Offshore oil refers to oil resources that are located in an ocean or lake˳ There are offshore oil fields in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico as well as fields near the shores of Brazil, Nigeria and South East Asia˳ Offshore oil platforms are used to drill for and extract petroleum from these fields˳
Offshore oil platforms are big structures that are used to contain the numerous rig workers, machinery and supplies that are required for extracting oil from the ocean bed˳ These platforms or rigs are commonly attached to the ocean floor or floating in one place like a man made island˳ Oil rigs are normally located on the continental shelves where the water is not too deep for drilling˳
Most offshore oil rigs are designed to be largely self-sufficient˳ They use water desalination to produce drinkable water and electrical generators to provide electricity˳ The oil rigs are also supplied by platform supply ships and smaller emergency support vessels˳
Drill ships may also be used for offshore oil extraction˳ These are ships that have been outfitted with drilling equipment˳ They are commonly used for drilling exploratory oil wells in deeper water˳ These drilling ships are normally outfitted with dynamic positioning systems to help them to maintain the same position in the water over the oil well˳
Sub sea oil production systems are sometimes used in order to extract petroleum from more than one underwater oil well at a time˳ Normally each individual well is linked up with a fixed offshore oil platform or a onshore facility via flow lines˳ Developing sub sea oil fields requires specialized equipment and is a risky and costly endeavor˳
Offshore oil platforms can pose a threat to the environment that surrounds it˳ Oil spills may occur due to accidents on the rig or oil tankers running aground near coasts while transporting crude oil˳ Water that is used in the operations on board a offshore oil platform can also be contaminated with drilling fluids and other chemicals˳
The extraction of oil and gas from seas and lakes are far more costly than land-based operations˳ There are unique challenges to overcome such as keeping the platform above the surface of the water˳ Another important consideration involves the transportation of food, supplies and rig workers to and from the rigs˳
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