JUNE

S-631-04 2020

Supplementary Specification
for Offshore Topside Structures
 Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

Acknowledgements
This IOGP Specification was prepared by a Joint Industry Project 35,
Standardization of Offshore Structures Specifications organized
by IOGP with support by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Disclaimer
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information
contained in this publication, neither IOGP nor any of its Members past present or
future warrants its accuracy or will, regardless of its or their negligence, assume
liability for any foreseeable or unforeseeable use made thereof, which liability is
hereby excluded. Consequently, such use is at the recipient’s own risk on the basis
that any use by the recipient constitutes agreement to the terms of this disclaimer.
The recipient is obliged to inform any subsequent recipient of such terms.
This publication is made available for information purposes and solely for the private
use of the user. IOGP will not directly or indirectly endorse, approve or accredit the
content of any course, event or otherwise where this publication will be reproduced.

Copyright notice
The contents of these pages are © International Association of Oil & Gas Producers.
Permission is given to reproduce this report in whole or in part provided (i)
that the copyright of IOGP and (ii) the sources are acknowledged. All other rights are
reserved. Any other use requires the prior written permission of IOGP.
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of England and Wales. Disputes arising here from shall be exclusively
subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

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Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

Supplementary Specification for

Offshore Topside Structures

Revision history

VERSION DATE AMENDMENTS

1 23 June 2020 Issued for Publication

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 Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

Contents

Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
1. Scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
2. Normative References ............................................................................................................................. 6
3. Supplementary Requirements for Topside Structures ............................................................................ 6
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 14

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 Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

Foreword
A series of Specifications (all parts of S-631) was prepared under a Joint Industry Project 35 (JIP35) by the ‘Offshore
Structures Specifications Task Force’ organised by the International Oil & Gas Producers Association (IOGP) with support
from the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Recent trends in oil and gas projects have demonstrated substantial budget and schedule overruns. The Oil & Gas
Community within the World Economic Forum (WEF) have implemented a Capital Project Complexity (CPC) initiative which
seeks to drive a reduction in upstream project costs with a focus on industry-wide, non-competitive collaboration and
standardisation.

Further to the publication of the IOGP Operators’ Position and Key Messages on Standards (April 2017) and successful
pilot study for IOGP JIP 33 Standardisation of Equipment Specifications for Procurement, the IOGP Offshore Structures
Subcommittee discussed improving efficiency in this discipline by reducing or eliminating variation in requirements between
operating companies and developing common operator requirements for offshore structures. The Offshore Structures
Subcommittee established a Task Force (with administrative support funded by JIP35) to agree on the industry and/or
international standard for each discipline and then develop minimum common requirements to improve efficiency and
quality while reducing variation and cost.

Ten key Oil & Gas Companies from the IOGP membership participated in developing these Specifications, with the objective
to leverage and improve industry level standardisation for projects globally in the oil and gas sector.

The work has developed a minimised set of supplementary requirements for the design and operation of offshore structures
based on a critical review of the ten participating members’ company specifications, building on recognised industry and/or
international standards.

The task covers 11 subdisciplines, each associated with one industry and/or international standard, for application in the
Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries:

1. S-631-01 General requirements for offshore structures 7. S-631-07 Station keeping

2. S-631-02 Arctic offshore structures 8. S-631-08 Seismic
3. S-631-03 Concrete offshore structures 9. S-631-09 Metocean
4. S-631-04 Topsides structures 10. S-631-10 Marine soil investigations
5. S-631-05 Foundations 11. S-631-11 Fixed steel offshore structures
6. S-631-06 Weight management

A twelfth subdiscipline, floating offshore structures, was specified as part of the task but has been deferred due to the
complexity of having a range of classification society rules and the volume of additional company requirements for this
subdiscipline.

The expectation is that the participating and other operating and engineering companies will adopt and reference all parts
of the specification series IOGP S-631 for offshore structures, with the participating companies eliminating the supplemental
requirements from their in-house specifications. Tracking the adoption of the parts of this specification and of the reduction
in company requirements will be managed by the IOGP Offshore Structures Subcommittee.

This series of Specifications has been developed to promote the opportunity to realise benefits from standardisation and
achieve significant cost reductions for upstream project costs. The Offshore Structures Specification Task Force performed
their activities in accordance with IOGP’s Competition Law Guidelines. Terminology used within this Specification is in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 and as defined in the parent standard.

This series of Specifications aims to significantly reduce waste, decrease project costs and improve schedule through pre-
competitive collaboration on standardisation. These specifications define the supplementary requirements to recognised
industry and/or international standards which are indispensable for the application of this specification.

