bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intermediate Fluid Vaporizers for LNG Regasification Vessels (SRVs) and FSRUs
Authors: Madsen Per Helge Sandaroe , Karsten Dag , Strande Reidar 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
This paper describes two different LNG Re-gasification systems with intermediate medium.
Steam heated system using Water/Glycol as intermediate are delivered to two SRV's dedicated for Massachusetts area in United States. These ship systems are not yet started, so only the delivered technology is described.
Seawater heated system using propane as intermediate medium is delivered for two FSRU's. One vessel is dedicated for Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro and one for Dubai. On the Dubai vessel, Re-gasification system is not yet started. The system for Guanabara Bay was started successfully in September 2009. The delivered technology and operational experiences are described for this system. In addition, possible improvements for future projects are presented.

Introduction
There is firm demand for new LNG import projects in the world, particularly from developing economies. In the past, LNG has been imported to land based terminals, where LNG has been pressurized and re-gassed. Due to the fast growing need for LNG around the world, cheaper and more fast track solutions for supplying LNG has been developed during last decade. Instead of building the Re-gasification terminals with storage and Re-gasification utility on shore, the Re-gasification equipment has been put onboard LNG carriers, and high pressure gas is delivered to shore from the ship either via a floating buoy and submerged pipeline system from offshore location, or via loading arms on a jetty. In general, there are two types of Re-gasification vessels.
Shuttle and Re-gasification Vessels (SRV's) and Floating Storage and Re-gasification units (FSRU's)
The advantage with SRV's and FSRU's compared to on shore terminals are that they are flexible and have a short time from investment decision to start up.
Therefore, they open a ‘fast-track’ way of opening the energy market to natural gas, thus increasing diversity of supply, reducing costs and introducing environmental benefits.
The Kvitebjorn Gas Pipeline Repair
Authors: Gjertveit Erling , Berge Jan Olav , Opheim Birgit S. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
On the 1st of November 2007 during a routine inspection, severe anchor damage was discovered on the 30?? Kvitebjørn rich gas pipeline, about 10 km from the platform at 210 m water depth. The damage constituted a localised dent and a 17deg buckle, but no leakage.
Since 1987 Statoil on behalf of the different pipeline transportation licences, has invested time and money into building up an effective repair contingency for the pipeline network from the Norwegian Continental shelf, in particular the large gas export pipelines.
The contingency repair method for the Kvitebjørn pipeline is based upon the use of two Morgrip couplings and a spool to be installed with remotely operated H-frames and a purpose build Coupling Installation Frame (CIF), constituting vital parts of the total Pipeline Repair System. The couplings were produced and tested back in 2005.
This paper will cover the initial damage description, the repair preparations, the actual remote repair methodology and lessons learned. The Kvitebjørn incident has shown how important it is to be prepared and it can be termed as a real baptism for the company's pipeline repair preparedness.
The 27th of January 2009, one year and three months after the damage discovery, the repair was successfully completed and gas export from the Visund and Kvitebjørn platforms resumed.

Kvitebjørn pipeline system
Kvitebjørn is a medium size offshore gas and condensate field located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about 140 km vest of Bergen on the vest coast of Norway, see figure 1. A 30?? gas and condensate pipeline carries the partly processed product to the Kvitebjørn/Troll processing plant onshore at Kolsnes just outside Bergen.
A 20?? gas pipeline from another oil and gas field, Visund, is also tied into the Kvitebjørn gas pipeline via a subsea T-connection about two kms downstream the Kvitebjørn platform.
SS: New API Codes: Updates, New Suite of Standards - API Bulletin 2HINS - Guidance for Post-hurricane Structural Inspection of Offshore Structures
Authors: Puskar Frank , Spong Robert 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Timely and cost effective inspection of offshore structures following a hurricane is critical in order to safely re-man the facilities and bring production back on-line. Recent hurricanes Ivan, Rita, Katrina and Ike in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) resulted in thousands of above and below water structural inspections of offshore structures to determine if they sustained damage. Several of the API Recommended Practices (RPs) for offshore structures provide guidance for such " special?? inspections, but the guidance is limited and general in nature. API Bulletin 2HINS (2HINS, short for Hurricane INSpection) complements those publications and provides additional guidance specific to structural inspection following hurricanes. The document is applicable to permanent fixed and floating structures in the Gulf of Mexico.

