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SM04 Poster 82

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Uploaded by

lkamal
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© © All Rights Reserved
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from ocean to cloud

DESIGN OF FIBER OPTIC CABLES AND NETWORKS


FOR OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS
Dr Inge Vintermyr, Rolf Boe (Nexans Norway)
Email: inge.vintermyr@nexans.com
Nexans Norway AS, Innspurten 9, POBox 6450 Etterstad, NO-0605 Oslo, Norway
Abstract: The growth in utilizing fiber optics in offshore infrastructure introduces some
additional requirements and needs for special engineering, compared to traditional
telecommunication subsea deployments.
Concerning the network planning and network connections there are several possibilities,
platforms and subsea wells will require redundancy in capacity. A cable break should never
mean that the connection is lost, as this will be taken care of by rerouting of the
telecom/control traffic management systems.
To tie in a platform, one can use simple J-tube pull-in solutions, more advanced dynamic
risers for deep water applications, and of course the use of wet mate able connectors and
branching units are all means to have robust and durable connections between offshore and
onshore locations.
In particular, the dynamic cable section with associated components relevant for floating
platform installations call for extended engineering, analysis and qualification testing. The
reliability requirements are high, due to the cost and risk related to replacement campaigns.
In design of the cable it is necessary to be able to predict global loads on the cable during
installation and service. The local stress on the various materials and elements in the design
shall ensure that fatigue issues are avoided. In addition to structural analysis of the cable
construction, dynamic analysis based on configuration of dynamic cable, meteorology data
and platform movements, as well as fatigue analysis are basics of the development phase and
should be performed in close cooperation with development of components such as bend
stiffener for topside interface, buoyancy modules and seabed anchoring.
Likewise, on-bottom stability is important in congested areas on the sea-bed, in which other
subsea components like umbilicals, pipelines, structures and cables are required to be
stationary in individual designated corridors. The paper describes the various stages of
development, manufacturing and installation of different cable types and with various
solutions.

INTRODUCTION

Demand for bandwidth is increasing all


over the world, and the offshore industry is
definitely no exception.
Now, with increased competition in the
tele- and data communication market and
mature technology readily available,
regional offshore networks are developing
and becoming more robust.

Copyright SubOptic 2013

Page 1 of 6

from ocean to cloud


Cable Installation to platform with
C/S Skagerrak

It is a fact that some of these networks


have not been easy to construct, however,
experience has led to the development of
new components, solutions and improved
protection philosophy.
Other studies with a completely different
perspective have shown that there are
substantial opportunities in platform cost
savings, safety and security through the
provision of fibre optical cable based services.
The optical networks enable operations to be
performed remotely from the onshore facilities.
Thus, reducing the number of people to be
transferred to the offshore plants, reduce
number of helicopter transfers, etc. Hence, not
only reduced OPEX, but also reduced risk
(HSE) and reduced pollution.

Increasing demand for communication,


control and monitoring of offshore oil and
gas fields has called for fibre optic links
connecting to stationary surface plants, to
land or intra-field. The applications taking
advantage of such high capacity
connections include permanent seismic
monitoring, measurement of down-hole
parameters and sub-sea production
equipment..
The bandwidth required by the different
applications varies from a few kbit/s (for
commands/signalling), up to several Gbit/s
(for permanent sea bed seismic arrays).

Central Office

Shore
Subsea modules

Offshore

Subsea Productionsystem

Wellheads

Subsea processsystem
Subsea Productionsystem

CDU

Ocean bottomseismic

Multilateral wells

Subsea smartwell instrumentation

Inwell seismic

Offshore Nework

The potential savings of making effective


offshore networks are estimated to billions
of USD for the offshore industry.
Furthermore,
for
remote
subsea
developments, without platforms, optical
networks are the only solution for
communications.
Up to now, only a relatively small number
of
telecommunication
cable
links
connecting platforms have been installed.
Instead the most common way to deploy
optical fibers for the offshore industry is to
integrate them in power or control
umbilicals, whose main function is to
transfer electrical power, hydraulic fluids
and chemicals. FO connectors are typically
integrated in the umbilical termination
head (UTH). The FO connections are made
up in a separate ROV operation, in which
the ROV connects jumper cables between
the UTH and the permanent sub-sea
equipment.
As bandwidth requirements increase, not
only for traditional communication needs,
but also due to more advanced subsea
systems and sensor and monitoring
systems, the interest in separate fiber optic
cables is growing.
The requirement to always be connected,
un-interrupted, is crucial, more and more
of the network design is now for backup,

Copyright SubOptic 2013

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from ocean to cloud


redundancy and other means to stay
connected.
Star
network
configurations
vulnerable,
redundancy
cables
expensive, wherever you can design a
configuration or a meshed network;
should be the goal.

are
are
ring
that

Star Configuration

Ring Configuration

Meshed Ring Configuration

A wide range of components supporting


these
network
configurations
are
developed. Some key elements for building
up such structures subsea are branching
units and cable end modules, with wetmate-able connectors, for connection and
Copyright SubOptic 2013

looping of fibres as desired. This can be


very flexible if the planning is done
properly. Cables have to be protected by
all means, and risk analysis is an important
part of cable placement and design.
2

