Title: Design and hydrodynamic loading analysis of production riser for the Arctic

Authors: J.A. Boateng; F.A. Diawuo

Addresses: University of Strathclyde, 50 Richmond Street, Level 6, G1 1 XP, Glasgow, UK ' University of Energy and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana

Abstract: Production risers are usually designed to have an operating life of about 15-25 years. Based on the lumped mass method, rigid and flexible risers in varied configurations have been applied to a global analysis in order to evaluate the static, dynamic and fatigue behaviour of the riser suitable for operation in the Arctic. Analyses were performed to assess the feasibility of the risers by considering their stress performance and fatigue life under the applied environmental loads of Shtokman field in Eastern Barents Sea. The results from the global analysis indicate that rigid risers perform poorly in 'shallow' water with von Mises stress higher than allowable stress as indicated by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and America Petroleum Institute (API). However, this research paper also suggests that flexible risers are not very sensitive to hydrodynamic loading as indicated by the reduced von Mises stress and improved mechanical performance of the risers.

Keywords: Shtokman field; Arctic; submerged turret system; STS; lumped mass method; global analysis; ice loading; hydrodynamic loading; production riser design; production risers; static behaviour; dynamic behaviour; fatigue behaviour; fatigue life; rigid risers; flexible risers; petroleum engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPE.2015.073528

International Journal of Petroleum Engineering, 2015 Vol.1 No.4, pp.221 - 244

Accepted: 13 Jun 2015
Published online: 11 Dec 2015 *

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