Deniz Ekici, PE, PMP

The offshore energy industry continues to grow worldwide into new frontiers using larger than ever, marine equipment. Much of this equipment is infrastructure fabricated at yards located inland from traditional marine terminals which then requires specialized road transports to be used. Concurrently, Marine Assurance agencies are being called upon to act as the verification agency for these transports with one of their primary goals being to ensure the safe transport of the equipment.… Show more

The offshore energy industry continues to grow worldwide into new frontiers using larger than ever, marine equipment. Much of this equipment is infrastructure fabricated at yards located inland from traditional marine terminals which then requires specialized road transports to be used. Concurrently, Marine Assurance agencies are being called upon to act as the verification agency for these transports with one of their primary goals being to ensure the safe transport of the equipment.

Despite the relatively high number of marine equipment public road transports, the importance of robust securing of cargo is often underestimated in the industry. Additionally, the required operational Quality Assurance/ Quality Control (QAQC) procedures to be applied for a successful and safe operation are often disregarded. One of the main contributors to these issues is the lack of common guidelines recognized across the industry. The correct understanding of the requirements for the road transport will permit reliable and cost-effective operations to be performed in a timely manner.
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This paper aims to highlight the basic differences between the site-specific assessment analysis (SSAA) of the jack-up units used in the offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) industry and the ship-shaped jack-up installation vessels used in the offshore wind industry. Whether used in O&G or in Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs), jack-ups typically require both geotechnical analysis of the seabed conditions and structural analysis of the elevated condition under various loading scenarios to ensure suitability for… Show more

This paper aims to highlight the basic differences between the site-specific assessment analysis (SSAA) of the jack-up units used in the offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) industry and the ship-shaped jack-up installation vessels used in the offshore wind industry. Whether used in O&G or in Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs), jack-ups typically require both geotechnical analysis of the seabed conditions and structural analysis of the elevated condition under various loading scenarios to ensure suitability for a given location. An SSAA is a generally acknowledged means of verifying that the jack-up can perform satisfactorily in the elevated condition at a particular site.

With developments in the offshore wind industry within the last decade or so, a modified version of the O&G industry approach to assessing the elevated condition may be used for OWF applications. For example, a comparative approach may be employed, where site parameters are compared to the design capability of the jack-up. The benefit of the comparative approach is that, other than foundation assessment, no further analysis is required. This approach may, however, be conservative for some locations. In the event of location-specific aspects being non-comparable, then an SSAA may be required for a particular location.

Although in principal similar, there are differences between the O&G and OWF approaches to site-specific assessment of jack-ups. The aim of this paper is to summarize the differences between these two applications of jack-up technology, particularly with respect to assessing elevated operations, and to increase the awareness of these differences among stakeholders in the fast-developing OWF sector.
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The offshore wind industry is experiencing significant global growth and with the first offshore wind project in the United States currently under construction, the budding U.S. market is poised for growth. One of the significant differentiators between new entrant markets such as the U.S. and the established European market, is the existence of an established and relatively mature supply chain. Even with the developed supply chain in Europe, there is still significant opportunity for cost… Show more

The offshore wind industry is experiencing significant global growth and with the first offshore wind project in the United States currently under construction, the budding U.S. market is poised for growth. One of the significant differentiators between new entrant markets such as the U.S. and the established European market, is the existence of an established and relatively mature supply chain. Even with the developed supply chain in Europe, there is still significant opportunity for cost reduction and effective supply chain management can be a key factor for realizing these opportunities. Construction of offshore wind projects requires a robust supply chain management system to manage the complex logistics and flows of goods and services. The serial nature of the manufacturing and installation of offshore wind farm components combined with the large sizes of the components necessitates specialized equipment and approaches to supply chain management. In emerging markets such as the U.S., additional challenges associated with vessel restrictions (e.g the Jones Act[1] and the Cargo Preference Act[2]), port infrastructure limitations, and limited domestic manufacturing of key components increase the need for strong supply chain management to ensure successful projects. The installation and transportation infrastructure, equipment, and logistics represent critical areas of the supply chain and there are numerous areas where the U.S. market can build upon experience from European experience. As the offshore wind industry develops in North America, effective supply chain management will be critical to delivering the first projects and ensuring offshore wind can be a competitive contributor to the energy supply mix. Show less

Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) operations have a significant growth potential outside of the North Sea, which is the only part of the world at the moment with a significant operational offshore wind farm presence. However, there are multiple pilot projects around the world in progress. Similar to other construction industries, one of the most critical and high risk phases of a project is the installation phase, particularly the marine components. Marine operations are inherently more complex… Show more

Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) operations have a significant growth potential outside of the North Sea, which is the only part of the world at the moment with a significant operational offshore wind farm presence. However, there are multiple pilot projects around the world in progress. Similar to other construction industries, one of the most critical and high risk phases of a project is the installation phase, particularly the marine components. Marine operations are inherently more complex compared to land-based installation operations, due to involvement of more sophisticated machinery to address the hindrances of performing construction activities in the marine environment. This paper highlights some of the critical installation points in a typical offshore wind farm project, as experienced first-hand during recent offshore installation campaigns in Northern Europe. Show less

Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) construction operations are expensive and complex; they require thorough and multi-layered design, verification and certification phases. Besides established Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) Contractors knowledgeable to OWF installation operations, there are other types of players in the market; new entrants in the market with limited offshore experience who tend to bring their onshore wind farm experience, supplemented with installation… Show more

Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) construction operations are expensive and complex; they require thorough and multi-layered design, verification and certification phases. Besides established Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) Contractors knowledgeable to OWF installation operations, there are other types of players in the market; new entrants in the market with limited offshore experience who tend to bring their onshore wind farm experience, supplemented with installation managers recruited from offshore oil and gas industry, and proficient offshore marine contractors with limited OWF experience. In principle, this approach is feasible given the fact that there are simply not enough experienced project managers and engineers with experience in offshore wind farm applications to meet the needs of the industry. The problem at this point reveals itself in the absence of a common, holistic, understanding of the OWF project risk items among stakeholders. When project partners are inexperienced in various aspects of OWF construction operations, the benefit of Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) participation, on behalf of the insurance underwriters, is realized in risk mitigation through their oversight and certification of the planned activities. Taking a holistic approach with early integration of all partners involved in the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation of OWF construction activities, along with insurers and MWS, reduces the risk profile with greater chance of success, minimizing likelihood of an insurance claim. Show less

OWF operations are expensive and complex. They require thorough and multi-layered design, verification and certification phases. Besides established EPCI Contractors, there are new entrants in the market with limited offshore experience, who tend to bring onboard their onshore wind farm experience supplemented with installation managers recruited from offshore oil and gas Industry. The problem at this point is the absence of a common denominator among stakeholders. The finance industry is well… Show more

OWF operations are expensive and complex. They require thorough and multi-layered design, verification and certification phases. Besides established EPCI Contractors, there are new entrants in the market with limited offshore experience, who tend to bring onboard their onshore wind farm experience supplemented with installation managers recruited from offshore oil and gas Industry. The problem at this point is the absence of a common denominator among stakeholders. The finance industry is well versed with the risk management and mitigation knowledge associated with offshore construction industry, hence requires participation of an MWS to oversee and certify the thoroughness of the planned marine operations.

MWS acts on behalf of the insurance underwriters to ensure that the terms and conditions of the marine insurance warranty clauses of the insurance policy are fulfilled by means of evaluating operational risks and assessing the feasibility of working practices via technical and practical reviews supplemented with on-site attendance.

The critical decision met by the project team is to decide when and how to involve the MWS in these complicated matrix operations to overcome common technical and managerial shortcomings and to streamline the overall operational flow in these progressively larger and intricately complex undertakings.
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OWF projects are fast-paced with cost and schedule pressures exerted on their contractors, amplifying the importance of sound QMS and Project Execution Plan (PEP) documents. The OWF industry can score significant gains by adopting best practices developed by other mature energy industries, such as oil & gas and nuclear. Marine oil & gas operations are inherently complex. Soon after its inception, the industry reached the rightful conclusion that the commercial and operational success of… Show more

OWF projects are fast-paced with cost and schedule pressures exerted on their contractors, amplifying the importance of sound QMS and Project Execution Plan (PEP) documents. The OWF industry can score significant gains by adopting best practices developed by other mature energy industries, such as oil & gas and nuclear. Marine oil & gas operations are inherently complex. Soon after its inception, the industry reached the rightful conclusion that the commercial and operational success of marine operations heavily depends on the thoroughness of the planning that precedes the actual operation. The nuclear energy industry controls quality using a cradle-to-grave approach. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 (NQA-1) document covers the entire range of Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) applications of a major engineering project and is the backbone of many modern QMS documents developed by large turnkey Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) contractors. The QMS sets the road map for a project from quality point of view. The PEP is built on the principles of the QMS and describes the execution phases of the project. This paper provides an overview of the value that can be added to OWF projects by implementing solid QMS and PEP systems, as well as best practices inherited from other mature energy industries. Show less

The paper discussed various approaches in onshore wind turbine foundation design applications and how they are affected by local and international design standards and code requirements.