I don’t understand how oil rigs just live out in the middle of the ocean??? how were they installed? do they float or are they stuck to the sea floor?? pls help
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There are 4 main types.
FPSO – Floating Production Storage and Offloading. Basically a converted tanker anchored in place. (Multiple anchors, sometimes as many as 12-18).
Semi-sub. – Looks like a fixed oil rig above the water but basically has big pontoons just under the water level to make it float, and is again anchored in place.
Jack-up. – Exactly what it says on the tin. Normally a big floating body that gets owed in to place by tugs and then has legs that jack it up in the air.
Fixed. – Big steel structure that sits on the seabed. normally on concrete piles.
Then there are also some weird less common versions. e.g. Norway has one that is a set of giant concrete tubes and is held in place on a soft seabed by sucking itself into the ground.
In most cases they are not in really deep water. Most of the UK is less than 100m deep. Even when we do talk about “deepwater”, we normally mean 200-300m, not really deep ocean.
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