Background
Regular structural inspections are a part of the in-service operating procedure for all offshore structures. The API RPs for the different types of fixed and floating structures provide guidance to develop In-Service Inspection Plans (ISIPs) to meet this need. These documents also typically identify the need for " special?? inspections following major events such as extreme storms like a hurricane or an accident like a severe collision. The goal of these special inspections is to determine if a structure sustained damage that affects the safety of personnel working on the structure, the primary structural integrity of the asset and its ability to perform the purpose for which it was intended. However, within these documents the guidance for special inspections is limited and generally up to the discretion of the owner or regulatory authority, particularly where and what to inspect.
Recent experience in the Gulf of Mexico has shown many structures exposed to hurricane level winds did not sustain damage [Energo 2006, 2007 & 2010]. As a result some structures did not require inspection. Alternative methods such as comparisons of the hurricane conditions at a site to the structure's environmental design conditions can be used on a case-by-case basis to provide adequate basis and justification when inspections on a structure are needed or not needed, especially below water inspections. The use of engineering assessments in lieu of an inspection is particularly useful for deep water fixed structures or floating structure where below water inspections, or internal hull inspections for floating structures, can be dangerous, time consuming and costly.
Taking the gas lift valves to a new level of reliability
Authors: Carlsen Jorn Andre , Stokka Øyvind , Kleppa Erling 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Gas lift valves are an integral part of the tubing in gas lifted wells. Many operators use tubing with premium threads for these wells. Additional safety equipment, including the packer and the downhole safety valve, has been subjected to a program intended to prove its capabilities as a safety device. This is not the case with standard gas lift valves, developed and delivered according to the governing standard, ISO 17078-2. On the contrary, this standard states that the valves are only intended to be a flow check and not a pressure safety device. This paper discusses the development of a new validation standard, where the intention is to prove the equipment's safety capacity, as well as new equipment developed to meet these challenges.

Introduction
Most operating companies design their wells according to external or internal regulations with respect to safety equipment and safety levels. Each component needs to meet material standards and specific equipment standards. The standards will also describe production requirements as well as acceptance testing procedures for the equipment in question. New equipment typically has to be qualified to a certain validation procedure described in a standard issued by an external standards organization and often to additional internal company requirements.

Barrier Philosophy
The safety philosophy of preventing uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons is often referred to as barrier philosophy. The barrier philosophy for a given well typically depends on region, nationality and operating company. The Norsok D-10 is an example of a standard describing elements preventing hydrocarbon or pressure release to the atmosphere and it defines well barriers as; " Well barriers are envelopes of one or several dependent well barrier elements preventing fluids or gases from flowing unintentionally from the formation, into another formation or to surface. The well barrier(s) shall be defined prior to commencement of an activity or operation by description of the required well barrier elements to be in place and specific acceptance criteria.??
SS: Metocean: The Gulf of Mexico Current Simulation - A 32-year Run of 1/12o HYCOM
Authors: Wang Wensu , Esenkov Oleg E. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Drilling and production operations in the deepwater regions of the Gulf of Mexico can be impacted by strong currents from the Loop Current and its associated Eddies (LCE). The position of the Loop Current is variable as is eddy propagation across the Gulf. Consequently the specification of design currents for locations in the deepwater Gulf requires extensive knowledge of the LCE system.
An improved 1/12o HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) of the Gulf of Mexico was run for a 32-year period to simulate ocean currents in the Gulf by implementing a "Hybrid Boundary Condition" that combines original and high-inflow open boundary conditions. The improved model results show a realistic Loop Current penetration, eddy path variability and other eddy statistics. Eddy current extremes compare well with the best existing database in the U. S. lease area. The currents from the 32-year model run broaden our knowledge base of the LCE system and provide a database of current conditions for design of structures in the Gulf of Mexico. Bottom currents near the Sigsbee Escarpment were also examined. The results show that characteristics of these bottom current events match those of observed currents, but the magnitudes of the modeled current events are lower than the observations which is most likely due to a lower vertical model resolution near the bottom.

1. Introduction
In the deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico, LCE is a dominant feature which produces high currents that can adversely impact exploration and production activities. At times, the Loop Current flows almost directly from the Yucatan Strait to the Florida Strait. Over time the Loop Current grows and extends further into the Gulf, and then instabilities in the Loop lead to a "pinching off" of eddy as shown in Figure 1. The detached eddy will slowly propagate west until it finally dissipates. The process may take over a year.
The high currents associated with the LCE can be as high as 2-3 m/s at the surface and they can penetrate into the water column to several hundreds meters below the water surface. LCE currents can be greater than hurricane generated currents as shown in Figure 2 which presents current vertical profiles generated by LCE, winter storms, and hurricanes (API, 2009). The high currents increase loads significantly on offshore structures, including floating hulls, mooring lines, and risers.
SS: Fiber Moorings, Recent Experiences and Research: Analysis, Design and Installation of Polyester Rope Mooring Systems in Deep Water
Authors: De Andrade Omar P. , Duggal Arun S. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe the authors' recent experience with the analysis, design, and installation of polyester rope mooring systems for deep water applications. Among the latest research activities, this article describes a series of full-scale tests performed on polyester rope provided for several spread moored systems offshore Brazil and West Africa. One of the main purposes of the performed tests was to determine non-linear stiffness characteristics of the rope; but other parameters used in the design and optimization of the polyester rope mooring system were also investigated.

