ABSTRACT
The offshore oil and gas industry has developed a range of offshore oil and gas installations of different sizes and configurations. Some of these installations accommodate over 200 people on board, are capable of operating at water depths of more than 3,000 metres, produce over 200,000 bpd and cost in excess of US$1 billion. To analyse the security and protection aspects of these vital offshore assets, it is important to have at least a general understanding of the offshore oil and gas industry and the types of offshore installations the industry employs. Without it, an analysis of the relevant security aspects in the subsequent chapters is difficult.1 In other words, to protect something, it is first necessary to know what needs to be protected.
