FORCE Technology has developed and model tested the design of a floating platform which French TOTAL would need to meet the extreme challenges presented by producing oil in the northernmost waters of the Arctic.

The hunt for those precious drops of oil is intensifying and expanding to evermore desolate and inaccessible parts of the globe. This also applies to the French oil company TOTAL, which needs technological solutions capable of meeting the challenges posed by nature in its efforts to extract oil and gas from the ground and bring it safely ashore.

For this reason TOTAL asked FORCE Technology to develop and model test an unmanned floating platform for use as an offshore control unit for subsea installations.

As the platform is intended for use in the northernmost Arctic waters, this places stringent demands on design and technological innovation, such as the disconnection in case of threat of icebergs. FORCE Technology has delivered the studied version to TOTAL, who are extremely positive towards the project.

Creativity first

“The project is pretty unique, so we were looking for a creative company to perform the work. We have worked with FORCE Technology before and the company has shown itself to have the expertise, engineering facilities and the international and professional network needed to deal with design and testing. And it has proved to be a fine choice,” says TOTAL's development engineer Yann Bouger.

Designed for Arctic conditions

“We decided to design the floating platform to be both extremely seaworthy and capable of withstanding the physical strains to which it inevitably would be exposed in ice-filled seas. The choice fell on a circular deck, whilst the shape at the waterline is conical. It also has various ballast systems to boost stability. Our calculations and tests document that the design is ideal for resisting the extremely high winds, the up to 26-metre high waves and the two-metre thick drift ice which at times appear in Arctic regions," explains Erik Karlsson, sales manager at FORCE Technology.

Over the years, FORCE Technology has built up major expertise in the offshore area. Tasks have become increasingly technically complex as the oil industry treads new and almost impassable paths in its search to optimise oil and gas exploration. The floating platform which TOTAL wished to have developed and tested is but one example of this.

Innovative

“It has been easy collaborating with FORCE Technology, who are familiar with TOTAL's goals. This is the first time an unmanned platform has been designed with specific requirements to seaworthiness and resistance to ice in Arctic waters. This is an innovative solution. It is now ready on the drawing board for the next opportunity that presents itself,” says Bouger.