Following approval by the IOGP Offshore Structures Subcommittee, IOGP has authorised the publication of this
Specification. Where adopted by the individual operating companies, this Specification aims to supersede existing company
documentation for the purpose of industry-harmonised standardisation.

In the event of a conflict between these Specifications and a relevant local law or regulation, the relevant law or regulation
shall be followed. If these Specifications create a higher obligation, it shall be followed as long as this also achieves full
compliance with the law or regulation.

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 Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

1. Scope
This specification provides supplementary requirements and recommendations to ISO 19901-3: 2014.

2. Normative References
The following normative references shall apply:

API Spec. 2SC Manufacture of Structural Steel Castings for Primary Offshore Applications

ASTM A307 Standard Specification for Carbon Steel Bolts, Studs and Threaded Rod 60000 PSI Tensile
Strength

ASTM F1136/F1136M Standard Specification for Zinc/Aluminum Corrosion Protective Coatings for Fasteners

ASTM F2329/F2329M Standard Specification for Zinc Coating, Hot-Dip, Requirements for Application to Carbon and
Alloy Steel Bolts, Screws, Washers, Nuts, and Special Threaded Fasteners

ASTM F2833 Standard Specification for Corrosion Protective Fastener Coatings with Zinc Rich Base Coat
and Aluminum Organic/Inorganic Type

ASTM F3125/F3125M Standard Specification for High Strength Structural Bolts and Assemblies, Steel and Alloy
Steel, Heat Treated, Inch Dimensions 120 ksi and 150 ksi Minimum Tensile Strength, and
Metric Dimensions 830 Mpa and 1040 Mpa Minimum Tensile Strength

CAP 437 Standards for offshore helicopter landing areas

EEMUA PUB NO 176 Specification for structural castings for use offshore

ISO 19901-3: 2014 Petroleum and natural gas industries -- Specific requirements for offshore structures -- Part 3:
Topsides structure

ISO 19901-5 Petroleum and natural gas industries — Specific requirements for offshore structures — Part
5: Weight control during engineering and construction

ISO 23693 Determination of the resistance to gas explosions of passive fire protection materials

ISO 898-1 Mechanical properties of fasteners made of carbon steel and alloy steel – Part 1: Bolts, screws
and studs with specified property classes – Coarse thread and fine pitch thread

3. Supplementary Requirements for Topside Structures

Requirements for topsides offshore structures shall be in accordance with ISO 19901-3: 2014 and the following
amendments to the referenced clauses in ISO 19901-3: 2014.

NOTE: ANSI/API RP 2TOP:2019 is a modified adopt-back of ISO 19901-3:2010.

Amend the following referenced Clauses in ISO 19901-3: 2014:

4 Symbols and Abbreviated Terms

4.2 Abbreviated terms

Add the following terms:

CoG Centre of Gravity

FRP Fibre Reinforced Polymer

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6 Design requirements

6.7 Design for fatigue limit states (FLS)

Add at the end of the last sentence of the first paragraph:

… or other suitable standards shall apply (see Clause A.6.7).

A.6.7 Design for fatigue limit states (FLS)

Substitute the existing text with:

A suitable code for design for fatigue limit states in cases where the support structure standard does not provide
adequate fatigue guidance for a topsides structure is DNVGL-RP-C203.

6.9 Robustness

Substitute the first paragraph with:

Robustness is defined and discussed in ISO 19900.

7 Actions

7.1 General

Delete from the penultimate bullet point:

• , and

Add before the last bullet point:

• Damage and survival conditions, and

Add at the end of the second-last paragraph:

Specific variable loads requirements are reported in each relevant Clause. General guidance on variable loads on
deck areas are reported in ISO 19904-1 (A.7.3 Variable actions (Q)).

Add before the last paragraph:

Design of topsides structure shall make use of Not-to-exceed weights (see 19901-5) and CoG envelopes.

7.4 Vortex-induced vibrations

Substitute the last paragraph with:

Wind induced fatigue analysis and vortex shedding analysis shall be performed on lattice structures (e.g. flare
booms and drilling derricks) and exposed pipework.

7.10 Accidental situations

7.10.1 General

Add the following to the list of the second paragraph:

g) Clashes between jack-up and topsides during seismic and metocean events. However, jack-up clashes with
topsides primary steelwork and potentially manned areas (e.g. LQ, muster areas, emergency escape routes) shall
not be permitted.

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Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

Add before the sixth paragraph ("In addition, the protection of the asset and the costs of failure should be
considered with respect to importance to the owner and to the relevant national authorities."):

The risk shall be estimated for adjacent structures collapsing onto and significantly damaging the Temporary
Refuge (TR) or its systems, or obstructing escape and evacuation routes.

