Field Observation Site for Air-Sea Interactions in Tropical Cyclones

Author(s):  
Alexander V. Babanin ◽  
Geoff G. Wake ◽  
Jason McConochie

Accurate predictions of winds, waves and currents within extreme tropical cyclones are critical for shipping, offshore oil and gas, ports and harbours, coastal erosion, tourism and fishing. The paper will describe a unique field observation programme intended to gather in situ data about air-sea interactions in tropical cyclones. The site has been established on the Woodside-operated North Rankin Complex, an offshore gas production facility located off the north-west coast of Western Australia. The facility is multi-purpose. It will assist Woodside to manage platform operations during the cyclone season and to make advances in the estimate of extreme wave crest heights for platform loading while enabling academic researchers to measure air-sea interactions. Concurrent measurements are conducted in the atmospheric boundary layer, on the ocean surface and below the surface all the way to the bottom at 120 m depth. The measurements include fluxes of momentum and energy across the air-sea interface, spray production, directional wave spectra up to high wavenumbers, and will allow us to close the balance of the air-sea exchanges for the first time in extreme field conditions.

1969 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 15-18
Author(s):  
Finn Jakobsen ◽  
Claus Andersen

The Danish oil and gas production mainly comes from fields with chalk reservoirs of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and early Paleocene (Danian) ages located in the southern part of the Danish Central Graben in the North Sea. The area is mature with respect to exploration with most chalk fields located in structural traps known since the 1970s. However, the discovery by Mærsk Oil and Gas A/S of the large nonstructurally and dynamically trapped oil accumulation of the Halfdan Field in 1999 north-west of the Dan Field (e.g. Albrechtsen et al. 2001) triggered renewed exploration interest. This led to acquisition of new high quality 3-D seismic data that considerably enhanced imaging of different depositional features within the Chalk Group. Parallel to the endeavours by the operator to locate additional non-structural traps in porous chalk, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland took advantage of the new data to unravel basin development by combining 3-D seismic interpretation of a large number of seismic markers, well log correlations and 2-D seismic inversion for prediction of the distribution of porous intervals in the Chalk Group. Part of this study is presented by Abramovitz et al. (in press). In the present paper we focus on aspects of the general structural development during the Late Cretaceous as illustrated by semi-regional time-isochore maps. The Chalk Group has been divided into two seismically mappable units (a Cenomanian–Campanian lower Chalk Unit and a Maastrichtian–Danian upper Chalk Unit) separated by a distinct basin-wide unconformity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (15) ◽  
pp. 9787-9796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart N. Riddick ◽  
Denise L. Mauzerall ◽  
Michael Celia ◽  
Neil R. P. Harris ◽  
Grant Allen ◽  
...  

Abstract. Since 1850 the concentration of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, has more than doubled. Recent studies suggest that emission inventories may be missing sources and underestimating emissions. To investigate whether offshore oil and gas platforms leak CH4 during normal operation, we measured CH4 mole fractions around eight oil and gas production platforms in the North Sea which were neither flaring gas nor offloading oil. We use the measurements from summer 2017, along with meteorological data, in a Gaussian plume model to estimate CH4 emissions from each platform. We find CH4 mole fractions of between 11 and 370 ppb above background concentrations downwind of the platforms measured, corresponding to a median CH4 emission of 6.8 g CH4 s−1 for each platform, with a range of 2.9 to 22.3 g CH4 s−1. When matched to production records, during our measurements individual platforms lost between 0.04 % and 1.4 % of gas produced with a median loss of 0.23 %. When the measured platforms are considered collectively (i.e. the sum of platforms' emission fluxes weighted by the sum of the platforms' production), we estimate the CH4 loss to be 0.19 % of gas production. These estimates are substantially higher than the emissions most recently reported to the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (NAEI) for total CH4 loss from United Kingdom platforms in the North Sea. The NAEI reports CH4 losses from the offshore oil and gas platforms we measured to be 0.13 % of gas production, with most of their emissions coming from gas flaring and offshore oil loading, neither of which was taking place at the time of our measurements. All oil and gas platforms we observed were found to leak CH4 during normal operation, and much of this leakage has not been included in UK emission inventories. Further research is required to accurately determine total CH4 leakage from all offshore oil and gas operations and to properly include the leakage in national and international emission inventories.


