SPAR MOORING

Spar

Introduction

The SPAR is a deepwater drilling and production platform. The structure comprises a vessel with a circular cross-section that sits vertically in the water and is supported by buoyancy chambers at the top and stabilized by a midsection structure hanging from the hard tanks. If necessary, stability may be supplemented by solid ballast placed in compartments at the keel. The vessel is held in place by a taut catenary mooring system, providing lateral station keeping. The SPAR platform uses ‘‘dry-tree’’ technology, where the wellhead equipment is principally located on the platform rather than on the seabed, reducing the cost and time involved in common maintenance work.