Energy News June 2007

MODU Committee Adopts Changes

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Members of the ABS Special Committee on Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) recently met in Houston, Texas, to discuss Rules and technical issues associated with the design and operation of these units. (from left to right) William T. Bennett Jr., Bennett & Associates; David Webb, Diamond Offshore; and Matthew Quah, Keppel Offshore Technology Development.

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Jackup foundation performance was a topic of interest and discussion at this year’s annual ABS Special Committee on Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs). Listening to a presentation on spud can fixity are (from left to right) Richard Michel, Offshore Innovative Solutions, L.L.C; Pharr Smith and Charles Keaton, GlobalSantaFe Corp.

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The fixity of a spud can on the seabed floor is influenced by the soil and soil and structure interaction as well as the environmental loading.

Highlights from the Annual Meeting of the ABS Special Committee on Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) included presentations on the reformatting of the current Rules and structural Rule changes related to spud can fixity.

The MODU committee is composed of technical personnel from drilling contractors, operating companies, shipyards and designers involved with these specialized floating units. The committee provides input and feedback that is used in the development of ABS Rules for these structures. At this year’s meeting it was agreed that the MODU Rules should be consolidated and reorganized around common subjects to improve the clarity of the document. The reorganized and reformatted Rules will be incorporated into the 2008 version that will be released early next year.

With demand for MODUs drilling at a high level, industry interest in proposed structural Rule changes was evident. A presentation by ABS’ Pao-Lin Tan, Manager Corporate Research and Product Development for Offshore, focused on spud can soil interaction. Tan explained proposed further refinements to the ABS standards that take into account the realistic conditions spud cans experience including eccentric reactions.