Advances in the simulation of offshore heavy lifts from experiences in Bass Strait, Victoria
Stuart Wales A , Glenn Swaik B , Kee Yik Ting C , Kanishka Jayasinghe A , Jon Gumley A and Andrew Potts AA AMOG Consulting
B Origin Energy Limited
C SapuraAcergy Sdn. Bhg.
The APPEA Journal 56(1) 393-404 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15028
Published: 2016
Abstract
There has always been a clear need to demonstrate that project critical offshore heavy lifts can be conducted safely, within allowable criteria, for the metocean conditions likely to occur in-field.
Extensive guidance is available in the design codes for lifts subsea but, for lifts in air, dynamic analysis of the response of a suspended mass is not fully addressed. Analyses generally yield results that do not agree well with operating experience and cannot easily be assessed against the limited code guidance available. Traditionally, operator skill and experience has thus been relied on to justify the operability of such lifts. Recent experience in engineering the lift of a 500 tonne module onto the Yolla Platform in Bass Strait, Victoria, has further underlined the deficiencies in analytical techniques and approaches available to the industry.
This paper presents experience gained from the pre- and post-lift analysis of an instrumented lift operation recently conducted by the mono-hull vessel Sapura 3000 in the challenging environmental conditions of Bass Strait. This analysis was used to demonstrate that the lift could be conducted safely within tight operational constraints, meeting the codified criteria set.
Subsequent analysis of data gathered during the lift was used to explore and refine modelling assumptions to aid the engineering of future challenging heavy lifts. The analyses conducted advanced state-of-the-art work in this field for the offshore industry.
By enabling numerical techniques for heavy lifts, which are typical of many other offshore operations, safety will be improved, project contingencies can be properly estimated through more accurate prediction of downtime, and cost savings can be achieved by the selection of more effective vessels for the task.
Stuart Wales (BEng (Hons)) has more than 20 years’ experience in the offshore industry, covering a range of sectors, from subsea development and deepwater installation through to research and development. Stuart was a project manager on the West Seno Mooring Project, which won AMOG an Engineering Excellence Award in 2011, and project managed the engineering validation for the lift referred to in this paper. He is presently an Associate Director and Principal Engineer at AMOG Consulting. Member: Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), Society of Underwater Technology (SUT), and Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). stuart.wales@amog.consulting |
Glenn Swaik (BEng (Hons), MBA) has more than 34 years experience in the oil and gas industry, covering a wide range of disciplines including production operations, concept and detailed design, project implementation, and commercial. Most recently, Glenn was the project manager for the installation of the compressor module on the Yolla Platform. glenn.swaik@originenergy.com.au |
Kee Yik Ting (BE (Hons)) has more than 10 years of structure and pipeline engineering experience in the upstream oil and gas industry. Kee specialised in the detailed and installation engineering of conventional platforms, subsea structures, shallow/ deepwater pipelines, and riser, flexible and mooring analyses. She is presently the Lead Engineer of the hydrodynamic group at SapuraAcergy Sdn. Bhd. Fellow: Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). yikting.kee@sapuraacergy.com |
Kanishka Jayasinghe (BE (Hons), BComm) is a project engineer at AMOG Consulting. He was on the Monash University Engineering Dean’s Honour list for two years and awarded the Monash University Engineering Excellence Award. Since joining AMOG as a graduate, Kanishka has worked on a number of projects for clients in the oil and gas industry, particularly in the areas of hydrodynamic loading of offshore structures, mooring and risers, and supported a number of AMOG’s joint industry projects. Member: Engineers Australia (MIEAust). kanishka.jayasinghe@amog.consulting |
Jon Gumley (BE (Hons), BComm) is a project engineer at AMOG Consulting, undertaking work for clients in the oil and gas sector. He particularly works in the areas of hydrodynamic loading and response of offshore structures, mooring and riser systems, monitoring of offshore installations, and detailed appraisals of metocean data. Member: Engineers Australia (MIEAust). jon.gumley@amog.consulting |
Andrew Potts (BE, MEngSc, PhD) is an executive director and present CEO of AMOG Consulting, having founded the company in 1991. He has extensive experience in the offshore oil and gas sectors, ranging from the development of design criteria and concept engineering through to detailed design of various aspects of facilities, structures, operations and installations. Andrew frequently presents at domestic and international conferences. He has authored more than 35 papers, and is an authority in the area of steel wire ropes and fibre rope systems used in marine applications. Andrew is a board member of the Monash Engineering Foundation. Fellow: Engineers Australia (FIEAust), and Royal Institution of Naval Architects (FRINA). Member: Engineers Australia (CPEng), Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (MSNAME), Australian Institute of Energy (MAIE), and Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). andrew.potts@amog.consulting |
