offshore community. They will be presented at the annual Awards Luncheon on May 7.

Mr. Geer, senior mechanical engineering consultant with Shell Oil Company in Houston, will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals for his pioneering achievements in floating drilling and subsea completion technology over the past 25 years.

He was responsible for the first re- mote-controlled subsea well completion in the open sea in 1960. He helped prove the semi-submersible drilling rig concept by leading the design group that converted an existing bottom-supported drilling barge into the first semi-submersible, Blue Water I, in 1962. Mr.

Geer also is recognized for fostering a cooperative spirit among industry, government, and the scientific community.

Exxon will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award for Organizations for the design and installation of the Lena Guyed Tower, the world's first commercial guyed-tower drilling and production platform and the focus of two 1984 OTC technical sessions.

This structure was installed in 1,000 feet of water on Exxon's Lena prospect in the Gulf of Mexico in 1983. The platform concept— product of 12 years of research, testing, and design—and the innovative equipment and construction methods used for installation are major contributions to deepwater construction technology.

OTC '84 Technical Program Monday Morning 9 a.m. to 12 noon • Lena Guyed Tower I OTC 4649 4650 4651 4652 Lena Guyed Tower Project Overview Design of the Lena Guyed Tower Fabrication of the Lena Guyed Tower Side Launch of the 27,000-ton Lena Guyed Tower Jacket Dynamics of Offshore Structures OTC 4653 4654 4655 4656 4657 4658 Model Tests to Establish a Design Method for TLP Tether Systems Analysis of the Dynamic Response of a Free-Standing Conductor Pipe Measured Dynamic Behavior of North Sea Jacket Platforms Nonlinear Response Characteristics of TLP With and Without Mechanical Damping System in Very High Waves Evaluation of a Time-Domain Procedure for the Surge Response of a Tension Leg Platform Model Test Evaluation of a Frequency- Domain Procedure for Wave-Drift Prediction of Tension Leg Platforms Water Treatment/Diver Tools OTC 4659 4660 4661 4662 4663 4664 Permeation: A New Competitive Process for Offshore Gas Dehydration Evaluation of Seawater Filtration Systems for North Sea Applications Fabrication and Construction Aspects of an Offshore Barge-Mounted Seawater Treating Plant for the Arctic Produced-Water Discharges Into Marine Ecosystems Development and Evaluation of an Experimental Seawater Hydraulic Tool System for U.S. Navy Divers Electricity and the Working Diver • Offshore Pipelines OTC 4665 4666 4667 4668 4669 The 48-in. Zuluf-Safaniya Gas Pipeline: A Case Story Predicting Motions of Long Towed Pipe Strings Stimulated Self-Burial of Submarine Pipelines Polyethylene Coating Damage on an Underwater Pipeline in the Southern North Sea Fitness for Service Analysis of the Danish North Sea Oil Line Arctic Islands OTC 4670 4671 4672 4673 4674 4675 Construction of Mukluk Island Utilization of Marginal Soils for Island Construction Ice/Berm Interactions Concrete Revetment Mat Systems for Shore Erosion Control on Offshore Embankments Wave Runup and Overtopping: A Review and Recommendations Wave Propagation in the Vicinity of Offshore Islands • In-Situ Soil Testing OTC 4676 Seabed Investigations Using the Self- Boring Pressuremeter 4677 Three Years' Experience With the- Offshore Self-Boring Pressuremeter PAM 4678 Cyclic Pressuremeter Tests for Cyclic Lateral Loads 4679 Ambient Pressure Sampling System for Deep-Ocean Geotechnical Site Investigations 4680 The Suspension PS Velocities Logging System 4681 Development of In-Situ Measuring Apparatus of Geotechnical Elements of Sea Floor (IMAGES) Monday Afternoon 2 to 5 p.m.

