Facility Side-Tracking for Iceberg Risk Management

Currently, iceberg risk mitigation at production facilities in shallower waters (80 to 120 m) on the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is accomplished using iceberg surveillance, towing, water cannons and, in the case of floating facilities, disconnection. Future developments in deeper waters such as the Flemish Pass or the Orphan Basin may be able to utilize compliant mooring and riser systems to allow a floating facility to simply move out of the path of an approaching iceberg without disconnecting. The analysis described here shows that, using simple extrapolation of the observed iceberg trajectory, the risk mitigation provided by facility side-tracking is comparable to existing physical management techniques (iceberg towing and water cannons). Improved short-term iceberg drift forecasting would allow further risk mitigation.