THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GAS FOR OFFSHORE OPERATIONS

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the physical behaviour of a seabed containing undissolved gas in the light of laboratory simulations undertaken at Oxford, Belfast and Sheffield Universities. This physical behaviour is significant for offshore operations in several ways. Gas may exist in high pressure pockets, trapped beneath low permeability clays, which form a blow out hazard during drilling. In fine-grained soils, it exists in voids distributed through the soil, at pressures only a little greater than the ambient water pressure. In this condition, it is unlikely to induce casastrophic failure, but will affect the foundation behaviour through changes in compressibility and strength. In sands, gas may be present in pores between particles, replacing water but not affecting the soil structure. There are common features in all these cases, in that the gas-water interaction occurs through surface tension, acting in menisci whose curvature is affected by the soil particle sizes, shapes and packing. These menisci determine the differences between gas and water pressure that may exist in the soil. Results are presented to show that the compressibility and undrained shear strength of a fine-grained soil are reduced by the presence of gas in a predictable manner, with a similar conclusion for the undrained strength of a gassy sand.