• Lena Guyed Tower II OTC 4682 Installation of Guying System for Lena Guyed Tower 4683 Installation of Tower, Deck, and Pipelines for Lena Guyed Tower 4684 Instrumentation for Monitoring Behavior of Lena Guyed Tower 4685 Dynamically Positioned Derrick Barge and Positioning Equipment for Lena Guyed Power Installation • Ice Forces OTC 4686 The Distribution of Ice Pressure Acting on Offshore Pile Structure and the Failure Mechanics of Ice Sheet 4687 Shear Strength of Adfreeze Bond and its Effect on Global Ice Load Applied to Mobile Offshore Drilling Units Under Arctic Conditions 4688 Dependence of Crushing Specific Energy of Urea Ice on the Aspect Ratio and the Indentor Velocity 4689 The Coefficient of Friction Between Sea Ice and Various Materials Used in Offshore Structures 4690 Ice Forces Exerted on a Conical Structure in the Gulf of Bothnia 4691 Analysis and Design of Ice Wall Framing for a Concrete Arctic Drilling Structure • Marine Geotechnique OTC 4692 Predicting Offshore Soil Conditions 4693 Seismic Response of Offshore Drilling Islands in a Centrifuge Including Soil, Structure Interaction 4694 Cyclic and Rate-of-Loading Design Parameters From Rod Shear Tests 4695 Experimental Study of Effective Stress Response of Sand Under Water Wave Loading 4696 Bottom Preparation for Gravity Structures in Beaufort Sea 4697 Geotechnical Monitoring Systems and Performance in Dynamic Ice Environments • Marine Geology and Seafloor Processes OTC 4698 The Advanced Ocean Drilling Program: The Next Phase in Scientific Ocean Drilling 4699 A Review of Geology and Petroleum Possibilities of Continental Margins of India 4700 A Model for Utilization of Oxygen Isotopes and Ecologic Logs (Ecologs) in Regional Correlation and Interpretation of Structural History 4701 Bottom Boundary Layer Flow Profiling System 4702 Slumping Due to Hurricane Iwa Along Proposed OTEC Cold-Water Pipe Route, Oahu, HI 4703 Finite-Element Sedimentation Model for Shallow Water • Arctic Operations OTC 4704 Project Management Approach to New Generation Arctic Drilling System 4705 A Deepwater Actively Frozen Seabed DAFS) Drilling/Production Structure for the Beaufort Sea 4706 Design Construction and First Season's Operation of M.V. Kalvik and M.V.

Terry Fox/Front Line Icebreakers for the Beaufort Sea 4707 Current and Future Offshore Activities in Canada 4708 Design of Concrete Gravity Structures to Withstand Concentrated Ridge and Floe Impact Loads 4709 The Frequency and Geometry of Bering Sea Ice Ridges From Precision Aerial Photography • Materials Technology OTC 4710 Erosion, Cavitation, and Abrasion Resistance of Choke Trim Materials 4711 Development and Testing of New Offshore Cathodic Protection Criteria 4712 Forged Tubulars for Tension Leg Platforms: Material Characteristics and Fracture Resistance in Seawater Environment 4713 Material Properties and Internal Soundness of a Huge Cast-Steel Node Joint 4714 Strength Predictions for Ring-Stiffened Cylinders Under Combined Loads 4715 New API Equation for Grouted Pile-to- Structure Connections Tuesday Morning 9 a.m. to 12 noon £ OTC '84 continued 4715 New API Equation for Grouted Pile-to- Structure Connections • Limited Driving Force in Ice OTC 4716 Limited Driving Force Concept for Ice Loads on Structures: A Panel Discussion High Resolution Geophysics I OTC 4717 Ocean Bottom Imaging 4718 High-Resolution Seabed Mapping: New Developments 4752 High-Resolution Deepwater Survey Sonar 4720 Shallow Seismic-Derived Acoustic Core Logs 4721 Ice Berm Interaction Study Using Rotary Sidescan Sonar and Acoustic Profiling Systems 4722 Resolution: A Key to Continental Slope and Rise Processes, U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin Subsea Completions OTC 4723 Field Performance of a Newly Devel- oped 15,000-psi W.P. Subsea Wellhead System 4724 North Sea Marginal Fields: The Subsea Completions Option 4725 Tension Leg Platform Production Riser Tieback Connector Design and Development 4727 Evaluation of the Subsea Tree After 20 Years' Production - 'Findings and Conclusions' 4728 New Expendable Standing Valves and Plugs Permit TFL Work in Low-Pressure Water-Injection Wells • Vessel Stability and Dynamics OTC 4729 4730 4731 4732 4733 4734 Stability and Dynamics of Semisubmersibles After Accidental Damage Fault Analysis of a Semisubmersible's Ballast Control System Full-Scale Measurement Test on the New Semisubmersible Polycastle Linearized Dynamic Stability of Barges for Transportation of Offshore Structures Design Aspects for Transport of Jackup Platforms on a Barge Collision of a Tanker With a Platform • Marine Risers OTC 4735 4738 4739 4737 4736 Riser Analysis Methods: Comparison With Measured Field Data Vertical Dynamics of Marine Risers Field Test of Large, High-Pressure Flexible Pipe Multipurpose Active/Passive Motion Compensation System Finite-Element Analysis of Bending in a Threaded Connector for a 5-1/2 in.

