SEMI DESIGNED FOR CONVERSION TO DRILLING/PRODUCTION UNIT

The technical demands of deepwater drilling and production require that floating facilities be designed with more operational flexibility, more available deck loading, and more complex station keeping capabilities than those offered by the industry`s existing fleet of semisubmersibles. Field economics strictly define the limits of expenditure that can be applied to these kinds of facilities. For this reason, many operators and contractors investigate the feasibility of converting second generation semis into fifth generation units that will provide the ability to perform simultaneous drilling and production operations. One such conversion design is for the Ocean Legend, which uses the Ocean Victory class semisubmersible as a building block for developing a floating platform capable of carrying more than 12,000 long tons of variable deck load and operating in up to 10,000 ft of water. The design concept is to convert the existing cruciform shape of the Ocean Victory class semi into a squared-off shape. The squared-off shape yields main deck dimensions of 268 ft longitudinal by 242 ft transversely. This increase in deck area allows for expansion of drilling and ship services that will enable the vessel to work in ultradeep water and that will provide an additional 32,000 sq ft formore » two levels of production equipment. This design was developed to handle deepwater drilling and development individually, in specific stages, or in a phased development program. This paper reviews these design stages.« less