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Since the Recommended Practice for Design, Selection, Operation and Maintenance of Marine Drilling Riser Systems (API RP 16Q) was first issued in 1993, the focus on drilling operations in deep water has significantly increased. With that evolution comes the need to reassess the way we design and operate such risers to ensure the safety and integrity of drilling risers designed and operated in deepwater environments. Under the auspices of the DeepStar program, substantial work was commissioned in 1999 that lead to the drafting of guidelines to address several issues not addressed within the existing RP. In a subsequent Joint Industry Project sponsored by DeepStar and in collaboration with API, MCS International has brought forward this work to produce a major update of RP16Q and an associated Technical Report (API 16TR1). This paper describes the contents of the revised standard, in terms of the substantive changes from the 1st edition and the significant additions drafted to broaden its applicability to deepwater drilling risers. The revision of API RP 16Q, which is proposed for submission as an ISO Standard, incorporates the new guidelines developed under DeepStar and supplements this with additional guidelines to address other issues. Guidelines developed for DeepStar have been incorporated in the areas of riser analysis methodology, riser operations and riser integrity. Several additions to the existing RP16Q text cover analysis methodology associated with soil structure modelling, coupled analysis, drift-off analysis, weak point analysis and other issues. Additional guidelines have been included which relate to operational procedures and riser integrity issues and these are described by the paper. This first substantial revision of API RP 16Q provides the offshore industry with an improved recommended practice that has been substantially extended to address issues associated with the design and operation of deepwater marine drilling risers. Background DeepStar Phase IV Under the auspices of the DeepStar program, substantial work was commissioned during 1999 and 2000 by the DeepStar Drilling Committee 4502. The work was designed to address several issues associated with the design and operation of deepwater drilling risers that were not explicitly dealt with in the existing text of API RP16Q. The deliverables of this work were a set of guidelines and worked examples that provided sufficient detail to supplement the existing text of API RP16Q and provide additional guidance for deepwater drilling in water depths up to 10,000ft. This work, delivered by several contractors, lead to the drafting of "Deepwater Drilling Riser Methodologies, Operations and Integrity Guidelines" in February 2001 as an integrated collation of all of the Phase IV DeepStar work. The authors and the other contractors produced and issued several documents to DeepStar that supplement and sometimes complement the text of the existing API Drilling Riser Recommended Practice [RP16Q]. These guidelines were intended to ‘modernize’ the existing RP and bring it into the current era of ultra-deepwater drilling. A breakdown of the workscopes associated with the drafting of these guidelines is presented in Figure 1.

The Steel Catenary Riser (SCR) concept offers advantages over other riser concepts and has been widely deployed worldwide. The first deepwater SCR was installed in the Gulf of Mexico in 1994. Since then, more than 100 SCRs have been installed for many types of deepwater floaters (Spars, TLPs, SEMIs, and FPSOs) in the deepwater fields of West of Africa, the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), and Offshore Brazil. As the second of two companion papers, this paper presents the state-of-the-art of key analysis techniques of deepwater SCRs while the first paper addresses the design methodology [R. Song, P. Stanton, Ref. 4]. First of all, the procedure for analysis of deepwater SCRs is discussed and presented in more detail than given in the first paper and is also illustrated in an analysis flowchart. Wave theory applicable to deepwater SCR analysis and time domain vs. frequency domain analysis approaches are described and discussed. More focus is given to the strength analysis including discussion and comparison of regular wave and random wave approaches. Attention is paid to the vortex induced vibration (VIV) analysis including discussion of modal response analysis and VIV parameter selections. For SCRs on semisubmersibles and FPSOs, vessel heave-induced VIV needs to be taken into account, and a corresponding time-domain approach is presented. Similarly, for Spars and deep draft semisubmersibles, vortex-induced motion (VIM) fatigue damage of SCRs is discussed in more detail. Particular attention is also given to the analysis of SCR compression in the touch-down zone (TDZ) and corresponding acceptance criteria are presented. The application of fracture mechanics to engineering criticality assessment (ECA) is explored. Two examples of deepwater SCRs corresponding to a semi and a Spar are given to illustrate the presented methodology.

Steel Catenary Riser (SCR) concept offers great advantages over others and has been widely deployed worldwide. The first deepwater SCR was installed in the Gulf of Mexico in 1994. Since then, more than 100 SCRs have been installed for many types of deepwater floaters (SPAR, TLP, SEMI, and FPSO) in the deepwater fields of West of Africa, Gulf of Mexico, and Offshore Brazil. This paper presents the state-of-the-art of the design methodology of deepwater SCRs. First of all, the design procedure is discussed and is also illustrated in a flowchart. Material selection is discussed in terms of weldability, corrosion resistance, and effect on riser performance. Different wall thickness sizing criteria and design codes are compared. The three most commonly used types of SCR hang off system (flex joint, stress joint, and pull tube) are presented and their application limitations are discussed. Strakes and fairings are discussed and compared as the vortex induced vibration (VIV) suppression devices. Focus is given to the design of SCR global configuration and riser routing. Effect of different floaters on the global configuration design is discussed and illustrated through examples. Thermal performance requirements versus riser global response are traded off. Corrosion, thermal insulation, and anti-abrasion coating materials available for deepwater SCRs are summarized. SCR cathodic protection design methodology is summarized and a design guideline is given. The number one challenge of deepwater SCR design is fatigue. Selection of SN curve, effect of sweet and sour service on fatigue performance, stress concentration factor (SCF) calculation, full scale fatigue testing requirements, application of fracture mechanics to engineering criticality assessment (ECA) is discussed. Fatigue mitigation design is also explored supported by examples. Design of the SCR subsea interface to flowline and pipeline is presented.

An umbilical is an assembly of fluid conduits (thermoplastic hoses and steel tubes), cables (electrical and fibre optic), and power cores, joined together for flexibility and over-sheathed, with or without armouring, for mechanical strength and stability. The emphasis of this paper is on the global configuration design and analysis of offshore umbilicals. The extreme and interference analysis methodologies are presented. One example is given for the application of very small OD electrical umbilical in shallow water in West Africa. The proposed global configurations are presented. Another example is presented for the application of a hydraulic umbilical in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico. The selection of the global umbilical configuration in deep water depends on the host vessel. In other words, the vessel motion characteristics may dominate the umbilical configuration selection for the deep water application. This paper also deals with the influence of the bottom current on the global design of the umbilical in deep water. It can be concluded that an optimized umbilical global configuration, which meets the strength and interference design criteria, can be achieved for the application of a small OD electrical umbilical in shallow water in West Africa as well as for a steel tube designed hydraulic umbilical in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico.