Subsea riser design and the challenges of deepwater oil & gas

We have been extracting hydrocarbons from subsea reservoirs for many decades, with offshore drilling and production moving into ever deeper water and increasingly harsh environments. The subsea riser is the pipeline that connects a well at the seabed, to a vessel or platform at the surface. The engineering challenges that must be overcome to develop subsea risers are huge, and are supported by a global industry of engineers, designers and technical experts.

Offshore wells can now be found in locations with challenges including water depths of up to 3 kilometres, severe weather conditions (wind, ocean currents, and wave heights approaching 20 metres), and lack of onshore infrastructure. The subsea riser must be able to safely withstand complex dynamic loading over the life of the field.

There are two distinct stages of developing a subsea reservoir: exploration and production. Exploration requires the drilling of wells, sometimes to a distance of several kilometres below the seabed, typically using existing drilling risers that must be optimised for use at a specific location. Production systems are typically bespoke designs, which are installed subsea with a view to achieving continuous production for a service life that may exceed 25 years. In all cases safety is paramount. This is achieved through industry experience, technological innovation, numerical analysis in the design phase, and condition monitoring.

This webinar gives an overview of the engineering challenges associated with subsea riser design, some examples of the problems faced, and how these can be overcome.