Adjacent structures can include derricks, flare towers, cranes, jack-up etc.

Add the following reference at the end of the last paragraph, after “ISO 19902”:

… and ISO 19904-1.

7.10.2.3 Risk assessment

7.10.2.3.1 General

Substitute the last paragraph with:

Accidental events for platforms with risk levels 2 and 3 shall be considered as load cases for structural design.

7.10.3 Hydrocarbon incidents

Add as the last bullet point:

- prevention of escalation of a hazardous event.

7.10.4 Explosion

Delete the last sentence of the second paragraph:

The explosion overpressure at the limit of significant probability, often taken as a probability of 10−4 per year, should
be the minimum value used for design explosion overpressure.

Add after the second paragraph:

Structural components subject to blast load and required for business risk and/or life-safety risk shall have sufficient
blast capacity to achieve the business risk performance objective and the life-safety performance objectives.

The business risk performance objective typically requires little or no repair costs when the structural component is
exposed to loading with annual probability of exceedance of 10-2. This can be achieved by requiring the structural
component to remain elastic (or only localised regions with limited peak stress above material yield) under SLB
(strength level blast) loading, where SLB loading is the blast load with an annual probability of exceedance of 10-2.
A less frequent event for SLB loading may be adopted based on the business consequences of the facilities (e.g.
annual probability of exceedance of 10-3).

The life-safety risk performance objective typically requires no escalation of the blast or fire event when the
structural component is exposed to loading with annual probability of exceedance of 10-4. This can be achieved by
requiring the structural component not to fracture or collapse under DLB (ductility level blast) loading, where DLB
loading is the blast load with an annual probability of exceedance of 10-4. A less frequent event for DLB loading
may be adopted based on the life-safety consequences (e.g. annual probability of exceedance of 10-5) for
catastrophic events where life-safety by evacuation cannot be demonstrated).

Plastic design may be used for the DLB loading with fracture prevented by limiting the magnitude of plastic strain
(typical limit plastic strain is 5% for welds).

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Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

A.7.10.4 Explosion

A.7.10.4.3 Method of analysis

A.7.10.4.3.1 General

Delete the second paragraph, i.e.:

Structures can be designed to respond elastically (i.e. in the elastic deflection range) or plastically, in response to
explosion pressures. In the latter case, structures will be found to have resistance to higher levels of explosion. In
design this can be accounted for by specifying two different explosion levels:

 elastic design: a strength level explosion (SLB), being an explosion with a probability of exceedance of
around 10−2 per year;

 plastic design (no fracture or collapse): a ductility level explosion (DLB), being an explosion with a
probability of exceedance of around 10−4 per year.

7.10.6 Explosion and fire interaction

Add:

The structural design or assessment shall include the consequences of blast and fire scenarios with either event
occurring first. Refer to API RP 2FB and ANSI/API RP 2TOP for more guidance.

a) The endurance period to allow a controlled evacuation from the TR (or LQ) shall be demonstrated for a blast
event followed by a fire event. Performance of the structure in a fire event followed by a blast event shall be
demonstrated for credible scenarios. The return periods may be taken from the Fire Hazard Analysis and
Explosion Hazard Analysis or using the UK’s HSE Guidance on TR Integrity.

b) Following a blast event, PFP applied to a blast wall or primary structure shall remain functional in order to
achieve the required fire endurance period in a subsequent fire event. ISO 23693 provides requirements for
barriers and structural elements.

c) Where plastic strains are incurred under the design blast, fire, or sequence blast/fire event, the post-accident
integrity of the damaged structure shall be demonstrated under permanent and environmental loads (for a 1-
year return period).

A.7.10.6 Explosion and fire interaction

A.7.10.6.1 General

Delete the last sentence of the second paragraph:

Fire and explosion assessments should demonstrate that the escape routes and safe areas survive the fire and
explosion scenarios.

A.7.10.6.3 Explosion and fire walls

Delete the point:

a) fire protection should be able to maintain integrity at the required strain,

7.11 Other actions

7.11.2 Conductors

Add before the second-last sentence:

Where drilling is performed from a derrick cantilevered from a jack-up through a platform conductor, the ULS check
shall include forced displacements and any consequent actions on the conductor and its supports due to the relative
movement between the structure and the drilling jack-up.

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Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

7.11.6 Bridge supports

Add at the end of potential action b):

When active or passive motion compensated gangways are used for transfer of personnel or goods from floating
support vessels to a topsides structure the designer shall use data from the gangway vendor to determine the
design actions on the topsides during installation and operation of the gangway.

