3401 Guidelines to address ageing and life extension issues for offshore structures and structural components

Overview:

This publication provides guidance to address common issues relating to the ageing and life extension of offshore structures. It is intended to cover issues relating to the structural discipline only. It guides the reader through the engineering evaluation and assessment process that results from ageing-related triggers. There is an emphasis on structural analysis and the resolution of code non-compliance.

Guidance provided for analysis is in a phased approach, in that the complexity of analysis approach increases incrementally, leading to increasingly accurate assessment of integrity provided it is performed by suitably competent engineers.

Guidance is included for the following:

• fixed steel jacket structures, and
• topsides structures.