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You've got it, however not only producing wells, but also injection wells (water/gas). A drilling rig/ship will have drilled the planned wells from a single location, with the subsequent control hardware being installed. This is why there is a perennial need for ROV operations for routine maintenance/repair of subsea infrastructure.Quote:
Originally Posted by ootai
MendipQuote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
Thanks for the information I remember a long time ago doing a little bit of study on oil and gas mining/drilling but I wasn't sure of how it really works.
As for you getting Sinovac in Korat before you left i.e. "Had I had the Sinovac a couple of months ago I'd still be in exactly the same situation.."
That is not true IMHO as you would have had some protection rather none as is the case at the moment.
As for getting more than 2 shots of anything that doesn't really worry me at all but then I am closer to the end than you, based on age that is, but maybe not from a Covid risk point of view.
As you first mentioned, directional drilling plays a huge part now... but many satellite developments are many km away from a field centre... advances in the seismic industry allow continued new discoveries, many of which are in the vicinity of existing oil fields.
New wells are drilled and capped with a wellhead. Several wellheads may be connected to a single subsea manifold/template via 'jumpers' which are often flexible production lines. The product passes through the manifolds which help control flow and connect to larger diameter flowlines (gas, condensate or oil) which then tie back to existing filed infrastructure maybe 20 or 30km away for initial processing and transport to shore. These days all control panels on wellheads and manifolds are designed to be ROV-friendly... valves may need closing/opening during shutdowns for example, and valves may need replacing. A lot of operations can be controlled via umbilicals from a platform, but not all. ROVs have largely taken over from divers for maintenance of new developments now... mainly due to deep water (outwith diving capabilities), HSE and cost. Divers are very expensive.
We now have 3.5 metre seas which is getting towards our working limit... but the weather isn't due to come up any more so we can leave the ROV down and hopefully work through it. This does slow our progress down though, as all of this work is close to platforms and now we're not allowed to position the vessel upwind of any structure... that's known as a 'blow-on situation', meaning that if the vessel lost power we could drift on to a platform.
The weather's forecast to remain on the limit for the next few days and there's already talk about next Wednesday's port call being delayed by a day, which would suit me fine for my Friday Covid jab. If we get delayed by a couple of days though I'll be buggered.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...3&d=1631963428
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...4&d=1631963457
Getting queasy just looking at that. :)
*raises hand*Quote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
A newber Q, if I may.
How do they measure the precise swell? (I presume the 3.5 meter waves are called a swell)
Are there markings on the side of the ships and rig's legs that can be observed and noted?
What is the ship's working limit, 4m?
Does each ship have a different one depending on size etc, or is it an industry standard?
Imagine being stuck out there in January. I suppose it could go both ways though: you learn to live with it or it scares the shit out of you and you fuck it off the first chance you get.Quote:
Originally Posted by Edmond
AKA doing an Eddo.Quote:
Originally Posted by hallelujah
It does look grim!
Mendip,
I got Moderna the day before yesterday...I was really tired yesterday and my arm felt like I'd been stabbed in it. Today, I feel fine but the arm is still a bit sore. Since you're onboard, I'd recommend getting the jab in the offhand arm, that way your wanking isn't affected.
But isn’t that the point? Let your right arm get numb and it will feel like someone else is doing it!
^^ This thread has headed in an unexpected direction, but many thanks for your concern Topper and I will indeed request the shot in my left arm... unless of course I decide to spice things up a bit and go for my right arm, as KW is right on the money there.
The problem will be getting my request across to the vaccinator... I believe that the verb 'to wank' in Norwegian is 'runke'... but I may have to rely on hand gestures. I just hope it's a male vaccinator or I may end up getting arrested.
In fact I think there is a common misconception that offshore workers just retreat to their cabins and furiously masturbate away while off shift. There are many other things to do while out at sea... I would have thought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edmond
Many questions here... our working limit is around 4 metre wave height and that's defined by a safe working limit to launch and/or recover the ROV. It's not an exact science because it also depends on swell, wave period, etc. A long wavelength is easier to cope with than a short wave length, etc etc. In reality other factors such as an upcoming crew change will also come in to play... limits seem to get pushed if guys are eager not to delay getting off the boat and getting home.
