COASTAL ENGINEERING FOR THE OOOGURUK DEVELOPMENT
Client: Member of the Petroleum Industry
In 2005, Coastal Frontiers personnel initiated field investigations and coastal engineering analysis for the Oooguruk Development, which represents the third offshore production facility to be constructed in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Although the project site is partially protected from wave and ice attack by virtue of its location in the shallow waters of the Colville River Delta, significant design challenges arose from the financial constraints imposed by the modest size of the oil field and from an exposure to substantial storm surge and vigorous strudel scouring. Our coastal engineering support has ranged from preliminary design and permit acquisition through construction, post construction monitoring, and maintenance of a production island, buried subsea flowline, and flowline shore crossing. Key tasks are summarized below.
Production Island
Assessment of design oceanographic conditions
Bathymetric survey of the prospective island site and barge approach route
Design and hydraulic model testing of a gravel-bag slope protection system
Construction support for slope grooming and gravel bag installation
Post-construction inspection and maintenance of the slope protection system
Flowline Route and Shore Crossing
Bathymetric survey of the prospective flowline route and measurement of strudel scour depressions
Analysis of historical air photos to establish the long-term rate of coastal erosion (3.3 ft/yr)
On-site surveys to document short-term rates of coastal erosion
Construction support for through-the-ice winter flowline installation
Annual bathymetric surveys to monitor the flowline depth-of-cover and strudel scour activity in the vicinity