OBJECTIVES:

• Know the techniques of off-

shore construction: marine
works, oil rings and
platforms.
 Offshore construction is the installation of
structures and facilities in a marine environment,
usually for the production and transmission of
electricity, oil, gas and other resources. It is also
called maritime engineering.
Offshore construction includes foundations engineering,
structural design, construction, and/or repair of offshore
structures, both commercial and military, including:
 Subsea oil and gas developments
 Offshore platforms – fixed platforms,[2][3] semi-
submersibles, spars, tension leg platforms (TLPs), floating
production storage and offloading (FPSOs), etc.
 Floating oil and gas platforms – semi-submersibles, spars,
TLPs, FPSOs, etc.
 Offshore wind power
 Submarine pipelines
• Offshore structures have developed rapidly over the last
three to four decades. Much of this has been driven by
the need to exploit deeper waters as a result of depletion
of shallow-water easy-to-reach fields, buoyed by a
generally continually rising price of oil and, more recently,
gas.
 Discussed below are the techniques that are shaping the future of the
marine construction.

Caissons

A caisson is retaining watertight structure used to work for the construction of a concrete
dam, on the foundation of a bridge pier or for the repair of ships. They are sunk through
water during the process of excavation of foundations to exclude water which eventually
becomes an essential part of the substructure. Caissons and cofferdams are selected
depending on site conditions. Caissons are a permanent structure used for the small area
where the water height is more than 12m.
Types of Caissons

Box Caissons: Box caissons are the prefabricated concrete boxes of various shapes
with water tight floor and walls, which are set down on the prepared bases.

Open Caissons: Open caissons are box type structure similar to box caissons except
that they don’t have a bottom face and mainly consists of vertical walls

Suction caissons: Suction caissons are defined as an upturned bucket that is

embedded in the marine sediment. The embedment is achieved either by pushing or by
creating negative pressure. Pneumatic caissons

Pneumatic caissons: These are the ones which are closed on top and open at the
bottom .The compressed air is used to exclude water from the caissons chamber. The
construction of this type of caisson is similar to the others expect that, the working
chamber and the shaft are made airtight.
Cofferdams

Cofferdams are temporary watertight enclosure pumped dry below the water line to execute
the building operation to be performed on the dry surface. Cofferdams are temporary
structures which are used for a large area with water height up to 12m.The typical cofferdam
consists of sheet piles set around a bracing frame and are driven in the soil sufficiently to cut
off the flow of soil and to develop lateral and vertical support and in some cases to cut the
flow of water. Components of cofferdams are: Sheet piling, Bracing frame and Concrete seal

Types of cofferdams

– Earthen cofferdam
– Rock-fill cofferdam
– Cellular cofferdam
– Single walled cofferdam
– Doubled cofferdam
– Crib cofferdam
• Often also known as an oil rig or offshore platform, an oil
platform is a structure based out at sea for allowing oil to
be extracted from beneath the sea bed. The oil is
extracted by drilling wells. Oil platforms are pretty big,
sophisticated structures; the people who work on them
stay there to work for periods of time, so it has facilities
for eating and sleeping.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF OIL PLATFORMS
• There are different types of oil platforms, which affect how each one is
built. Some platforms may be attached to the bottom of the seabed, some
may float and others are made up of an artificial island.
Fixed platforms
A fixed platform is built on steel or concrete legs,
which are anchored onto the bottom of the
ocean. They support a deck with area for drilling
rigs, crew accommodation and production
facilities. As these platforms are fixed to the seabed,
they are built for long-term use in that area. They are
made from vertical sections of tubular steel, known
as steel jackets, as well as floating steel and concrete.
• Spar platforms
Spar platforms are moored to the bottom of the ocean. They
consist of a cylindrical hull, a midsection or truss spar as it is known,
and the cell spar, which is constructed from numerous vertical
cylinders. It has a large counterweight at the base and doesn’t
depend on the mooring to hold it upright.
Floating platforms
Floating platforms are used in water depths of up to
approximately 2,000m. They are tethered to the
bottom of the ocean in a way that aims to reduce
vertical movement of the platform. Also known as a
tension-leg platform, they consist of four columns
and are often used as early production platforms for
bigger deepwater discoveries.
• Why are oil rigs in the ocean?
In that latter case, you get
underwater oil and offshore oil rigs. In
the “middle” of the ocean, the seafloor
is primarily basaltic crust generated by
volcanic activity at the mid-
ocean ridge. ... Which is fine, because
the water is too deep to be very
practical to drill on the sea floor
anyway.
 HOW DEEP DO OIL RIGS GO IN THE OCEAN?
• Depending on the rig type,
offshore rigs are rated to drill
in water depths as shallow
as 80 feet to as great
as 12,000 feet. The greatest
water depth a jackup can drill
in is 550 feet, and many
newer units have a rated
drilling depth of 35,000 feet.
DO OIL RIGS MOVE?

