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A Publication of the ABS Project Development Team

ABS AND ABS GROUP ACTIVITIES AT OTC

BS and ABS Group welcome clients, potential clients and anyone else interested in learning more about classification services for offshore to stop by our OTC booth

	ABS and ABS Group, including the recently formed Offshore Project Development Team, will be present to talk about how classification and affiliated services can be used to best support offshore projects
	ABS personnel, fully versed in the ABS Rules and Guides, can help clients and potential clients determine the appropriate Rules for a particular project, and our on-site Web-link can allow ABS publications to be purchased at the booth
	A just-released Offshore Capabilities Booklet detailing the full range of ABS and ABS Group services for offshore will be available, upon request.
	Take the Offshore Trivia Quiz, and test your knowledge of offshore events, past and present, to win tickets to a Houston Astros game.
	The ABS Type Approval department, headed by ABS Manager of Programs Bob Vienneau, will have the online ABS Type Approval database live in the booth, and will be printing, by request, Certificates of Product Type Approval
	Nautical Systems will demonstrate its software systems for offshore in a newly released CD
	The latest ABS and ABS Group International Directory, published in April 2001 with the more up-to-date listing of ABS and ABS Group offices and personnel, will be available

ABS Technical Papers to Offer Guidance on FPSO Design, Operation

This year’s OTC papers reflect the level of ABS involvement in helping both industry, and regulatory bodies, including the MMS and the US Coast Guard in understanding the key hazards and the risks associated with FPSO design and operation. Please join us for our technical presentations or stop by the ABS booth to pick up a copy of the papers.

Risk-based Approaches: Monday, April 30, 9:30 a.m. – 12 a.m. Room No. 105

1. No. 12948 "Integrated Risk-Based Design of FPSO Topsides, Structural and
   Marine Systems," by Andrew J. Wolford, James C. Lin, James K. Liming, Andrew Lidstone and Robert E. Sheppard, all of EQE International.

Numerous component risk studies for FPSOs have been performed but this study is one of the first to integrate risk tradeoffs involving hull, mooring system, marine systems, topside process plant and the power and control systems that support them.

2. No. 12949 "Risk-Based ‘Optimum’ Inspection Planning of Critical Structural Details in FPSO Hulls," by T. Xu, Tao Xu & Associates; Yong Bai, ABS; Mark Wang, Aker Engineering; and R. G. Bea, University of California at Berkeley.

ABS reviews the benefits and shortcomings of traditional inspection methods, offering new models and formulaic adaptions for the conversion of tankers to FPSOs. Practical strategies are detailed for "optimum" risk-based approaches to inspection.


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Mooring and Anchoring Systems: Tuesday, May 1, 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Room No. 202




3. No. 13269 "Reliability Methods for Deepwater Position-Mooring Design and
   Analysis," by Ken Huang and Yong Bai, both of ABS.

Reliability methods can be a powerful tool for comparing the safety implications of different position mooring systems. Target safety levels for new cost-effective designs can be established by performing reliability calculations for old designs that have a history of satisfactory performance.

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FPSOs in the Gulf of Mexico: Wednesday, May 2, 9:30 a.m. – 12 a.m. Room No. 117




4. No. 13170 "FPSO Standards and Recommended Practices," by Wanda J. Parker, WJP Enterprises, and Todd Grove, ABS.

The Deepwater Subcommittee of the Offshore Operators Committee offers guidance to the USCG and the MMS on new regulations for governing the design and operation of FPSOs in the Gulf of Mexico.

5. No. 13173 "A Comparative Risk Analysis of FPSOs with Other Deepwater
   Production Systems in the Gulf of Mexico," by R. B. Gilbert, Offshore Technology Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin; E. G. Ward, Offshore Technology Research Center, Texas A&M University; and Andy Wolford, EQE International.