Wave Forecasting at the Site -- A Practical Solution for Terminal Operation and Planning

Abstract

Due to the capital investment cost, procurement and construction schedule, and in some cases the permissions and environmental restrictions, the oil and LNG terminals tend to move more offshore nowadays. Survivability of the facility and operational downtime becomes an issue because of the considerably more challenging metocean conditions. In most cases, metocean conditions (typically related to swell) that dictate terminal operations are determined from ship mooring studies. A slight variation in wave height, period or direction could shift the condition from ‘operational’ to ‘downtime’. However, how do commissioned terminals make critical decisions on whether or when to shut down operations? A precise wave forecast at the terminal site becomes more critical than ever for terminal planning and operation.