Once a concept is selected, a number of design considerations emerge that need through attention. With the challenging conditions surrounding today's developments, the need to push technology boundaries in a safe manner is more important than ever.

Since the early 1970s, DNV has been a partner to the oil and gas industry in advancing design standards, not least through our extensive efforts in developing codes and recommended practices.

Subsea systems and equipment
When assisting in the design of a new product or new solution, we combine a systematic approach with in-depth technical knowledge. Our goal is to make our customers confident that their technology will work safely and in accordance with expectations and specific needs. The DNV recommended practice (RP) for qualification procedure for new technology (DNV RP-A203) provides a systematic approach, outlining the philosophies, principles and methods to be used in the qualification process.

One of our particular focus areas is sand, an inevitable by-product of operating oil and gas production systems. Sand causes erosion and abrasion in components, interferes with the operation fo equipment and generates major additional costs for operators. Flow assurance thus becomes important and relevant both to the tie in new satellite fields to exisiting installations and to enable subsea-to-beach solutions.

DNV provides clients with expertise on all aspects related to sand management - all the way from reservoir, exclusion and transport, to separation and disposal. We provide an in-depth understanding of the mulitphase flow characteristics when operating a subsea system both at normal and incidental operational conditions.

Foundations
Geotechnical design is associated with a variety of challenges, requiring a broad understanding of both structural response and soil characteristics. It is of vital importane in underwater engineering to accurately predict how the soil (sand, soft sand, clay, soft clays, etc. ) will interact with an object in order to achieve the optimal solution. DNV utilises the advantage of integrating geotechnical engineering in a practical and analytical manner to optimise the design, from early phase studies to detailed design. In early phases, DNV also provides planning and supervision for soil investigations and develop soil design parameters. We perform detailed analysis and evaluations for subsea structures covering functional requirements, installation aspect, soil interaction, method for levelling and global stability.

Risers and umbilicals
Risers and umbilicals link subsea structures to floating systems or shore operation centres, and are essential elements of oil and gas offshore developments. DNV services related to dynamic risers cover a range of categories, including production, injection, export/import, drilling, completion and umbilical systems. We possess expertise within a variety of engineering disciplines, and utilise state-of-the-art software tools in order to deliver high-value solutions.