This part of ISO13624 pertains to the design, selection, operation and maintenance of marine riser systems for floating drilling operations. Its purpose is to serve as a reference for designers, for those who select system components, and for those who use and maintain this equipment. It relies on basic engineering principles and the accumulated experience of offshore operators, contractors, and manufacturers.
NOTE Technology is advancing in this field and improved methods and equipment are continually evolving. Each owner and operator is encouraged to observe the recommendations outlined herein and to supplement them with other proven technology that can result in more cost effective, safer, and/or more reliable performance.
The marine drilling riser is best viewed as a system. It is necessary that designers, contractors, and operators realize that the individual components are recommended and selected in a manner suited to the overall performance of that system. For the purposes of this part of ISO13624, a marine drilling riser system includes the tensioner system and all equipment between the top connection of the upper flex/ball joint and the bottom of wellhead conductor outer casing. It specifically excludes the diverter. Also, the applicability of this part of ISO13624 is limited to operations with a subsea BOP stack deployed at the seafloor.
Clauses1 through 7 of this part of ISO13624 are directly applicable to most floating drilling operations. Special situations are addressed in 8.1 and 8.4 dealing with deep-water drilling and collapse. The special considerations required for guidelineless drilling are addressed in 8.2. In addition, 8.3 and 8.5 address operations in cold-weather conditions and H2S considerations.
It is important that all riser primary-load-path components addressed in this part of ISO13624 be consistent with the load classifications specified in ISO13625.