Introduction
The past decade has seen a steady increase in the number of polyester rope deep-water mooring system for oil and gas exploration, especially floating production facilities. Brazil has always been in the frontier of the application of synthetic mooring ropes. Industry forecasts point to a strong increase in the number of such systems, considering the latest deepwater discoveries made offshore Brazil. Due to the past and present history of success in the use of polyester rope for the mooring of deep water floating system offshore Brazil, it is a general consensus that this trend will continue into the future and expand to other producing regions such as The Gulf of Mexico and West Africa as it can already be observed.
There are many obvious advantages in using polyester ropes on deep water mooring systems. We could mention a few of them such as: lighter weight, desirable elastic characteristics and superb fatigue performance; on the other hand when engineering and installing such a system there are specific issues to be appropriately dealt with by the designer and the installation personnel. This paper will discuss some of the peculiarities associated to the design; analysis and deployment of polyester rope mooring system for deep water applications.
The main topic of discussion in this article is a practical way to model the elastic stiffness of polyester mooring ropes in order to have a simple and reliable model that produces reasonably conservative extreme mooring loads and vessel-offsets. Such numeric model describing the elastic behavior of the polyester ropes have a significant impact on mooring system for floating facilities for deep water applications, with a specific application to the mooring of FPSO's.

Typical Polyester Rope Mooring System for Deep Water FPSO Applications
Fig. 1 depicts a typical deep water FPSO spread moor system. Each anchor leg is constituted by two segments of chain, one located at the bottom and the second close to the surface; joined by a single or multiple segments of polyester rope. In case of the mooring system shown on Fig. 1 we can see three (3) segments of polyester rope joined by two (2) short segments of chain.
SS: Fiber Moorings, Recent Experiences and Research: Fiber Rope Tether Manufacturing - Current Best Practice and a vision for the Future
Authors: Rowley David S. , Leitte Sergio 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Polyester Mooring Tethers are gaining wide acceptance in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and other areas of deepwater mooring operations. This paper looks at current rope manufacturing, developments in splicing technology, length accuracy measurements systems, rope manufacturing length and breaking strength limitations, and developments in synthetic polymer raw materials.
Current areas of deepwater rope research and development include improvements in jacket cut resistance, improved termination designs between rope and rope or rope and chain or wire, higher integrity sand barriers and stiffer materials for next generation mooring lines at ultra-deepwater depths. These developments are necessary to allow the deployment of fiber rope moorings in harsh environments such as the Arctic, into ultra-deepwaters and conversely into shallower water applications, and to embrace alternative deepwater installation techniques, such as pre-lay on the sea bed.
In recognition of the need to give naval architects and installation contractors' more options and ideas to develop alternative, cheaper and quicker methods of installing mooring systems, the future for Fiber Rope Tethers is reviewed. Of particular importance is the need for longer, stronger, lighter and more robust Fiber Rope tethers, composite rust free lightweight connectors to complement the rope's characteristics, installation using low cost anchor handling vessels and rental deployment systems, pre-laid moorings deployed on the seabed months before hook-up, and better ways of bedding in creep and use of lower pre-tensioning loads in mooring ropes.

Introduction
Polyester rope mooring tethers are gaining wider acceptance in deepwater mooring operations. The benefits of polyester rope moorings are compelling: lighter, easier to handle and with excellent mechanical properties to withstand the loads and elasticity demands of deepwater mooring.
As mooring lines move to greater water depths, and further offshore, however, the engineering integrity of the mooring rope and its splice are critical to effective station-keeping. With improvements in anchoring systems design and chain quality, the focus is now on the mooring rope, and its connectors, to deliver the mechanical performance needed for ultra-deepwater moorings.

