J. Kim Vandiver as well as Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corp. and Technip received this year’s OTC Distinguished Achievement Awards during the 2005 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Awards Luncheon.
At the event, Rod Allan, OTC .05 chairman, recognized Kim Vandivean, professor of mechanical and ocean engineering for the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for his numerous technical breakthroughs in the dynamics of vortex-induced vibrations that have enhanced the design of structures to withstand high ocean currents, enabling the offshore energy industry to produce oil and gas in progressively deeper water. His research focuses on the dynamics of offshore structures and flow-induced vibration.
OTC also recognized Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corp. and Technip with its Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies, Organizations, and Institutions. The operators won for their successful global relationship that has pioneered and delivered three generations of spar floating production systems in nine years. Application of the third generation cell spar at Red Hawk has significantly reduced the economical industry reserve threshold for stand-alone deepwater field developments.
The two companies have developed a total of five spars, which Kerr-McGee operates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, with a sixth spar currently under construction for development of another deepwater Gulf field. Technip built the first unit for all three generations for Kerr-McGee. It also has constructed 10 of the industry’s 13 operational spar hulls and two topsides - totaling 20 million man-hours of labor. Other operators now are using the technology, which has enabled the economical recovery of energy resources from many fields in the deepwater GoM.
null
