Andrew Yee
March 2nd 06, 03:48 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
1 March 2006
Satellite data used to warn oil industry of potentially dangerous eddy
Ocean FOCUS began issuing forecasts on 16 February 2006 -- just in time to
warn oil production operators of a new warm eddy that has formed in the
oil and gas-producing region of the Gulf of Mexico.
These eddies, similar to underwater hurricanes, spin off the Loop Current
-- an intrusion of warm surface water that flows northward from the
Caribbean Sea through the Yucatan Strait -- from the Gulf Stream and can
cause extensive and costly damage to underwater equipment due to the
extensive deep water oil production activities in the region.
The Ocean FOCUS service is a unique service that provides ocean current
forecasts to the offshore oil production industry to give prior warning of
the arrival of eddies. The service is based on a combination of
state-of-the-art ocean models and satellite measurements.
Oil companies require early warning of these eddies in order to minimise
loss of production, optimise deep water drilling activities and prevent
damage to critical equipment.
The Loop Current and eddies shedding from it pose two types of problems
for underwater production systems: direct force and induced vibrations,
which create more stress than direct force and results in higher levels of
fatigue and structural failure.
The impact of these eddies can be very costly in terms of downtime in
production and exploration and damage to sub-sea components.
Information provided by Ocean FOCUS gives industrial operators an accurate
and up-to-date analysis of the present situation to support production
management decisions.
In addition, Ocean FOCUS forecasts will be used by oil and gas companies
planning major operations such as installing new equipment -- which are
very sensitive to local conditions and may require prolonged 'windows' of
low current speed to achieve successful completion.
The Loop Current is presently to the north of its average position,
sparking concerns that more eddies could be generated over the next few
weeks. The current eddy, dubbed 'Walker', was detected breaking away from
the Loop Current in mid February.
Ocean FOCUS was developed by Ocean Numerics and is partially supported by
the ESA's Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD) programme. Ocean
Numerics and the Ocean FOCUS operators will continue their monitoring to
ensure early and reliable detection of further eddies.
Ocean Numerics is a joint venture between France's Collecte Localisation
Satellites (CLS), the UK's Fugro GEOS and Norway's Nansen Environmental
and Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC).
Related news
* SeaSAR 2006: Satellite radar reveals ever-changing face of the ocean
http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMGMCNZCIE_index_0.html
* Ship-sinking monster waves revealed by ESA satellites
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMOKQL26WD_index_0.html
In depth
* Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD)
http://www.eomd.esa.int/
Related links
* Ocean Numerics
http://www.oceannumerics.com/
* NERSC
http://www.nrsc.no/
* Fugro GEOS
http://www.geos.com/
* CLS
http://www.cls.fr/welcome_en.html
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMKURMVGJE_index_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
1 March 2006
Satellite data used to warn oil industry of potentially dangerous eddy
Ocean FOCUS began issuing forecasts on 16 February 2006 -- just in time to
warn oil production operators of a new warm eddy that has formed in the
oil and gas-producing region of the Gulf of Mexico.
These eddies, similar to underwater hurricanes, spin off the Loop Current
-- an intrusion of warm surface water that flows northward from the
Caribbean Sea through the Yucatan Strait -- from the Gulf Stream and can
cause extensive and costly damage to underwater equipment due to the
extensive deep water oil production activities in the region.
The Ocean FOCUS service is a unique service that provides ocean current
forecasts to the offshore oil production industry to give prior warning of
the arrival of eddies. The service is based on a combination of
state-of-the-art ocean models and satellite measurements.
Oil companies require early warning of these eddies in order to minimise
loss of production, optimise deep water drilling activities and prevent
damage to critical equipment.
The Loop Current and eddies shedding from it pose two types of problems
for underwater production systems: direct force and induced vibrations,
which create more stress than direct force and results in higher levels of
fatigue and structural failure.
The impact of these eddies can be very costly in terms of downtime in
production and exploration and damage to sub-sea components.
Information provided by Ocean FOCUS gives industrial operators an accurate
and up-to-date analysis of the present situation to support production
management decisions.
In addition, Ocean FOCUS forecasts will be used by oil and gas companies
planning major operations such as installing new equipment -- which are
very sensitive to local conditions and may require prolonged 'windows' of
low current speed to achieve successful completion.
The Loop Current is presently to the north of its average position,
sparking concerns that more eddies could be generated over the next few
weeks. The current eddy, dubbed 'Walker', was detected breaking away from
the Loop Current in mid February.
Ocean FOCUS was developed by Ocean Numerics and is partially supported by
the ESA's Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD) programme. Ocean
Numerics and the Ocean FOCUS operators will continue their monitoring to
ensure early and reliable detection of further eddies.
Ocean Numerics is a joint venture between France's Collecte Localisation
Satellites (CLS), the UK's Fugro GEOS and Norway's Nansen Environmental
and Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC).
Related news
* SeaSAR 2006: Satellite radar reveals ever-changing face of the ocean
http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMGMCNZCIE_index_0.html
* Ship-sinking monster waves revealed by ESA satellites
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMOKQL26WD_index_0.html
In depth
* Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD)
http://www.eomd.esa.int/
Related links
* Ocean Numerics
http://www.oceannumerics.com/
* NERSC
http://www.nrsc.no/
* Fugro GEOS
http://www.geos.com/
* CLS
http://www.cls.fr/welcome_en.html
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMKURMVGJE_index_1.html ]