Hibernia Gravity Base Structure
Encyclopedia
The Hibernia Gravity Base Structure is the world's largest offshore oil platform
, on the Hibernia oilfield
south east of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
A 600 kilotonne gravity base structure
built after the Ocean Ranger
disaster, it sits in 80 metres (43.7 fathom) of water directly on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean 315 kilometres (195.7 mi) off of St. John's, Newfoundlandat 46°45′1.5722"N 48°46′58.5427"W .
This Gravity Base Structure is the first offshore oil structure designed to resist iceberg forces, and will support a topsides
weighing 39000 tonnes at towout, increasing to 58000 tonnes in operation. There were significant challenges faced by the engineering firms Doris Development Canada Ltd, Morrison Hershfield
Limited and Mobil Technology Company, in developing a structural solution with adequate strength which was also constructible. In addition, unusual design situations resulted from the construction methods and the structural components used.
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
, on the Hibernia oilfield
Hibernia (oil field)
Hibernia is an oil field in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.The production platform Hibernia is the world's largest oil platform and consists of a 37,000-tonne integrated topsides facility mounted on a 600,000-tonne gravity base structure...
south east of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
A 600 kilotonne gravity base structure
Gravity base structure
A gravity-based structure is a support structure held in place by gravity. A common application for a GBS is an offshore oil platform. These structures are often constructed in fjords since their protected area and sufficient depth are very desirable for construction...
built after the Ocean Ranger
Ocean Ranger
Ocean Ranger was a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Canadian waters on 15 February 1982. It was drilling an exploration well in the Grand Banks area, east of St. John's, Newfoundland, for Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd. with 84 crew members on board when it sank...
disaster, it sits in 80 metres (43.7 fathom) of water directly on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean 315 kilometres (195.7 mi) off of St. John's, Newfoundlandat 46°45′1.5722"N 48°46′58.5427"W .
This Gravity Base Structure is the first offshore oil structure designed to resist iceberg forces, and will support a topsides
Topsides
On an offshore oil platform, Topsides refers to the surface hardware installed. This includes the oil production plant, the accommodation block and the drilling rig...
weighing 39000 tonnes at towout, increasing to 58000 tonnes in operation. There were significant challenges faced by the engineering firms Doris Development Canada Ltd, Morrison Hershfield
Morrison Hershfield
Morrison Hershfield is an employee-owned professional services firm providing engineering and management consulting services in the areas of energy and...
Limited and Mobil Technology Company, in developing a structural solution with adequate strength which was also constructible. In addition, unusual design situations resulted from the construction methods and the structural components used.