Splicing Technology
Polyester mooring ropes are a key component of deepwater and ultra-deepwater mooring systems. The mooring line is made up of one or more lengths of rope joined together by connectors. The longer the rope, the greater the number of connectors needed, including rope-to-rope, rope-to-chain and rope-to-wire connectors.
Analysis of Potential Conservatism in Foundation Design for Offshore Platform Assessment
Authors: Gilbert Robert B. , Chen J.Y. , Materek B. , Puskar Frank , Verret S. , Carpenter J. , Young Alan G. , Murff James Donald 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
There is a common perception that the design method for pile foundations in offshore platforms is conservative. However, we found no direct evidence of excessive conservatism in detailed analyses of thirteen case study platforms where the foundation systems were loaded to near or beyond their capacities. In eight cases, the foundation systems, including piles and well conductors, survived as they were predicted to do. In the one case we do have of a foundation failure occurring in a hurricane (a pile pull-out failure in clay), the failure was predicted. In two cases, the survival in a hurricane is consistent with realistic (not conservative) assumptions for the lateral capacities of piles and well conductors. In the last two cases, a potential overturning failure of the foundation system was predicted but not observed, most likely due to the lack of a site-specific soil boring to predict foundation capacity. Due to the small number of cases analyzed, these results do not preclude the possibility of foundation capacities being greater than expected based on design, particularly for piles tipping in sand layers.
The perception of conservatism appears to be related to the common analysis methods used by the offshore industry. The assessment of existing foundations is different from new design and needs to be treated accordingly. Recommendations to improve the practice of platform foundation assessments include the following:When the foundation controls the assessment, include a geotechnical engineer familiar with platform assessments on the analysis team.Include well conductors and jacket leg stubs realistically and explicitly in the structural analyses.Consider using average rather than nominal yield strength for steel piles and well conductors.Use static versus cyclic p-y curves for lateral soil resistance.Be careful in specifying the input parameters for sand layers.Be careful when relying on a soil boring that was not drilled at the location of the platform or was not drilled using modern methods of sampling and testing, particularly when sand layers are present.Try to obtain pile driving records as well as soil boring logs to help estimate axial pile capacities.When the pile foundation system is governing the capacity of the platform in a pushover analysis, check the sensitivity of the foundation system capacity to the lateral and axial capacities of the piles independently.Do not arbitrarily increase the shear strength of the soil to account for perceived conservatism in foundation design.Provide specific guidance for characterizing pile foundations in platform assessments into a code format suitable for the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practices.
In the future, detailed analyses of platforms that were destroyed by hurricanes could provide valuable information about how pile systems and the jackets they support performed under extreme loading conditions.
Recent Advances in Development and Application of Wide Azimuth Seismic Technology
Authors: Summers Tim , Michell Scott , Barley Brian James , Foster Mark 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
The proportion of deepwater acreage in oil company portfolios increased considerably over the past decade. New subsurface imaging challenges were encountered and required technology breakthroughs to meet business objectives. In many of these deepwater areas, the imaging challenges were increased due to complex overburden that distorted the seismic signal at the reservoir. Additionally, the requirement to extract more resources from mature basins put increased demand on seismic data quality requirements for field development and production.
Conventional narrow azimuth marine seismic acquisition was reaching a technical limit in these environments and new approaches were necessary. Both towed streamer and ocean bottom seismic solutions were required to improve reservoir imaging along the value chain, from exploration to production and from shallow to deep water. Wide azimuth techniques, combined with state of the art processing, velocity modeling and depth migration became the tools of choice for seismic surveying to address the emerging subsurface imaging challenges Success in field trials led to early business uptake. New technology development, both in acquisition equipment and processing algorithms, combined with innovations in survey design and operational efficiency, enabled at-scale implementation. As a result, the last five years has seen considerable wide azimuth data coverage in some major marine basins by both operators and contractors. The momentum continues to build with the increased use of wide azimuth methods opening up new opportunities and spurring new technology development.

Introduction
Since 2005 there have been significant developments in marine wide azimuth seismic acquisition which are applicable to a range of subsurface imaging challenges across the value chain from exploration to production. BP has been an industry leader in this area of technology across a spectrum of activity as described by Barley & Summers (2007). At-scale field trials of towed streamer and ocean bottom techniques over fields in a number of basins proved the concept of new robust acquisition designs. This led to widespread application of these methods and enabled illumination of reservoirs previously invisible using conventional methods.
The ability to model and analyse cost effective and appropriate acquisition designs along with learning from application has developed considerably in recent years. As such, the scale of implementation across the industry has had considerable business impact. The key to effective usage is the ability to understand the relative merits of different acquisition techniques to a particular business problem and evaluate parameterization for that situation.