Offshore Platforms

Offshore Oil Platforms

Offshore oil wells handle the task of recovering crude oil reserves from lake beds and ocean floors alike. The world's first offshore oil
rig was built in 1869, the same year that designer T.F. Rowland patented his offshore rig design. Rowland's concept resembles modern offshore drills, but his designs were used only in shallow waters. Developments in offshore technology wouldn't allow for deep sea drilling until after World War II. In 1947, deep water drilling began in the Gulf of Mexico, which remains one of the primary offshore sites today. On a global scale, there are 971 total offshore rigs comprised of 676 mobile rigs and 295 permanent platforms.
Offshore oil drilling is a successful enterprise, with a variety of oil rig jobs including driller, shakerhand, toolpusher, floormen, ballast controlman, barge engineer or rig welder. Offshore oil wells are sometimes the only crude oil production that a country has. The wells off the coast of northeast Australia's Barents Sea provides the country with nearly 90% of its total petroleum supply. Offshore oil rigs account for 25% of the United States natural gas reserves and 24% of its oil production. Estimates say that on average over the last several years almost 100 wells a year in the Barents Sea have been discovered. This leaves Australia's northern coast as a fertile front for oil extraction. The area could see an explosion of offshore rigs in the near future. Technology has enhanced offshore drilling, as depths of 2 miles can now be reached, drilled and mined. This is welcome news when considering that shallow water reserves are slowly being depleted.
Another offshore are poised for economic explosion are the Campos and Santos Basin that are located off the southeastern coast of Brazil. The Santos Basin is a relative newcomer that was discovered in October 2007. Experts differ over how much reserve is located here, but they can all agree that it is a substantial amount. The Santos Basin currently has less than 100 oil wells, but they present great challenges as some of the wells are located at depths of up to 2,140 meters. The Campos Basin, by contrast, is established and accounts for 80% of Brazil's total oil production at 1.8 million barrels per day through 1,130 total wells.

Offshore Drilling Platforms

For offshore drilling, it is crucial to construct a platform to maximize the drills' extraction, while at the same time ensuring the safety of the
workers by compensating for the water's natural movement. When the drills are in operation, there is a subsea drilling template that connects the underwater well to the floating platform. The subsea template is floated to the sea floor from the platform where it digs a small hole in the ground to "bury" itself into the seafloor. It remains connected to the platform through several elastic cables, which allow the drilling platform to sway while the subsea template remains anchored. Another component of offshore rigs is the blowout preventer, which is basically a large valve on the offshore rig that prevents oil from spilling out of the drill and mixing with water. The blowout preventer is operated by a blowout specialist. The piece called the "marine riser" extends from above the blowout preventer onto the floating platform. The marine riser is the center piece in a closed circuit system that acts as the transport for liquid from the sea floor onto the drilling vessel. Inside the preventer is the drillbit and drillstring. It is essential that the preventer be strong, yet flexible enough to adjust to the drill platform's movement.
Like onshore drilling, offshore drilling employs rotary drilling as its primary means to unearth crude oil. Rotary drilling is not much different that drilling that you would do around your house, it is only conducted on a larger scale. The idea is to cut into the earth using Steel Tooth Rotary Bits or diamond studded drill bits to reach the reserve. Once the reserve has been drilled, the product can be removed and sent to the refinery for processing.Advances in drilling and production technology have increased the possibility that offshore platforms can be controlled from an onshore location. Including a function to control the automatic shutoff that will minimize pollutio