Sustainability in an Era of Increasing Energy Demand: Challenges for Offshore Geotechnics

Abstract

The world's escalating demand for energy, combined with the depletion of oil reserves in shallow waters and traditional regions, is resulting in the move of offshore developments into deeper waters, new development regions and transformation to cleaner natural gas and renewable energy sources. Summarized in this paper are the geotechnical challenges facing the offshore industry as it attempts to sustain the world's expanding energy demands. Representative examples of new methodologies being used in engineering design are provided, including deep water anchoring and mudmat systems, installation of mobile jack-up platforms in the stratified soils that are often encountered in new development regions around Australasia, and the potential use of caissons for floating wind farms.