The company hopes the new forecasting tool will help Australia’s oil and gas industry avoid damage and delays caused by unexpected conditions.
Managing Director of MetOcean, Peter McComb, says that roll motion is a major challenge to floating facilities and that being able to plan for it better will help.

“Many of the facilities on board these vessels are not designed to operate in rolling conditions, which can occur when the waves, winds and currents are not similarly aligned,” he said.

“These moored vessels will weathervane in response to the environmental conditions, and sometimes the vessel can find itself beam on to distantly-generated swells. These waves typically have a period range that will excite the rolling motion of the vessel, and that’s where the problems start.”

Using a set of analytical equations and the specifications of the vessel – length, beam, draft, etc. – the marine weather forecast can predict the orientation of the vessel hour-by-hour for the next seven days. Then the heave, pitch and roll of the vessel are calculated for the seven-day forecast.

Dr McComb says this information will help offshore companies make informed operational decisions for their floating facilities, based on the upcoming marine weather conditions.

“For example, they might need to load important equipment over the next few days, and if the forecast predicts unsafe roll motions they could request tug assistance to reorient the vessel and mitigate the roll motion.”

The new tool will be offered to oil and gas operators and support industries in Western Australia in the last quarter of 2014.