2H Launches The Second Phase Of Its Measurement-based Wellhead Fatigue JIP

Advanced systems engineering expert, 2H, has launched the second phase of its Measurement-based Wellhead Fatigue joint industry project (JIP) which aims to improve riser, wellhead and conductor fatigue estimates and make drilling operations more reliable and efficient.

23 May 2023

In phase one of the project, 2H collaborated with nine major operators to gather and analyse field measurements from ten drilling campaigns in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. The data covered a range of environments, water depths, soil characteristics, riser and wellhead configurations, and vessel types. Findings from the analysis verified that industry assumptions for wave and vortex-induced vibration (VIV) fatigue assessments are conservative and remaining fatigue life tends to be higher than that determined by typical design methods. A more accurate prediction of remaining fatigue life can eliminate the need for costly mitigation methods or unnecessary upgrades and downtime during severe events.

In the second phase, the field data analysed in phase one will be used to explain uncertainties identified in the riser, wellhead and conductor fatigue analysis. The findings will further improve the accuracy of future wellhead fatigue assessments and provide an industry consensus on design methodology.

"Wellhead and conductor fatigue challenges have become more prevalent in recent years due to the use of newer generation vessels with larger blowout preventers (BOPs) and longer drilling operations being conducted in more harsh environments,” explains Bulent Mercan, 2H Project Manager. “The first phase of the Measurement-based Wellhead Fatigue JIP proved to be a great industry collaboration to solve this problem through sharing resources. A reliable set of analytical parameters leveraging diverse field measurements will lead to improved accuracy and more efficient drilling operations.

“There are a lot of learnings from the field measurements. We plan to further utilise the datasets to address some uncertainties in the analysis. The findings will be used in the near term to increase the accuracy of wave and VIV fatigue assessments and will eventually inform a revision of industry riser design codes.”

Currently, seven major oil and gas operators have agreed to join the second phase of the JIP. 2H invites other interested industry partners to participate and in turn benefit from the field data insights. Interested parties should contact Bulent Mercan for more information: bulent.mercan@2hoffshore.com

Full details of the work carried out in phase one is summarised in this paper, which was presented at the Offshore Technology Conference in 2020.

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Bulent Mercan

Technical Advisor - Integrity Monitoring

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