Chapter One
Structures in the
Offshore Environment
James F. Wilson
Offshore structures, constructed on or above the continental shelves and on
the adjacent continental slopes, take many forms and serve a multitude of purposes:
towers for microwave transmission, installations for power generation,
portable pipeline systems for mining the ocean floor, and a few platforms and
floating islands that serve as resort hotels. Most structures offshore, however,
have been built to support the activities of petroleum industries-activities
that include the exploration, drilling, production, storage, and transportation
of oil. Exploratory drilling is done from mobile platforms or carefully positioned
ships; production and storage operations involve more permanent structures;
and pipelines, buoys, and mooring systems for floating structures and ships
support all oil acquisition activities.
The design of marine structures compatible with the extreme offshore environmental
conditions is a most challenging and creative task for the contemporary
ocean e ... read full excerpt from Dynamics of Offshore Structures, 2nd Edition ebook
