ABSTRACT

Where relevant, specific laboratory and in-situ testing procedures are emphasised and illustrated by case examples taken from a number of West Africa deepwater sites located between Nigeria and Angola. The examples presented in the paper, covering water depths in the range of 400 to 2200 m, come from several sites operated by Total (containing both published and proprietary data) and from data published by the other three operators actively involved in the Gulf of Guinea, i.e. BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil. Some data presented in the paper were previously published but are completed by a larger database. Other unpublished data come from recent R&D studies. Some preliminary results from ongoing work on new topics of interest, such as strain rate effects, interface friction and modelling, are also presented.