The metocean conditions contained in the 21st edition of API RP2A, last updated in 1993, are in the process of being revised to account for: the effects of recent major hurricanes, the shift of production to deeper water, and improvements in our understanding of metocean conditions in US waters. As the Oil Industry has moved into the deeper Gulf of Mexico waters, it has become exposed to strong currents generated by the Loop Current, its associated eddies, and by topographic Rossby waves. This paper describes the basis for the draft extreme conditions we have developed for these strong deepwater ocean currents. Further work is underway to develop conditions for extreme near-bottom currents on the continental slope and for joint hurricane-Loop currents. Once accepted by API, the conditions will ultimately be published as part of a stand-alone API recommended practice (RP) which will in turn be referenced by other API recommended practices such as those addressing shallow-water fixed platforms, jack-ups, deepwater platforms, and floating MODUs. The Metocean RP will also include hurricane-generated conditions the development of which is documented in a separate paper (Berek, et al. 2007).

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