YES, when you start exploring a field

an oil rig has to be moved to that
location. You drill an exploratory well,
then install a multi well production
platform which produces either oil or
gas. ... So old wells are being revisited
and there is constant need
for rigs to move around.
PROS AND CONS IN OFFSHORE
CONSTRUCTION
PROS
1. INCREASED DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION LEADING TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND
DECREASED DEPENDENCY ON OIL-ECONOMIES FOR FULFILLING INDIVIDUAL DOMESTIC
PETROLEUM DEMAND;
2. SELF SUFFICIENCY IN OIL PRODUCTION LEADS TO REDUCTION OF DOMESTIC OIL
PRICES WHICH TAKES OFF A LOT OF INFLATIONARY PRESSURE THAT RESULTS FROM
PURCHASING OIL IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET;
3. OFFSHORE DRILLING CREATES MORE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE
DOMESTIC POPULATION AND THIS IS A GREAT BOOST TO THE OVERALL ECONOMY;
4. MORE COUNTRIES GOING FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING MEANS MORE COUNTRIES TO
IMPLEMENT PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AND ANTI-HAZARD EQUIPMENT FOR
PREVENTING AND FIXING OIL SPILLS AROUND DOMESTIC SHORES;
4. THE GOVERNMENT GETS TO EARN MORE AND HIGHER REVENUES WHEN IT OPENS
RESTRICTED AREAS TO ENTREPRENEURS IN RETURN FOR ROYALTIES. THIS INCREASES
THE NATIONAL INCOME AS WELL.
CONS
1. THE MAJOR NEGATIVE IMPACT OF OFFSHORE DRILLING IS BORNE BY THE
ENVIRONMENT AS THE CONTAMINATION OF WATER AS A RESULT OF OIL SPILLS IS FATAL
TO ALL MARINE LIFE IN THE LOCAL AND NEIGHBORING WATERS;
2. HUGE AMOUNTS OF FUNDING IS REQUIRED TO FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF
OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING FACILITIES AND FOR MAINTENANCE AND OBSERVATION OF
RELATED LOGISTICS ISSUES;
3. THE CHANCES OF POLLUTION TO THE COAST AND SURROUNDING AREAS IN
IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE OFFSHORE DRILLING FACILITY INCREASES GREATLY;
4. OFFSHORE DRILLING DOES NOT NECESSARILY REDUCE GASOLINE PRICES AS BESIDES
THE DIRECT RAW MATERIAL, A NUMBER OF OTHER VARIABLES ARE ALSO INVOLVED IN
DETERMINING GAS PRICES;
5. ALSO, THE QUESTION OF REDUCED INTERNATIONAL DEPENDENCY LOOMS LARGE AS
THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT ONE WOULD NOT NEED TO PURCHASE OIL FROM THE
INTERNATIONAL MARKET IF DOMESTIC OFFSHORE DRILLING IS STARTED BECAUSE IT ALL
DEPENDS ON THE EQUILIBRIUM OF DOMESTIC DEMAND FOR OIL AND THE ABILITY OF
OFFSHORE DRILLING ACTIVITIES TO FULLY SATISFY SUCH A DEMAND;