SuRe3-OW-GH2
(Starting date: 2024-09-15; Ending date: 2025-12-31)
summary
What is SuRe3-OW-GH2 about?
SuRe3-OW-GH2 aims to explore eco-sustainable energy transition strategies that would go from decommissioned Oil and Gas Offshore platforms through Wind Energy to Green Hydrogen, while also considering recycled materials reuse and remanufacturing. To achieve safety and reliability, multi-physics and multi-scale methodologies will be used to assess structural capacity, that will build from meteorological and oceanographic (metocean) climate modelling, consider the use of recyclable materials for topological corrections, employ stochastic processes and metamodeling, and ultimately assess extreme and fatigue
loads.
The benefits of refurbishing decommissioned offshore platforms into green energy generation stations are:
a) savings of millions of euros (or dollars) in decommissioning costs;
b) reduction of waste;
c) sustainable reuse of decommissioned offshore platforms;
d) the provision of revenue and jobs to support the economy;
e) availability of clean, renewable energy that can contribute to meeting various targets and helping the world towards a carbon-neutral future;
f) reduced harm to the marine environment.
What critical challenges is SuRe3-OW-GH2 addressing?
SuRe3-OW-GH2 aims at providing solutions to the world’s desire for sustainable and
resilient energy sources. The project supports the vision of a transition from carbonized energy sources to carbon-free ones, while leveraging the immense potential in our oceans. In order to implement these ideas, structural integrity studies are important and will seek to assess the feasibility of using existing O&G jacket structures for their new functions. The requisites for retrofitting and the effects on fatigue performance will be assessed. The multidisciplinary project team combines expertise in fatigue modelling and structural integrity assessment at FEUP with expertise in modeling the ocean environment and offshore structures at UT Austin.
How will SuRe3-OW-GH2 explore eco-sustainable energy transition?
The project team intends to study eco-sustainable energy transition strategies from decommissioned oil and gas offshore platforms through wind energy to green hydrogen, where the multiphysics methodologies to evaluate the structural capacity and fatigue performance based on metocean climate modelling for the chosen offshore sites, as well as the extreme environmental conditions and recycle materials reuse and remanufacturing, will be investigated. For that, recycled and recyclable materials, green manufacturing processes, and reinforcement solutions will be explored. Additionally, multiscale retrofitting strategies and solutions will be studied.
How is OM-TTR expected to impact energy research and environment?
The proposed work will contribute toward the development of eco-sustainable energy transition strategies that seek pathways to go from decommissioned Oil and Gas Offshore platforms through Wind Energy to Green Hydrogen. Benefits to the environment are obvious since this project will make it possible to repair, remanufacture, and reuse decommissioned oil and gas offshore platforms to serve as support structures for green energy production systems (wind energy to green hydrogen) and ultimately lead to cleaner and environmentally sustainable energy generation.
The SuRe2-OW-GH2 project focuses on the following tasks:
– Task 1: Metocean Climate, Structural Integrity and Reconversion of Oceanic Systems
A review of metocean climate modelling, using available wave and wind data applied in the design of marine structures will be carried out. Challenges and opportunities in adopting eco-sustainable energy transition strategies to reuse decommissioned oil and gas offshore platforms to support green energy production systems through wind energy to green hydrogen will be also reviewed. Structural integrity methodologies will be a focus. Retrofitting strategies and solutions for structures and consideration of reconversion, reuse, repair, and remanufacturing will be reviewed.
– Task 2: Recyclable Materials Reuse and Remanufacturing
The characterization of monotonic and fatigue strength behaviours of metal materials and additively remanufactured steels by wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and/or direct energy deposition (DED) will be explored for both crack initiation and propagation phases. Regarding the environment, different loading conditions and extreme environmental effects will be considered. Sea level influences the local environments and thus the rate and type of corrosion experienced. Different commercially available coatings for corrosion mitigation will also be assessed.
– Task 3: Multiphysics Methodologies: Structural Capacity and Fatigue Performance
The structural capacity and fatigue performance will be assessed by means of multi-physics micro- and macro-mechanics models applied to critical structural details in decommissioned oil and gas offshore platforms to be used as support structures for green energy production systems. Feasibility assessments of support structure and foundation candidates will be undertaken using metocean climate modelling and accounting for variability at chosen offshore sites. An evaluation of the structural capacity and fatigue performance of decommissioned offshore platforms, accounting for metocean climate variability in sea conditions, while taking into account the mechanical properties of recycled metal materials and remanufactured steels, will be a focus of this task.
– Task 4: Multiscale Retrofitting Strategies and Solutions
Multiscale retrofitting strategies and solutions to be applied to the decommissioned oil and gas offshore platforms that can serve as support structures of green energy production systems will be studied. The most significant damage expected in these structures is related to corrosion, accidents and fatigue. Various retrofitting activities focused on intervention methods such as the use of a crown pile, a long pile, mooring lines, and stirrups, among others, will be considered and evaluated. Furthermore, the development of multiscale retrofitting strategies and solutions at the global level in structural models and structural detail-material, exploring not only extreme environmental effects but also the use of remanufactured steels and recycled/recyclable materials for topological corrections, will be explored.
– Task 5: Dissemination activities
The dissemination of scientific results from this project will culminate in the publication of scientific papers in scientific journals, conference proceedings papers, and newsletters for the community. Project results will be shared in a project website to be created. This will be complemented by social media postings and network exchanges with different international groups working on related topics.
Main Coordinators
FEUP
Bruno Pedrosa, Co-Coordinator
Rita Dantas
Danial Haselibozchaloee
Carlos Rebelo
UTA
Kyungjung Cha
Chi-Wei Niu
journal papers:
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Conference papers:
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Supported phd thesis
- Chi-Wei Niu, Integrated Floating Offshore Wind Energy and Green Hydrogen Systems: Structural Reliability, PhD Thesis, University of Texas at Austin, USA (ongoing).
- Kyungjung Cha, Integrated Floating Offshore Wind Energy and Green Hydrogen Systems: Configurations, Designs and Challenges, PhD Thesis, University of Texas at Austin, USA (ongoing).
- Carlos Rebelo, Fatigue Performance of High-Strength Bolts for Offshore Renewable Energy Structures, PhD Thesis, University of Porto, Portugal (ongoing).
- Danial Haselibozchaloee, Extreme Environments-Based Integrity of Decommissioned Offshore Platforms for Reuse into Green Energy Production Hubs, PhD Thesis, University of Porto, Portugal (submission date: 26 January, 2026).
- Ding Liao, Probabilistic Fatigue Assessment of Engineering Notched Parts Under Size Effect, PhD Thesis, University of Porto, Portugal (2025).
- Rita Dantas, Fatigue behaviour of S690 structural steel for ocean systems applications, PhD Thesis, University of Porto, Portugal (2025).
supported msc thesis
Rafael Martins, Structural integrity assessment of a metallic structure of the port of Sines, MSc Thesis, University of Porto, Portugal (2025).