Proceedings of the Nineteenth (2009) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference

Osaka, Japan, June 21-26, 2009

Copyright 2009 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE)
ISBN 978-1-880653-53-1 (Set); ISSN 1098-618

Design and Practice of Minimum Platforms for Shallow Water Oilfield

1

Aixia Zhang1,2, Jieming Liu 2

Department of Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering, Dalian University of Technology
Dalian, China
2
Design and Research Center, China National Petroleum Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd.
Beijing, China

transportation and installation. It is even more attractive when applied

to marginal shallow water fields. Several types of minimum platform
structures have been developed in the Nanpu oilfield.

ABSTRACT
Exploration of oil/gas resources in shallow waters has been a challenge
in Bohai Bay, China. Jidong Nanpu oilfield is the largest shallow water
oilfield in Bohai. How to develop it effectively and economically is of
great importance and has been becoming an attractive topic. This paper
introduces the Characteristic technologies and development modes of
Jidong Nanpu oilfield. The design practice of minimum structures for
Nanpu oilfield development is presented. The fabrication and
installation of minimum structure are also discussed in this paper. At
the end of the paper the design proposal and design considerations of
minimum structures used for shallow water oilfield are discussed.

DEVELOPMENT MODES IN JIDONG NANPU OILFIELD

Jidong Nanpu oilfield is a new oilfield in the tidal and shallow water
area of Bohai Bay. Kinds of engineering modes are applied or
developed for different water depths. In principle, pile roads and
artificial islands are used in shallow waters of 3m or less, and steel
platforms in relatively deeper waters. For platforms, oil/gas is
transported to shore usually by ships or by pipelines, and the process
systems are not provided on platforms. Up to date, four types of
development modes have been put into use in Nanpu oilfield.

KEY WORDS: Jidong Nanpu oilfield; shallow water; development

mode; minimum structure; structure type.

The first type is to use oil tanker to transport oil and only wellhead
platform built to produce crude oil. Oil and gas separation system is
equipped on oil tanker. This mode has been out of use for its poor
safety and a lot of ship reformation work.

INTRODUCTION

In the second type, oil and gas are separated on platforms and then
transported by oil tanker. Wellhead platform, production platform and
flare platform are installed at sea and connected by bridges. This mode
is widely used in Jidong Nanpu oilfield, especially in the shallow water
where low water level is larger than the draft of oil tanker.

The Jidong Nanpu oilfield in Bohai Bay, China, has a reserve of one
billion tons, or about 7.35 billion barrels and it is the largest discovery
in China over four decades. The Nanpu block, partly offshore, covers
an area of 1,300-1,500 sq km and is expected to produce light crude. It
is a high-grade oilfield with average oil layer thickness of 80-100 m
and major target zone depth of 1,800-2,800 m. Production testing
results show that the daily output of each vertical well is between 80100 tons and between 200-500 tons for each horizontal well. The good
exploration prospects make Nanpu oilfield attract much attention. So,
how to develop it effectively and economically is of great significance
and has been becoming an important topic.

In the third mode, oil and gas are separated on platforms and then
transported by oil tanker. Wellhead platform, production platform,
storage platform and flare platform are installed at sea and connected
by bridges. This mode can be used in the shallow water where low
water level is smaller than the draft of oil tanker while high water level
can satisfy the requirements of mooring.

Usually very simple engineering modes are adopted in very shallow

waters, for example, one subsea pipeline, one sea cable and one
minimum structure are applied together for production of a small field,
and an FPSO together with other movable facilities are used to
transport crude oil to shore. Anyway, steel platforms have played an
important role in oil field development, and minimum structures are
paid much more attention to due to the cost effective for construction,

In the fourth mode, oil and gas are separated and measured on
platforms and then transported by oil tanker. Wellhead platform and
production platform are installed at sea and connected by bridges.
Fig.1 and Fig.2 illustrate two typical development modes in Jidong
Nanpu oilfield.

211

Stress Design.
Wind Loads
Wind loads are calculated by Eq.1:
F = ( / 2)u 2C A
s

.. (1)

Where
F wind force;
mass density of air;
u wind speed;
Cs shape coefficient;
A area of object.
Wave Loads
Wave loads on small size circular cylinders are calculated by Eq.2:

F = FD + FI = Cd

2g

AU U + Cm

U .. (2)
t

Where
F hydrodynamic force vector per unit length acting normal to
the axis of the member, N/m;
FD drag force vector per unit length acting to the axis of the
member in the plane of the member axis and U, N/m;
FI inertia force vector per unit length acting normal to the axis of

Fig.1 Typical development mode in Jidong Nanpu oilfield

the member in the plane of the member axis and U / t , N/m;

Cd drag coefficient;
weight density of water, N/m3;
g gravitational acceleration, m/s2;
Aprojected area normal to the cylinder axis per unit length, m;
V displaced volume of the cylinder per unit length, m2;
D effective diameter of circular cylinder member including
marine growth, m;
U component of the velocity vector (due to wave and/or current)
of the water normal to the axis of the member, m/s;

absolute value of U, m/s;

Cm inertia coefficient;

U
t

normal to the axis of the member, m/s2.