8 Strength and resistance of structural components

8.4.3 Bolted connections

Add before the bulleted list:

Bolts in conformance with ISO 898 Gr 4.6 or ASTM A307 shall not be used.

Higher strength bolt designations than ISO 898 Gr. 10.9 or ASTM F3125 A490 Type 1 shall not be used.

Note: Higher strength bolt designations can cause hydrogen embrittlement in sea environment.

Substitute the existing bulleted list with:

— For preloaded bolts, the effective length of the bolt (between the underside of the head and the nut) shall
be sufficiently long to minimize the consequence of creep in reducing the tension in the bolt. Preloaded
bolts should have a minimum effective length of L/D > 5 or collars should be added.
— A 2nd re-tightening of the bolts shall be performed at a minimum of 40mins after the initial tightening.
— A reduction in pretension over the life of the bolted connection (20 to 50 years) due to creep of 20% shall
be assumed for bolts with any protective coating applied to the bolt surface.
— Bolt hole edges shall be rounded and the connection shall be sealed with a durable sealant, or a durable
paint system, or both.
— Washers shall be used beneath both bolt heads and nuts to minimise coating damage. Loose washers
(plain or spring) should not be used.
— The nut should be prevented from loosening under vibration by chemical bonding (e.g. loctite) of the nut to
the bolt thread. The nut may be prevented from loosening under vibration by wedge-locking using corrosion
resistant alloy washers surface hardened via a low temperature carbon diffusion process.
— Corrosion protection of bolted connections shall be assured by the adoption of corrosion resistant alloy or
high durability coating or metallizing. All surfaces that are in contact or inaccessible after assembly should
be coated in aluminium spray. ISO 898 Gr 8.8 and ASTM F3125 A325 type 1 bolts shall be hot dip spun
galvanised (HDSG) in conformance to ASTM F2329. ISO 898 Gr 10.9 and ASTM F3125 A490 type 1 bolts
shall be coated with a liquid applied Zn/Al based coating system in conformance with ASTM F1136 Gr3 or
ASTM F2833 Gr1. After final assembly, accessible parts of the bolts shall be overcoated with an organic
coating system to match the surrounding structure. Cadmium-plated bolts shall not be used as they can
emit a lethal toxic fume when heated.
— Regular inspection of bolted connections should be specified.
— Structural bolts should be tensioned using one of the following:
 Proprietary bolt tensioning devices (e.g. Hydratight)
 Turn of nut procedures
 Direct tension indicating devices or bolts (e.g. rotabolts)
 Bench calibrated wrench
— Bolt holes shall not be drilled in any members that are classified as DC 1 or 2, with reference to Table 7.
— For repair clamps using grout or an elastomer liner, additional losses due to long-term effects shall be
accounted for in deriving the residual bolt tension.

8.5 Castings

Add to the end of the Clause:

The manufacture and testing of castings, including qualification of welding shall be in accordance with EEMUA 176
or API Spec. 2SC, unless company requirements indicate otherwise.

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9 Structural systems

Add as a new sub Clause:

9.1.4 Equipment and equipment supports

Equipment supports that are subject to uplift shall be mounted directly on the supporting steelwork and not on deck
plate or grating.

Deck plate or deck grating shall incorporate cut-outs to permit attachment to the supporting steelwork.

9.2.1 Topsides structure design models

9.2.1 General

Substitute the first paragraph with:

Internal forces in structural components shall be derived using an indeterminate, three-dimensional structural
analysis methodology.

9.2.2 Support structure model for topsides design

Add at the end of the Clause:

During Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and detail design, primary steel joint eccentricities shall be modelled
with additional nodes to reflect the true eccentricities in order to account for shear transfer through the chord.

9.2.4 Modelling for design of equipment and piping supports

Add at the end of the Clause:

Equipment skids or packages shall be modelled such that the mass is lumped at the local vertical CoG for
conditions subject to lateral accelerations.

Dummy members shall not add stiffness to the model.

9.4 Flare towers, booms, vents and similar structures

Add before the last paragraph:

The designed support of the access platform at the top of the flare tower/boom shall take into account the potential
expansion of the platform in relation to the primary steelwork due to thermal radiation.
Flare design shall account for the effects of the flare header filling with liquid.

9.5.3 Design actions and resistances

9.5.3.3 Helicopter emergency landing situation

a) Helicopter dynamic actions (undercarriage local actions)

Substitute point a) with the following:

The dynamic helicopter landing action shall be calculated based on CAP 437.

