Metocean
Bringing the value of applied oceanography and meteorology into operations planning, designing better offshore and onshore structures, and improving the safety of personnel, assets and operations
Metocean
Bringing the value of applied oceanography and meteorology into operations planning, designing better offshore and onshore structures, and improving the safety of personnel, assets and operations
An understanding of Metocean – applied meteorology and oceanography – is essential for the safe and efficient design, and operation, of offshore installations. It primarily covers the study of wind, wave current and tidal conditions at the location of the installation. However, other parameters, such as air and sea temperature, visibility and ice conditions may also be important, depending on the location and type of operations.
‘Once in a hundred years’ extreme metocean conditions need to be accounted for in the design stage – and estimating extreme values associated with return periods of 100 years and beyond is an area of active research.
For weather sensitive offshore operations, it is the likely metocean conditions during the course of operation that are of interest.
IOGP members promote the development of this vital metocean data, and the tools to leverage it, through the Metocean Committee.
Twice a year, the metocean community of the oil and gas industry arranges meetings to discuss progress of the various Joint Industry Projects (JIPs), in which it is involved. These have included:
- Generating hindcast databases of regions such as the South China Sea, West Africa and North Sea
- Developing new methods
- Comparing instruments such as wave sensors
- Basic research such as the definition of distributions for wave crest elevations
Attendance at the individual meetings is restricted to the participating company representatives unless the respective chairman has previously agreed otherwise beforehand.
The IOGP Metocean Committee meeting is generally the last meeting of JIP week and the day usually finishes with a presentation either on a new project initiative, or on a scientific topic of relevance to the industry, or by contractors with new products to demonstrate.
Metocean highlights
Our Future Climate
Understanding the spread of physical risk for the oil and gas industry
This IOGP-JCOMM-WCRP sponsored workshop brought climate science experts and IOGP members together to discuss how climate change could impact the oil and gas industry and what steps industry can take when planning for adaptation to potential changes.
The event was held at BP’s Upstream Learning Centre in Sunbury on Thames on 25-27th September 2018.
Metocean projects
IOGP’s Metocean projects and collaboration bring the benefits of applied oceanography and meteorology into operations planning, structure design and personnel, assets and operations safety.
Related content
IOGP’s Metocean Committee has published IOGP Report 607 Recommended practices for Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) deployment.
IOGP’s Metocean Committee has published an overview of the current state of and recent developments in short-term forecasting of tropical cyclones.
The transition to a low carbon future offers a huge set of challenges to us all – from how we heat our homes to how the companies we work for will enable the transition.
In each edition of our newsletter, we publish a short interview with an IOGP colleague or Committee Member. This Pulse’s interview is with the Chair of the Metocean Committee, Oli Jones.
IOGP’s Metocean Committee has elected Oliver (Oli) Jones of bp as Chair. He succeeds James Stear of Chevron.
The ocean is our planet’s largest ecosystem. It stabilizes climate, stores carbon, produces oxygen, nurtures unimaginable biodiversity, and directly supports human wellbeing through food, mineral, and energy resources, as well as providing cultural and recreational opportunities. Unfortunately, much of the ocean is now seriously degraded, and as a responsible sea user, IOGP is working to help the industry play its role as part of the solution.
IOGP joined forces with the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) – founded by the World Meteorological Organization and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission – and the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) to hold a cross-disciplinary workshop on the physical risk for the oil and gas industry of a changing climate.
Highlights is sad to report that former Metocean Committee Chair Chris Shaw died on Monday, 12th October, in St. David’s hospice in North Wales. His family were at his side.
Eugene Berek (ExxonMobil) and Valerie Quiniou-Ramus (Total) have been elected Chair and Vice Chair of the Metocean Committee. “It is difficult for me to imagine improving on the leadership that
Colin Grant, on the occasion of his retirement as Chair, was honoured by the Management Committee, and presented with a crystal oil-rig obelisk. He was praised for his ‘extraordinary contribution’
