Modern high-holding anchor designs will be tested in a soft clay bottom in the Gulf of Mexico in a project sponsored by seven major oil companies.
Omega Marine Services International Inc., Houston, will conduct the tests. The company has begun preliminary work prior to actually dropping the anchors, which is expected to take place in August in the South Timbalier area off Louisiana. The bottom there is typical of that found in a number of ultra deep water locations, such as the Green Canyon area in the gulf.
Anchor manufacturers who have agreed to supply anchors for the tests are Bruce International Ltd., Vicinay International Chain Co. Inc., and Vryhof Ankers B.V. Highlights of their designs are shown in Fig. 1.
Two test systems are being considered. Fig. 2 is a schematic of a system employing a barge.
The American Bureau of Shipping will review and approve the plans, tests, and results of the joint industry anchor test as it progresses. This will facilitate approval of mooring system designs that are based on the results of the tests and the calibrated software.
Software that predicts the ultimate anchor holding capacity, burial depth, and trajectory will be provided to participants. This software will be calibrated with the results of the tests, which will measure those parameters.
HARD, SANDY
A spokesman for Omega says that the U.K. Department of Energy, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, and others have also expressed interest in tests that include hard or sand bottom conditions.
Such bottoms are common in the North Sea area and may become the object of another series of anchor tests in the future.
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