Design Drivers of Hybrid Riser Towers

DORIS Engineering and Stolt Offshore have jointly designed the three Girassol hybrid riser towers installed offshore Angola. They were the first riser towers designed to provide very efficient insulation properties in very deepwater conditions. Some towers are under development or construction for other fields but in similar design conditions. Based on the experience of Girassol, DORIS engineering and Stolt Offshore have developed the concept to adapt to much deeper waters (around 2500 m) and more severe environments such as the Gulf of Mexico loop current or hurricane waves. This paper will present the key drivers for design of riser towers in these environments addressing for example the impact on the bundle cross section, buoyancy requirements, top tank size, flexible jumper lengths. Limitations will be defined and explained both in terms of design, fabrication and installation. As FPSO units are likely to be part of the development of the Gulf of Mexico deepwater areas in the not-so-distant future, the benefit of riser towers will become obvious, given the existing facilities for fabrication along the coast and spreads for installation. Other areas such as the Mediterranean sea, or even the Northern North Sea are potential candidates for this type of riser arrangement which provides multiple benefits over steel catenary risers and flexible pipes.