News

Storms in the Gulf of Mexico  

Weather conditions offshore can be incredibly harsh and, whilst offshore infrastructure is built to be sturdy, storms, hurricanes and other extreme weather can cause damage to structures located offshore. In some years, extreme weather can cause all sorts of damage – like one time when a series of large hurricanes battered the south coast of America. 

The Gulf of Mexico is a significant site for the global energy sector and is home to a large number of oil and gas pipelines and their associated platforms and hubs. In a typical year, structures in the Gulf of Mexico face a certain amount of ‘expected weathering’ and companies can expect to face around 5 days of named storm downtime in any one year.  

In one particular year, however, a series of hurricanes and tropical storms caused significantly more damage and almost a month of named storm downtime for some companies – in a single year! With so much storm damage in the area, it was important that repairs were conducted efficiently and expertly.  

 

O&G Platform Repair 

FoundOcean took on an IRM (Inspection, Repair and Maintenance) project on one of the platforms in the area, not named in this article.  

During the extreme weather conditions, waves had slammed into the top side of the platform, as well as tidal and wave impact causing damage to the structure. As a result, it was bent out of shape and urgently needed to be fixed.  

This platform was a very large structure, and the size of the structure played a part in how we approached the task.  

Once the damage had been assessed, it was decided that multiple members should be strengthened. FoundOcean’s expertise was called upon to mix and install the most appropriate grout for the repair.  

To do so, injection ports were created by drilling into the hollow leg at intervals. When we were ready to commence filling, this made for a very efficient process as we could fill much larger sections at a time.   

FoundOcean filled the members with a modified OPC-based grout mixed for higher strength and workability. (OPC = Ordinary Portland Cement.) To further improve project efficiency, we added a plasticiser to keep the cementitious matter fluid and prevent it from setting too quickly, allowing us to fill larger sections in a single operation than would otherwise have been possible with a neat OPC grout. 

 

Our expertise 

The repair required different grouts to be mixed for different parts of the structure. As well as the varied grout strengths, we also used different pumping durations to suit the different sizes of members to be filled. 

The knowledge and years of experience FoundOcean has in grout-mixing meant that the operators could rest assured that the platform members were being made as strong and secure as possible – exceptionally important in a region such as this which is likely to continue facing stormy conditions. 

Our expertise is an excellent asset in making sure offshore infrastructure has a long lifespan and can withstand the wild weather that it may see in its lifetime. 

 

For more information on FoundOcean’s experience and capabilities, contact the team on +44 1506 440330 or email info@foundocean.com