Marine Riser Welding Technology OTC 4740 4741 4742 44774434 4745 Hyperbaric Welding at 300 MSW Underwater Friction Welding for Electrical Coupling of Sacrificial Anodes SATURNE Automatic System: Experience Gained on STATPIPE Project Laser Welding of Carbon Steel Strain Identification and Quality Control in Welded and Bolted Unions Using Nondestructive Optical Methods The Introduction of Real-Time Radiography for the Inspection of Butt Welds in Offshore Pipelines Tuesday Afternoon 2 to 5 p.m.

The Deep Water Well OTC 4746 A Record Deepwater Drilling Program 4747 Geological Hazard Surveying in Water Depths of 2,000 Meters 4749 Improving Dynamic Positioning Performance in the Deepwater, High-Current, Rough Water Environment 4750 Marine Riser System for 7,500-Ft.

Water Depth* 4841 A Comprehensive Approach to Deepwater Marine Riser Management* 4751 ROV Drilling Support for Deep Water 4748 Exploratory Well Design for 5,000 to 7,500-Ft. Water Depths, U.S. East Coast 'Combined into one oral presentation • High Resolution Geophysics II OTC 4719 4753 4754 4755 4756 4757 The Use of Processed High-Resolution Seismic in Geotechnical Engineering Influence of Geologic Conditions in Selecting Production Structures in Main Pass 75 Time-Lapse High-Resolution Seismic Surveys in the Mississippi Delta Mudflow Area Offshore Louisiana Geotechnical Characteristics of Shallow Ocean Dredge Spoil Disposal Mounds The Use of Vertical Seismic Profiling in Geotechnical Site Investigation Operational Aspects of Borehole Emplacement of a Marine Seismic System in Deep Water • Platform Construction OTC 4758 The Iwaki Platform in Japan: The Influence of Severe Earthquake 4759 The Rapid Installation of a Large North Sea Jacket Over a Subsea Template 4760 Design and Installation of Subsea Structures 4761 Toppling Technique Applied to Platform Removal in Rigs to Reef Program 4762 Field Results of Curved Conductors in the Main Pass Area, Offshore LA 4763 Ultrasonic Inspection of the Tension Leg Platform Tension Leg Components • Mooring and Anchoring OTC 4764 Failure Analysis of a Calm-Buoy Catenary Anchor Chain System 4765 Wear of Nylon Hawsers Over Rollers, Pulleys, and Fairleads 4766 Fatigue of Marine Hawsers 4767 Axial Corrosion Fatigue of Wire Rope 4768 An Experimental Study of Drag Anchors and Implications for OTEC 4769 Soil Resistance to Stud-Link Chain • Corrosion Fatigue OTC 4770 Seawater Corrosion Fatigue of 2-l/4CrlMo and 4130 Steels for Marine Riser Applications 4771 Analysis of High-Cycle Corrosion Fatigue of Tubular Joints in Marine Environments 4772 Comparative Evaluation of Fracture Mechanics Methodologies as Applied to Offshore Structural Design and Integrity Analyses 4773 Evaluation of Spectrum Fatigue Data Under Conditions Applicable to Welded Steel of Offshore Structures 4774 Fatigue Design Considerations for Deepwater Fixed Platforms 4775 Combined Hot-Spot Stress Procedures for Tubular Joints • Marine Minerals Mining OTC 4776 Rift and Hydrothermal Venting Processes Along the Gorda-Juan de Fuca Ridge System 4777 Ore Assays of Massive Sulfides From Three Spreading Centers 4778 Geological Perspectives of Metalliferous Sulfides: Offshore Exploration in the Gorda Ridge Area 4779 A Development Scenario for Mining in the Gorda Ridge Area 4780 Atlantis-ll-Deep's Metal Reserves and Their Evaluation 4781 Methodology for Mineral Resources Inventory in the EEZ Applied to a West African Coastal Zone 4782 Research and Development Project of Manganese Nodule Mining System in Japan Wednesday Morning 9 a.m. to 12 noon • Lithology and Seismic Reflectivity OTC 4783 A Comprehensive Method for Synthetically Evaluating the Design of Airguns and Airgun Arrays 4784 Seismic Amplitude Measurement for Primary Lithology Estimation (SAM- PLE): Case Histories From Tertiary Western Basins 4785 Lithology From Angle-Dependent Reflectivity: A Panel Discussion • Floating Production I OTC 4786 Offshore Methanol Production: Selection of Carrier Types for Different Plant Capacities 4787 Suitability of Tankers for Floating Production Systems in Hostile Environment 4788 Tazerka Floating Production System: The First 18 Months 4789 Impact of Subsea Maintenance Activities on Floating Production Facilities in Deep Water 4790 Restraints Influence Topside Facility Design • Drilling and Completions OTC 4791 Offshore and Onshore European Horizontal Well Behavior 4792 Time Limitations of Spotting Fluids Used to Free Stuck Drillstrings 4793 The Use of Positive Displacement Motors for Installing Structural Casing 4794 Improved Wellhead Connector Design- Preload Production and Maintenance 4795 Effective Diversion During Matrix Acidization of Water Injection Wells 4796 Optimization of Gravel Pack Techniques: Main Pass Area • Arctic Drilling Units OTC 4797 New Generation Arctic Drilling System: Overview of First Year's Performance 4798 Second Generation Arctic Platforms: Lessons From First Generation Design Experience 4799 Development of a Structural Concept to Resist Impacts From Multiyear Ice Floes, Ridges, and Icebergs 4800 The Arctic Cone Exploration Structure: A Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit for Heavy Ice Cover 4801 The Concrete Island Drilling System: Super Series (Super CIDS) 4802 Gloryhole Excavations in the Beaufort Sea • Foundations OTC 4803 Experience With Driving 84-ln. Piles With Underwater and Abovewater Hammers at the South Brae Platform, North Sea 4805 Comparison of Drivability Studies With Dynamic Measurements of Piles at Four Sites in Gulf of Mexico 4804 Equivalent Nonlinear Foundation Method for Pile-Founded Structures 4806 A Specialized Design and Research Tool for the Modeling of Near-Field Pile/Soil Interaction 4807 The Hutton TLP Foundation Design 4808 Centrifuge Modeling of Shallow Foundation on Soft Soil • Wave Forces OTC 4809 Extreme Wave Conditions in the Central North Sea 4810 Shallow Wave Forces on Offshore Structures 4811 A Numerically Efficient Technique for the Simulation of Random Wave Forces on Offshore Structures 4812 Application of Nonlinear Digital Filters to Modeling Low-Frequency Nonlinear Drift Oscillations of Moored Vessels in Random Seas 4813 On the Low-Frequency Hydrodynamic Damping Forces Acting on Offshore Moored Vessels 4814 Nonlinear Wave Interaction With a Moored Floating Cylinder Wednesday Afternoon 2 to 5 p.m.