Fig.2 Typical development mode in Jidong Nanpu oilfield

DESIGN PRACTICE
STRUCTURES

OF

OFFSHORE

component of the local acceleration vector of the water

Velocity and acceleration of water particle should be calculated in

appropriate wave theories. For shallow waters, breaking wave height
may be used for calculation.

PLATFORM

Current Loads
Where current is acting alone (i.e., no waves) the drag force should be

Steel platforms are important elements in Nanpu oil field developing

modes. They are subjected to environmental loadings, dead loads,
function loads and live loads, etc,. The design of steel platforms must
conform to the requirements of relevant rules.

determined by Eq.2 with U / t = 0 . Where current is associated

with waves, the current velocity should be added vectorially to the
wave particle velocity before the total force is computed by Eq.2.

Environmental Loadings on Offshore Platform Structure

Ice loads
In Bohai Bay, ice loads dominate offshore structural designs. The ice
calculation can be referred to section 3.4.5, Construction & Inspection
Specifications for Fixed Platform in Shallow Sea of China
Classification Society (CCS), which is given in Eq.3;
P = mK 1 K 2 Re Dh .. .. .. .. . (3)

When determining platform structure type, it is necessary to have

quantitative estimates of its ability to withstand the severe
environmental loadings experienced during its design life. In shallow
waters of depth up to 10m or so, environmental conditions normally
involve the wind, current, waves and ice likely to be experienced by the
structure, together with possible hazards from earthquakes. The
calculation of environmental loads, which are presented below, can be
referred to API RP 2A: Recommended Practice for Planning,
Designing and Constructing Fixed Offshore PlatformsWorking

Where:
m : shape coefficient, for circular section it is 0.9;

212

Re :

4)
5)

crushing strength of ice;

K 1 : indentation coefficient, it is 1.2 in the case of large D/t value;

K 2 : contact coefficient, generally it is 0.45 in Bohai Bay;
D : diameter or width of the structure;
h : ice thickness;

6)
7)
8)

Conductors can be used as piles to resist environmental loadings.

The design, fabrication and installation of the structure have a
close relationship with drilling work.
Minimum structures are more sensitive to damage from every
aspect.
The water depth of minimum structures is limited to shallow water.
Minimum structures are often unmanned platforms.

Minimum structures are the best choice if the well numbers are less
than 6 and the function and process of the platform are simple;
otherwise, conventional types such as four legged, six legged or eight
legged steel platforms will be chosen.
Up to date, several types of minimum structures have been in operation
such as JZ20-2 NW and BZ34-3/5 of CNOOC and others types in
shallow waters, as shown in Fig.3 to Fig.7.

In addition to environmental loads, dead loads and function loads

should also be included in the design of offshore platform structures.
Design of Offshore Platform Structure
Design of offshore platform structures should conform to the
requirements of relevant codes and standards, such as API RP 2A, API
RP 2N, AWS D1.1 and AISC etc,. In general, API requirements shall
govern the design if there are conflicts between codes and standards
used.
In the design, a computer model of the jacket will be developed using
the SACS suite of programs. SACS has been used to calculate member
forces and to perform the code check to the relevant codes. The
analysis includes in-service condition, pre-service condition. In-service
analyses include static analysis for operating environment conditions,
extreme storm conditions and extreme ice conditions, earthquake
analysis and fatigue analysis. Pre-service analysis includes
skidding/loadout analysis, transportation analysis, lifting analysis and
appurtenance design.
For most minimum structures presently used in Nanpu oilfield,
conductors are used as piles to support the upper deck and to resist the
environmental loading, so pre-service analysis can generally be omitted
because of their simple structure and field installation. Because
minimum structures do not have reserve strength or redundancy equal
to conventional jacket type structures, special consideration regarding
design and installation should be given. For single element structural
systems, attention should be paid to the following points:
1) The allowable stress interaction ration (or unity check) must be
limited to 0.85;
2) The safety factor in extreme conditions should be 1.5;
3) The deflection of mud-line point should not exceed 0.25 of
structure diameter.
For framing structures with natural periods less than two seconds, and
in a water depth less than 17meters, fatigue design may be used in
dynamic fatigue analysis to check tubular joints. The detailed
calculation considerations should be referred to section 16, API RP 2A.

Fig.3 Single-Column Platform Fig.4 Single-Column & Three-Pile

(1 well)
Platform (1~3 wells)

Main Types of Minimum Structures

Minimum structures are defined as structures which can satisfy the
requirements of well numbers less than 6 and have the basic facilities to
ensure the export of oil and gas. Comparing to conventional platforms,
minimum structures have the following features:
1) Structural framing, which provides less reserve strength and
redundancy than conventional platforms;
2) Structures can be built easily and quickly so that the fabrication
cost is relatively low;
3) Oil driller can be used for installation so that the use of large
derrick is unnecessary.

