In this blog post, we will look at the importance of offshore plants in various fields, such as energy resource development, environmental protection, and marine research, as well as their potential as an industry of the future.
When someone mentions that they are majoring in shipbuilding and marine engineering, people usually ask, “Wow, so you’re going to build ships?” It has been four years since I decided on my major, but I have never been asked a different question. As you can see, people’s image of shipbuilding and marine engineering is limited to “ships.” However, shipbuilding and marine engineering is not limited to ships.
In fact, it encompasses many fields beyond simply designing and building ships. This discipline covers all structures and systems related to the sea, including offshore plants, offshore wind turbines, marine research platforms, and even marine environmental protection equipment. Offshore plants, one of the diverse fields of marine engineering, currently occupy a position in the marine engineering industry that is as important as or even more important than ships. However, compared to its importance in the current era, the recognition of offshore plants is ridiculously low.
Marine plants broadly refer to all social infrastructure existing in the ocean, including industries that develop marine energy resources, desalination plants, nuclear waste disposal facilities, and offshore structures such as airports and ports. However, in the field of shipbuilding and marine engineering, the term mainly refers to facilities necessary for resource development activities such as the exploration, drilling, and production of marine resources such as oil and gas. As resources available on land become increasingly depleted and usable space becomes more limited, humanity has turned its attention to the ocean, where almost unlimited resources and space remain untapped. Initially, development began in shallow waters close to land, but as energy demand has grown, we are now looking for ways to utilize resources in the deep sea. Offshore plants are the equipment used to develop these marine resources.
How are offshore plants different from ships? Of course, many offshore plants have structures that are completely different from ships, but there are also offshore plants that are similar in structure to ships, to the extent that they are actually converted from ships. So, what are the characteristics unique to offshore plants that ships do not have? First, unlike ships, offshore plants are facilities that are fixed in a specific location with specific environmental conditions and operate for long periods of time. Economic mobility is important for ships, but offshore plants do not need to move, so they are often towed by tugboats when they need to be moved to their installation site. Second, because they are fixed in a specific location, they must be perfectly optimized for the characteristics of the environment and the resources to be developed. Therefore, all offshore plants are unique facilities. Unlike ships, which are designed based on a parent ship, offshore plants are, in principle, designed from scratch to suit the conditions of the sea area where they will be installed. Third, unlike the shipbuilding industry, where shipowners want to reduce transportation costs and shipyards strive to be price competitive, shipowners in the offshore plant industry want safety and stability in drilling and production, as well as on-time delivery without delays in projects. Therefore, shipyards prioritize improving quality and technology over price in order to meet the shipowners’ requirements on time.
So, what kinds of offshore plants are there? Offshore plants can be divided into fixed and floating types according to their installation method, and into drilling and production types according to their purpose. Installation methods have become more diverse as the installation range of offshore plants has expanded from coastal areas close to land to distant seas. In coastal areas close to land, fixed offshore plants are mainly installed, which are designed to withstand their own weight and environmental loads by fixing the lower part of the offshore plant to the seabed. On the other hand, in deep waters where it is difficult to fix offshore plants to the seabed, floating offshore plants are installed using a mooring system to fix their position. Examples of the former include gravity-based structures, jack-up structures, and pile-fixed structures, while examples of the latter include barge/ship-type structures, tension-leg structures, semi-submersible structures, and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities.
The uses of offshore plants are mainly divided into drilling and production. Offshore plants used for drilling include jack-up structures, drill ships, and semi-submersible structures. Offshore plants for production include fixed platforms, FPSOs, and FPUs.
Global energy demand has been steadily increasing since 2008, while land-based energy resources continue to be depleted. Offshore plants are an alternative solution to these problems and will continue to be in demand in the future. Korea’s domestic industries, which are leading the global shipbuilding and marine industry, have already made offshore plants their core business, and the government is establishing systems to nurture talent in this field. The Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at Seoul National University is in charge of the “Offshore Plant Characteristics Education Program,” which is part of these systems, and has recently increased the number of offshore plant-related classes in its curriculum.
Furthermore, offshore plants are not limited to energy resource development, but also contribute to marine environmental protection and sustainable development. The technology and experience gained through offshore plants can also be used to solve various environmental problems, such as marine ecosystem conservation, marine waste treatment, and climate change response. For example, marine energy generation using offshore plants plays an important role in reducing fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. These environmental benefits further enhance the value of offshore plants.
In addition, the advancement of offshore plant technology is also greatly beneficial to marine science research and exploration. Deep-sea exploration equipment and marine research platforms provide important data for marine biodiversity research, geological exploration, and climate change research. This allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the unknown areas of the ocean and seek ways to use marine resources sustainably.
In conclusion, shipbuilding and ocean engineering is an important field of study that encompasses not only ships but also various other fields such as offshore plants. Offshore plants have great potential in many areas, such as energy resource development, environmental protection, and marine research, and are expected to become even more important in the future. As a student majoring in shipbuilding and marine engineering, it is important to understand these various fields and accumulate specialized knowledge to prepare for future challenges. With the development of offshore plants, shipbuilding and marine engineering will also grow, and the possibilities are endless.
