Deployment of Subsea Equipment in Ultradeep Water

This paper describes various options to deploy subsea equipment in ultra-deepwater. The methodology used to study the feasibility and cost of the various options is presented. The focus of this paper is the performance of the numerical tools compared with offshore observations. Both offshore measurements and wave tank data are emphasized in this paper in order to validate the numerical model. Two possible contributors to more benign offshore response compared with calculations are: (1) complex subsea package hydrodynamics, and (2) wire rope damping effects. Indications are that internal damping in the very long, and relatively complex, wire ropes used offshore, is a source of significant damping. This damping is helpful in mitigating resonance effects.