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9.6 Crane support structure

9.6.1 General

Add at the end of the Clause:

For the design condition, deflections and accelerations at the top of the crane pedestal/crane cab shall be evaluated
and reviewed by operations personnel and the crane manufacturer.

If the crane pedestal is used for storage, design actions and internal corrosion protection shall be based on the
nature of the liquid to be stored and the maximum levels and pressures under normal operating, test or failure of
level control conditions.

Note: Under certain circumstances, it could be advantageous to use crane pedestals for diesel or water storage.

9.8 Bridges

Add after the first paragraph:

Bridge primary steelwork and supports should be evaluated for fatigue due to the transmission of wave loading
through the supporting substructures.

9.12 Fire protection systems

Add after the second paragraph:

Where the PFP can be wetted, the PFP shall be sealed to prevent water ingress and corrosion of the substrate.

Where protection from jet fires is required, PFP products shall be specified that have been successfully tested to
ISO 22899-1.

Coat back lengths for secondary members attached to PFP protected primary members shall be determined to
avoid potential system weaknesses.

9.13 Penetrations

Add after first paragraph:

Where penetrations are required through a safety critical barrier, penetrations shall be designed such that the
performance objectives of the barrier are not impaired.

Detailing at penetrations shall minimise stress concentrations and corrosion development.

9.16 Actions due to drilling operations

Add after the first paragraph:

Coincident drilling weights for Storm and Operating conditions shall be in conformance with ISO 19901-5 Annex -
Weight management during operations.

9.19 Muster areas and lifeboat stations

Add after the last paragraph:

Dynamic impact factor applied to the loaded weight of the lifeboat shall comply with regulatory requirements.

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Supplementary Specification for Offshore Topside Structures

10 Materials

10.5 Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite

Add after the third paragraph:

FRP shall be considered as an alternative to steel for floor grating, hand railing and ladders, lightweight fire and
explosion-resistant panels.

Specific design requirements shall be included in assessing and selecting FRP elements. For example, for a floor
grating, as a minimum, the following design requirements shall be:

a) layout requirements;
b) spacing between load bearing bars;
c) uniformly distributed loads and concentrated loads, including trolley wheel loads and wave uplift loads;
d) span of grating and deflection limits;
e) impact resistance;
f) fire performance, including fire endurance, flame spread, smoke and toxic gas emissions, and residual
strength following the exposure;
g) skid resistance and durability of anti-slip surface;
h) ultra-violet protection;
i) chemical resistance;
j) static electricity discharge;
k) grating fixing details;
l) cut-outs and penetrations.

Similarly, assessments shall be made for other product types (handrails, etc.).

For locations where FRP does not meet all the performance requirements, a suitable steel grating shall be
specified.

Add at the end of the Clause:

Primary escape routes shall not contain fibre-reinforced composites grating.

11 Fabrication, quality control, quality assurance and documentation

11.2 Welding

Add to the list of additional considerations:

d) In general, DC 1, 2 and 3 steel member splices, connections to other members, and joints shall be full
penetration welds.
e) All partial penetration and fillet welds shall be designed and verified.
f) Full penetration weld of a thicker member to a thinner member shall be avoided, e.g. by tapering at 1:4 or
lower.

13 Loadout, transportation and installation

Add at the end of the Clause:

Installation aid structures that are planned to be removed shall be designed taking safe and easy removal into
account.

Removal requirements of temporary attachments are provided in Clause 11.1.4.

Verification of the deformation induced forces during loadout shall account for the stiffness and relative
displacements of the structure being loaded out, the grillage structure, the trailers or skid beams, the barge and the
quay soil.

Differential deflections of the topsides structure during pre-service (fabrication, loadout, transportation and
installation operations) shall be evaluated to verify equipment and piping serviceability and structures strength
as required in Clauses 7.9.2, 9.2.3 and 9.2.4.

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Bibliography
API RP 2FB Recommended Practice for the Design of Offshore Facilities Against Fire
and Blast Loading

ANSI/API RP 2TOP ISO 19901-3:2010 (Modified), Petroleum and natural gas industries —
Specific requirements for offshore structures — Part 3: Topsides structure

DNVGL-RP-C203 Fatigue design of offshore steel structures

ISO 19900 Petroleum and natural gas industries -- General requirements for offshore
structures

ISO 19904-1 Petroleum and natural gas industries — Floating offshore structures — Part
1: Ship-shaped, semi-submersible, spar and shallow-draught cylindrical
structures

ISO 22899-1 Determination of the resistance to jet fires of passive fire protection
materials – Part 1: General requirements

UK HSE Hazardous Installations Directorate (HID) Inspection Guide Offshore –

Inspection of Temporary Refuge Integrity

END

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