About our Sessions

There are around 1,500 active fixed offshore platforms currently operating in the Gulf of America (GoA) region, many of which are aging and operating beyond their original design life. Over their design life cycle, these structures undergo significant degradation due to the harsh marine environment. Most of these structures are subjected to extreme hurricane loads leading to sustained structural damage as well as accidental damages from service boats/marine vessel impacts, posing significant operational challenges. Understanding the structural performance of these platforms under extreme and accidentals loads is therefore paramount for the operators. It helps them quantify the risks associated with these assets in terms of both the probability of failure as well as the consequences of failure – ranging from catastrophic environmental disaster and personnel loss to substantial economic impact.

Advanced structural assessment techniques, particularly nonlinear pushover analysis, are widely used to determine the ultimate capacity of these structures under extreme loads. This presentation highlights two case studies demonstrating the application of non-linear pushover analysis to determine the ultimate capacity of damaged offshore platforms. The first examines a structure impacted by a severe hurricane, while the second explores a platform that sustained major damage from an oil tanker collision. These case studies illustrate how nonlinear analysis enabled operators to assess immediate risks, guide mitigation strategies, and reduce the likelihood of platform collapse.

The presentation will help the audience understand the efficacy of nonlinear analysis as a practical and powerful tool for quantifying structural risks and enhancing the safety and resilience of offshore assets