Running Fairings for Deepwater Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico - A Cost-Benefit Approach to Deciding the Faired Length

Abstract

The decision to run fairings on drilling risers is critical in terms of the additional cost to run fairings versus downtime cost from suspended operations due to current conditions causing excessive flex-joint angles. Making an informed decision, enhanced by actual predicted current conditions for a drilling program, is a valuable capability in planning to maximize drilling uptime and minimize downtime costs.This paper presents an innovative model which has been developed as a rational decision tool for determining the fairing requirements to mitigate predicted loop current events for proposed drilling programs in the Gulf of Mexico.