DYNAMIC VERSUS STATIC


APPLICATION

In general, the mechanical performance of


traditional submarine fibre optic cables for
seabed deployment is determined by
dimensioning the axial strength for loads
associated by the installation and for
allowing a repair situation without
degradation or significant reduction in
lifetime and reliability. The tensile
performance is typically specified by the
parameters NPTS (Nominal Permanent
Tensile Strength), NOTS (Nominal
Operating Tensile Strength), NTTS
(Nominal Transient Tensile Strength) in
addition to the breaking loads. The above
characteristics are defined in international
standards [1], as well as methods for
testing and verification [2]. Except for the
NPTS, which reflects allowed residual
tension on the cable after installation, the
definitions and test methods are focused on
high loads and a relatively low number of
load cycles.
For dynamic cables the load scenario is
somewhat different. Throughout its entire
operational lifetime, the cable will be
exposed to tensile and bend loads which
depend on actual weather conditions and
sea state. This results in a large number of
cyclic loads in terms of tensile and
bending, and consequently effort in
avoiding long term fatigue is a key issue.
The loads to be handled by the cable and
associated components making up the
complete riser cable system are strongly
dependent on where the system is going to
be installed. In fact, establishing the full
global load scenario is a major part of the
required engineering. This scenario
Page 3 of 6

from ocean to cloud


includes both loads on the cable during
installation and throughout the service life.
Most of the dynamic riser cables that are
installed are custom made umbilicals,
made up of power conductors and
hydraulic tubes or hoses according to client
specifications. Clients, in this case are
normally oil companies or subsea
equipment providers. It follows that there
are few standardized products, and apart
from one ISO standard [3] and its
equivalent API standard [4] dedicated to
cables, it is generally referred to company
best practice documents and generic
specifications and standards for offshore
structures.

Typical Dynamic FO Cable Design

Primary coated fibre


Steel tube
Inner sheath, polyethylene
Armour, steel wire
Armour, steel wire

Dynamic Installation
Outer yarn serving

The lack of experience with fibre optic


dynamic cables and the lack of detailed
international standards combined with the
variety of parameters influencing the
design and strong requirements on long
term reliability are major reasons for the
need for detailed engineering for every
deployment case.

Copyright SubOptic 2013

Typical Static FO Cable Design

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from ocean to cloud


3

SEABED STABILITY

It is normally required that the subsea


cables shall lay stable on the seabed in
order not to conflict with other cables,
umbilicals and pipelines.

FL
FLOW
FI +FD

(ws FL)u+ FR(z)

ws

Seabed driving and resisting forces on subsea


cables.

Seabed stability is normally calculated in


accordance with DNV-RP-F109 [5].
The submerged weight to outer diameter
ratio (Sub.w/OD) is the governing
parameter of a cabless on-bottom stability
at certain weather conditions.
The weather and seabed conditions vary
greatly with respect to geographical
location, hence the minimum required
Subm.W/OD ratio for a cable design will
be dependent on the location of where it is
to be installed.
Since FO cables are normally much
smaller and lighter(i.e low submerged
weight to diameter ratio) compared to
power cables, umbilicals and pipelines, onbottom stability is often difficult to achieve
for FO cables.
Hence, a pragmatic approach is normally
necessary in the on-bottom stability
assessment of FO submarine cables. The
best solution is burial into the seabed, and
should be used
where possible.
4

structures, and is not straight forward to


recover the umbilicals/cables for repair and
maintenance. Thus, the FO optics are
normally connected to Subsea Distribution
Units (SDU).
The overall function of the SDU is to
enable quick and reliable connection
between subsea cables and auxiliary subsea equipment. A typical SDU comprises
a cable mechanical termination with bend
stiffener, cable joint(s), up to 6 FO wetmate connectors. All connectors are ROV
operable.
The SDU enables the sub sea cable and
auxiliary equipment to be physically
installed in separate operations. Its sea-bed
installation and final connection to the
auxiliary equipment is carried out using a
conventional ROV.
The SDU is designed to protect its
instrumentation from falling objects and
impacts during installation and ROV
interventions. Likewise, the design offers
bending protection of the sub-sea cable.
Sacrificial anodes offer long term
corrosion protection. Its foundation can be
adapted to the local sea bed soil conditions.
Likewise, the SDU can be adapted to a all
relevant subsea cable armouring designs,
materials and dimensions.
Sea-bed installation of the SDU is carried
out in a single-vessel operation, as part of a
first-end or last-end cable laying
procedure. Its lifting equipment is designed
for ROV operated hooks.
If necessary the SDU/CEM units can be
protected by lids, mattresses or other
means on the seabed.

SUBSEA DISTRIBUTION UNIT

The offshore FO networks are normally


established through various cables and
umbilicals which are connected to subsea
Copyright SubOptic 2013

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from ocean to cloud

CONCLUSION

Increasing demand for communication,


control and monitoring of offshore oil and
gas fields has called for fibre optic links
connecting to stationary surface plants, to
land or intra-field.
Subsea Distribution Unit

CABLE END MODULE

The subsea cables must be terminated to a


Cable End Module (CEM) with wet mate
connectors and flying leads in order to
connect to the SDU.

The investments are significant and


especially the installation and protection of
the fibre optic infrastructure have proved
to become costly, but economical and
necessary.
Design of offshore FO systems are more
complex than traditional FO systems.
7

REFERENCES

[1] ITU-T G.972, Definition of terms


relevant to optical fibre submarine
systems
[2] ITU-T G.976, Test methods
applicable to optical fibre submarine cable
systems
[3] ISO 13628-5, Petroleum and natural
gas industries Design and Operation of
subsea production systems Part 5: Subsea
Umbilicals
FO cable with CEM with wet mate connector.

[4] API Specification 17E, Third Edition,


July 2003
[5] Recommend practice DNV-RP-F109,
On Bottom Stability Design of Submarine
Pipelines, October 2007

Connection principles offshore FO networks.

Copyright SubOptic 2013

Page 6 of 6

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