2001 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 777
Author(s):  
B.F Ronalds

Oil and gas production is characterised by a truly international industry, and yet a unique local environment. Solutions developed elsewhere cannot always be imported directly for Australian use. For this reason alone, a strong local technology base is of value to the Australian oil and gas industry. Other benefits include the ability to provide high quality education and training for people entering, and already in, the industry.A case study is described where the Western Australian technology base is facilitating solutions to a specific challenge faced on the North West Shelf (NWS); namely, that the criteria for reliable development and operation of its offshore infrastructure for oil and gas production are more severe than other petroleum provinces, requiring new analytical tools to be developed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Geoff O'Brien ◽  
Monica Campi ◽  
Graeme Bethune

The boom in Australian oil and gas development continued in 2013, with record overall investment of $60 billion. This investment resulted from spending on the seven LNG projects under development, together with that on numerous other oil and gas developments. These projects are expected to collectively contribute up to 665 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) to Australia’s oil and gas production, which totaled 513.8 MMboe in 2013. LNG, presently Australia’s seventh largest export, is likely to soon rival the nation’s largest export, iron ore. By the end of 2013, three of the LNG projects under construction—Gorgon, Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) and Gladstone LNG (GLNG)—were more than 70% complete; first LNG will be before the end of 2014 for QCLNG and in 2015 for Gorgon, GLNG and Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG). The other three LNG projects—Wheatstone, Prelude and Ichthys—are close behind. These new LNG projects follow Pluto, Australia’s third LNG project, which commenced production in 2012. A full year of production from Pluto drove increased gas production in 2013. Woodside also completed the North Rankin redevelopment and continued development of the Greater Western Flank, both of which will extend the life of the North West Shelf (NWS) project. A number of other projects also commenced production. In the Carnarvon Basin, oil production began at Santos’s Fletcher-Finucane Field, and at BHP Billiton’s Macedon project, domestic gas production started. In the Timor Sea, PTTEP’s Montara Field began production of oil. In Victoria, the ExxonMobil Kipper-Turrum-Tuna project came online, with the production of gas from Tuna and oil from Turrum. Production of gas from Origin Energy’s Geographe Field (as part of the Otway Gas Project) commenced in mid-2013. Onshore oil production grew in 2013, with the Cooper-Eromanga Basin now producing more oil than any other onshore Australian basin. A major effort is underway to increase production from the western flank oil trend and to develop both the conventional and unconventional gas fields in the Cooper Basin. Spending on the development of new projects probably peaked in 2013 and there is growing concern about a dearth of future projects, with expansion of existing LNG projects and development of new projects being pushed back due to a combination of increased costs and growing international competition. There are also ongoing industry concerns about impediments to onshore gas exploration and development generally.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilona Velzeboer ◽  
Arnoud Frumau ◽  
Pim van den Bulk ◽  
Arjan Hensen

<p>In July and November 2018 measurements campaigns were performed at the North Sea. This campaign was aimed to assess independently total methane emissions of a selected group offshore oil and gas platforms using concentration measurements at multiple distances from the source in combination with meteorological conditions and dispersion calculations. This measurement set-up is in line with methane measurements carried out near onshore gas production locations in 2016-2017.</p><p>First observations with tracer experiments showed different behavior of the plumes offshore, compared to onshore plume behavior.</p><p>The Gaussian Plume model was modified with the methodology of the Offshore and Coastal Dispersion (ODC) model, to incorporate the effect of the sea surface and the building effect of the offshore installations on the dilution and mixing of the plume. Together with the performed tracer experiments, this resulted in more reliable calculations of the source strength of methane emissions from the installations.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 562
Author(s):  
Paul E Hardisty ◽  
Michaela Dommisse ◽  
Karin E Cooper

Australia’s marine economy is worth over $70 billion a year, of which offshore oil and gas is a big contributor. Operating safely and in an environmentally sustainable way is vital to the long-term success of Australia’s offshore petroleum sector. Making good risk management decisions depends on a sound understanding of the complex marine environments in which they operate. Key emerging challenges include the effects of noise on marine life, decommissioning of offshore infrastructure, and the unprecedented rate of change in natural marine systems. The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) undertakes research that helps industry, regulators, government and the wider community to make informed decisions about the management of Australia’s marine estate. Working closely with industry and government partners, AIMS has established some of the world’s longest running and most comprehensive tropical marine monitoring programs. The regional baseline datasets span the subtropics of Western Australia, the North West and North Marine Regions, through to the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea Marine Region. This unique repository of data and environmental intelligence allows quantification of system changes, modelling of anticipated future trends and impacts of development, and the development and testing of risk mitigation measures. Examples of research specifically tailored to meet the needs of the offshore oil and gas industry include recent projects in noise management, eco-toxicity and machine learning/automation. In each case, AIMS and its science partners worked with industry to develop research programs designed to help manage specific risks, or conduct work more efficiently and safely.


2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 206-208
Author(s):  
V.G. Osadchyi ◽  
◽  
O.A. Prykhod'ko ◽  
I.I. Hrytsyk ◽  
◽  
...  

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