The safe working limit is therefore not an industry standard, it depends on the vessel, equipment and operations. The vessel I worked on last year had a similar ROV but without a good launch/recovery system and their maximum working limit was around 2.5 metres.
Also, as has happened here just now, if the weather comes up while we're working, but is forecast to come down again, we may just keep the ROV in water and work through the bad weather... it's the launch and recovery that are critical.
I can see two main problems with painting a scale to measure waves on the side of a ship... firstly, the ship moves with the swell, and secondly, you wouldn't be able to see it from on board.
There are many clever ways of measuring wave height and an experienced skipper will estimate it spot on by just looking at the sea... but me... I just look at the weather forecast.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...8&d=1632011031
The pale blue line is our main reference... Significant Wave Height. The top of the pale blue shading is Maximum Wave Height. Also of course the black line showing wind direction and strength is pretty crucial.
Waves and swell are two different things and can come from two different directions... waves are caused by the wind whereas swell is the general movement of the surface and is generally caused by old waves from a different location. For example, you rarely get waves when working in West Africa but there's often a rolling swell of 2 or 3 metres coming in from the South Atlantic.
To be honest the weather at the moment is no problem, it just gets annoying after a while and I've missed the gym for two consecutive nights now. The motion can get bad when we transit in bad weather as the skipper doesn't have the option of heading the vessel into the wind.
Swell - YouTube
Are you missing your gardener? :smile:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
Looking at your pics, luckily the waves aren't that high. One of the few things that I appreciate being under, rather than on the waterQuote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
^ Don't worry, I'm still in touch with the gardener... the daughter send me pics of the garden, I send a Line message to the gardener asking why the grass is so long, the pool is so green, etc etc... and he ignores it. But he does look after my dogs.
I'm lucky and have never suffered from seasickness, apart from the old says when joining a vessel half cut after the day in a bar. I know one guy who has suffered from seasickness his entire career and I don't know how he does it, it must be awful. And as for going in the water... snorkeling is as deep as I want to go. Diving has never offered the slightest temptation to me.
Yesterday the weather continued to come up and it has been consistently worse than the forecast. This has slowed us down a lot trying to complete the work close to Gullfaks C because the vessel can't be located directly upwind of the platform. This has meant deploying the ROV with a longer than optimal umbilical which has just made things a lot slower.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...9&d=1632095573
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At the end of my shift the weather was still coming up...
19 September 2021 - YouTube
Tonight when I got up we were still at the same location...
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...7&d=1632095498
All three of the ROV guys were at the midnight meal, which only meant one thing... WOW (Waiting On Weather).
A rare sight... this beast is rarely out of the water on this spread...
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...6&d=1632095484
It's looking like we won't start working until around breakfast time at the earliest.
20 September 2021 - YouTube
This could well mean a small delay to our planned port call on Wednesday which is perfect for me... my Friday vaccine jab is looking more and more likely! I have to hide my glee though as most people are pissed off, having made plans for their arrivals home.
And more good news... I've eventually sourced some strong glue... from the Chief Engineer. Once the glue's gone off my trainers should be fully operational for Monday night in the gym!
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...8&d=1632095509
iphones have I think , a built in manometer -I know they give you a height above sea levelQuote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
there may be an app that will tell you how bouncy bouncy you are
Really enjoying this oily thread.. it kinda puts it all into perspective. As a Lad (15 years old) my first foray into oil exploration saw me I the Gibson. Desert with a grand Title as JUGGY. I dug it though.but in hindsight probably should of stayed in school and been a geologist
I have no problem being on a boat, but those platforms scare me!
^ I once had a basket transfer from the helideck of the Oseberg A platform (similar height to Gullfaks C) to the back deck of a survey vessel... THAT was scary. Thankfully those practices are long gone.
