Riskex one factor in DP operations

In weighing the options for shuttle tankers and pipelines, Ernst Meyer of DNV Consulting urged Dynamic Positioning (DP) Conference attendees in Houston to consider risk expenditures (riskex).

"What may appear to be the best solution with regard to capex and opex may not appear to be the best solution when you take riskex into account," he said during the annual Marine Technology Society event.

Only by looking at a complete risk picture can a fully-informed decision be made about DP operations, Meyer said.

"The only way to achieve that is to make an integrated assessment of all the risk factors," he said.

One DP application involves offloading from floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) vessels. Oynstein Huglen of Navion said his company has devised a separate storage shuttling (S-S-S) system, which involves a spar or similar structure, an FSO, the shuttle tanker, and a hose.

"This is really how we operate in the North Sea. At this point we also have a storage unit on DP," he said.

Huglen said the S-S-S solution is economically viable for deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico but that a more comprehensive study will need to be completed to reduce risk aversion.

Izar Fene has even designed a DP FPSO that it believes will stand up to the rigors of operating in the Gulf, said Joaquin Lopez-Cortijo. The design has been model tested with good results, he said.

"Dynamic positioning (for FPSOs) may start to be competitive beyond certain water depths," Lopez-Cortijo said.

09/17/03