Fig.5 Four-Pile Platform

(3~6 wells)

213

Fig.6 JZ20-2 NW
(3 wells)

Fig.8 One-Conductor Protector

Fig.7 BZ34-3/5
(3 wells)

If the well numbers are not more than 6, more conductors are used as
protectors. In order to improve the ability to resist environmental
loadings, braces are added to connect the conductors as a whole. The
braces can only be set above water surface for the work will be done at
sea. For this type of structure, jam ice should be considered which will
result in large ice force and threaten the safety of such structures.
Figure 9 gives a project example.

Offshore Platform Structure Types in Nanpu Oilfield

During the practice of developing Jidong Nanpu Oilfield, minimum
structures have been widely used because of their easy fabrication,
short installation time and low production cost. Several minimum
structure types are frequently used which are presented in the following
sections.
Conductor Protecting Well
For single well, one conductor can be used if it can protect the well
from environmental loadings. Such type of conductor is featured by
deep penetrations, large diameters---usually 850mm and big thickness
of 45mm in key positions. At a specific elevation, a deck with an area
of 25m2 or so is installed to set Christmas tree and navigation System.
Table 1 gives the record of one conductor protector and Fig.8 gives a
project example.
Length of
Diameter Thickness
Overall Penetration
Section No.
every part
(mm)
(mm)
Length (m) m
(m)
0.20
73.34
Shoe
0.2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

850
850
850
850
850
850
850/762
762

30.00
30.00
38.00
45.00
45.00
45.00
26.00
26.00

10.06
10.46
10.43
10.41
10.40
10.40
10.37
0.61

10.26

73.14

20.72
31.15
41.56
51.96
62.36
72.73
73.34

63.08
52.62
42.19
31.78
21.38
10.98
0.61

Fig.9 Model of Multi-Conductor Protector

The above two structure types have the lowest investment and they can
be installed by oil-driller.
Single Protective Pile
If the ice force is very large and the calculation results can not satisfy
the requirements of rules when one conductor protect single well, a
protective pile can be used. The protective is driven through mud-line
and has specific penetration. Mud is grouted between pile and
conductor, so they can be formed into a whole structure to resist
environmental loadings.

Table 1 Conductor Record

In view of its low redundancy and weak reliability of such structures,
the safety factor of extreme conditions should be 1.5 and the deflection
of mud-line point should not exceed 0.25 of the conductor diameter.

The following figure gives a project example.

214

Conventional platform
If the well numbers are more than 6, conventional types such as four
legged, six legged or eight legged steel platforms will be chosen. The
technology of such type of platform is relatively mature and the
structure has high reliability. The deck, jacket and piles are fabricated
separately onshore and transported to site. The jacket is installed at first,
then piles are driven through jacket legs and then the deck is set on
piles. The fabrication cost and installation cost of conventional
platforms are higher than the above minimum structures.
Figure 12 gives a project example.

Fig.10 Single Protective Pile

To be the same as single conductor, single protective pile has low
redundancy and weak reliability, so the load factor of extreme
conditions should be 1.5 and the deflection of mud-line point should
not exceed 0.25 of conductor diameter.
Simplified Protective structure
If the well numbers are not more than 6, and conductors can not protect
wells from ice loading, simplified protective structure will be an
alternative. The structure is formed by three or four vertical protective
pipes through which conductors can be driven. In this case, conductors
are also used as piles. Braces are added to connect vertical pipes.
Simplified protective structure can be fabricated onshore and
transported to site together with the upper deck. Conductors are driven
by oil driller and the pile driven time is saved. This type of structure
has low costs but the distance of the vertical pipes is limited to the
reach of the oil driller ability and if the distance of the pipe is less than
six times of pipe diameter, jam ice is considered which result in large
ice force and threatens the safety of such structures. Figure 11 gives a
project example.

Fig.12 Model of Conventional Platform

CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents the offshore platform structure types used in Nanpu
Oil field. Minimum structures are widely used because of low cost.
While, the choice of minimum structure is determined by service life,
return period of extreme conditions and the environmental loadings, etc.
Comparing to conventional platforms, minimum structures have the
following characteristics:
1) They can be built easily and quickly so that the fabrication cost is
relatively low;
2) Oil driller can be used for installation so that large derrick is
unnecessary.
3) Conductors can be used as piles to resist environmental loadings.
4) The design, fabrication and installation of the structure have a
close relationship with drilling work.
5) Under the action of environmental loadings, the structure is more
compliant.
6) The reliability of minimum structure is poor and is more liable to
damage.
7) The application of minimum structure is limited.

Fig.11 Model of Simplified Protective Structure

215

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