Yesterday we finished our work at Gullfaks and had a 12 hour transit down to Grane... for the last work scope of this campaign.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...2&d=1632222328
At first we had to wait a bit for a supply vessel to move away.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...3&d=1632222342
And then it was all systems go!
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...4&d=1632222389
If all goes well this will be the last dive of the trip. We have 17 hours work here, then a 6 hour transit in to Haugesund and should be alongside by midday tomorrow... all subject to change of course.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...5&d=1632222404
The Grane field is interesting (well... to a geo anyway). Equinor have installed a PRM (Permanent Reservoir Monitoring) array of cables on the seabed above the hydrocarbon reservoir 1700 metres below. There are around 16 cables (I think) spaced around 300 metres apart, each of which is around 12km in length to cover a 12km x 4.5km area. These cables are seismic streamers and have been trenched and/or rock dumped at huge expense to protect against trawling damage. The streamers acquire data from a seismic vessel sound source, from which incredibly detailed models of the reservoir can be produced to maximise yield... and increase total yield (I think) by around 10%. Despite the huge cost of installing these permanent cable arrays, increased yield will be worth billions of NOK... a good investment. The Norwegians have never been afraid of using new technology.
Maybe a bit boring... but for anyone interested...
Seismic cables on the seabed to increase oil recovery - equinor.com
That is interesting.
Quote:
Today, Statoil recovers 50 per cent of the oil from our operated fields on the Norwegian shelf. The world average is 35 per cent. Every extra per cent we recover from our fields constitute a value of NOK 200 billion with today's oil prices.
impressive.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...3&d=1632222342
This looks surprisingly dangerous. :)
In the case of a major disaster, is there a level of command seniority in those life boats? For example, if a life boat fits 12 people, and 7 people are in one, will one of those 7 be in command based on their seniority, or can they all just say Fuck this for a game of soldiers and hit the launch button?
Is there a sort of code of No one gets left behind, or is it generally accepted that if no one else is visible and the thing's doing a Deepwater Horizon then you launch the fokin' thing?
There's a new drama out soon called The Rig. I think it's about ghosts though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint Willy
I am sure we have had discussions before about the death embrace of billy pugh as you lunge and bounce on the rear deck of the bucking work boatQuote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
the video shows flat and stable transfer which is a lot different to reality
Billy Pugh X-904 Personnel Transfer Device - YouTube
^ In reality the baskets are also a lot older and not so well designed as the one in the video. When working away from the North Sea ship to ship basket transfers are still fairly common and I have no problem with those. It was descending from a platform helideck maybe 70 metres above sea level that I had a big problem with. I'm not great with heights and clutched that rope netting like a vice.
^^^ Ed, I've never worked on platforms but in the case of lifeboat drills on a boat, a muster is first taken and once everyone has been accounted for, we board a lifeboat. All the time there will be a couple on the bridge to maintain ship's heading, but in a real emergency I guess they would also board a lifeboat if there was no hope. Many boats, such as the one I'm currently working on, have no lifeboat but a few life rafts instead.
On a platform I imagine everyone is assigned to a certain lifeboat and would muster at a nearby station in the case of an emergency... and lifeboats would depart as and when everyone for that particular boat was present. I guess in reality it all depends how catastrophic an emergency is.
The freefall lifeboats in the pic of Grane above were, I think, (PAG would know) introduced after the Piper Alpha disaster. Traditional lifeboats are winched vertically down from a platform/vessel on wires, and released on hitting the sea. This is a big problem if there is burning oil covering the sea in the vicinity of a platform, and so the freefall lifeboats are now used... they hit the sea at an angle which automatically takes them away from the danger. An obvious development really... with the benefit of hindsight.
Sometimes after doing aerobatics :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
Lifeboat Fail - YouTube
^ Chinese Acrobats ...
BTW, my kids would love to ride that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Headworx
What the Beijing Duck.Quote:
Originally Posted by David48atTD
I probably wouldn't be wishing for a fire and mass casualty explosion, but that does look like fun. :)