• Seismic Technology OTC 4815 Deep-Towed Array Geophysical System Telemetry Equipment 4816 Acoustic Tracking of Towed Bodies 4817 Seismic-Derived Acoustic Velocities: A Panel Discussion • Floating Production II OTC 4819 Floating Production Systems for North Sea Marginal Fields 4820 Design Considerations of a Subsea Control System for a Floating Production System 4821 Articulated Production Tower for Deep Water 4822 Highly Compliant Column for Tanker Mooring and Oil Production in 1000 m Water Depth 4823 Hutton Tension Leg Platform: An Exercise in Weight Control • Risk and Reliability OTC 4824 Turbulent Wind Loading and Dynamic Response of Jackup Platform 4825 A New Approach to Stress Concentration Factors for Tubular Joint Design 4826 Reliability Analysis of Offshore Structures Based on Murotsu's Matrix Method 4827 Some Recent Applications of Structural Reliability Theory in Offshore Engineering 4828 Ultimate Strength of Tubular Joints: Chord Stress Effects 4829 Effect of Plate Thickness in Fatigue of Welded Joints • Wave and Current Loads OTC 4830 Hydrodynamic Forces From Combined Wave and Current Flow on Smooth and Rough Circular Cylinders at High Reynolds Numbers 4831 In-Line Forces on Vertical Cylinders in Deepwater Waves 4832 The Hydrodynamics of a Model of a Vibrating Umbilical Cable 4833 Determination of Flow Kinematics Close to Marine Pipelines and Their Use in Stability Calculations 4834 A New Method to Evaluate Wave-lmpact Forces on Offshore Structures 4835 Velocity Profiling in Strong Ocean Currents • Foundations on Calcareous Soils OTC 4836 Performance Assessment of Deep-Penetration Offshore Piles Driven Into Calcareous Soils 4837 Analysis of Laterally Loaded Piles in Coral 4838 Frictional Response of Piles in Calcareous Deposits 4839 Lateral Load Tests on Large Pipe Piles in Coral 4840 Jackup Rig Siting in Calcareous Soil