Underwater inspection/testing/ monitoring of offshore structures |
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| Authors: | R Frank Busby |
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| Institution: | R. Frank Busby Associates, 576 S. 23rd Street, Arlington, Virginia 22202, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | The extraction of offshore oil and gas deposits has resulted in installation of massive steel and concrete platforms in progressively deeper and more hostile waters. Concern for the safety of platform personnel, potential damage to the environment, and the assurance of profitable, unimpeded, extraction of these offshore resources is a concern of host-country governments and the offshore operators.Requirements for underwater inspection of these structures and the techniques and tools to conduct such inspection vary widely from country-to-country. In some instances periodic inspection is required by law; in other instances there is no requirement whatever once the structure has been installed. The instruments to conduct underwater inspections also vary; their effectiveness is sometimes questionable, and the cost of underwater inspection to the operator (which will eventually be borne by the consumer) is high and will get higher as the water depth and complexity of the structure increases.The purpose of this six month study was: 1) to identify and describe all actual or potential underwater inspection requirements (national and international) for fixed concrete and steel structures promulgated by the governments of offshore oil and gas producing countries and by the offshore operators themselves; 2) to identify and assess the state-of-the-art in underwater non-destructive testing/monitoring/inspection of offshore structures; 3) to evaluate the capability of servicing and hardware producers to meet the inspection requirements identified; and 4) to describe and establish priorities for specific tasks for technology development that should be undertaken to satisfy current and future requirements. While this study concentrates on fixed offshore oil and gas structures, the results also reflect the state-of-the-art in underwater inspection/testing for other offshore structures as well, e.g., floating power platforms; offshore terminals and deepwater ports.The data for this study were collected in three stages. First, an intensive literature review was conducted to initially identify those organizations and governments active in projects related to the study goals (the results of this literature survey are presented in Appendix I). Second, telephone interviews were conducted to further identify “Requirements” sources and suppliers/manufacturers of inspection/testing capabilities in the U.S. and Europe. Third, personal interviews were conducted with individuals active in hardware production or inspection services. Personnel and organizations contacted (both by telephone and on a personal basis) are identified in Appendix II (Requirements) and III (Capabilities), respectively. Approximately four months were required to satisfy the data collection phase; the remaining two months were spent analyzing, reducing and synthesizing the data obtained. |
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