Under a program organized by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), Doris Inc., the Offshore Technology Research Center (OTRC) at Texas A&M University and Sevan Marine have carried out further research and model scale testing of Sevan Marine’s cylindrical hull for application in GoM ultra deep water.

According to the company, the model tests at OTRC confirm the favorable motion characteristics of the Sevan Marine design enabling the application of with Steel Catenary Risers (SCR) and permanent mooring in even the harshest hurricane conditions.

Sevan Marine plans to conduct further research and testing in order to bring its patented SCR concept to its full potential. “Sevan Marine is confident that this can be a game changing technology for deep water offshore applications particularly in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf in years to come,” the company said in a press statement.

The Texas-based RPSEA is a nonprofit consortium with more than 180 members, including 24 of the nation’s premier research universities, five national laboratories, other research institutions, large and small energy producers and energy consumers. RPSEA is under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory to administer three areas of research.

Funding for the projects is provided through the “Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program” authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This program, funded from lease bonuses and royalties paid by industry to produce oil and gas on federal lands, is designed to assess and mitigate risk enhancing the environmental sustainability of oil and gas exploration and production activities.