Pioneering suction pile technology; NGI innovators in Offshore Energy Center Hall of Fame

From left: Knut H. Andersen, Per Sparrevik, and Rune Dyvik, from NGI.

Knut H. Andersen, Rune Dyvik and Per Sparrevik will be inducted in the Offshore Energy Center's Hall of Fame in Galveston, Texas USA. All three have been pillars of the NGI team working on off-shore foundations.

They will be honored as Offshore Innovators for pioneering the early development of suction pile technology, a technology used worldwide today. Statoil, Shell and SBM will also be recognized for pioneering the suction pile technology together with NGI.

Dr Lars Andresen, managing director of NGI, congratulated the three pioneers and presented them with their Hall of Fame induction letters. The induction in the Hall of Fame at the Ocean Star Off-shore Drilling Rig and Museum will be recognized in a gala dinner in Houston and Galveston. A Pio-neer plaque will be displayed at the Offshore Energy Center Museum from September 20 2015.

Suction caissons, also known as suction anchors, suction piles and suction buckets, were first devel-oped for installations in the North Sea some 40 years ago. A suction caisson can be described as an upturned bucket that is penetrated into the seafloor with the help of suction. After self-weight penetration, water is pumped out of the caisson chamber creating an under-pressure which helps penetrate the caisson further down. Suction caissons can be effectively installed in both clay and sand. NGI played an instrumental role in the conception and development of suction caissons from the very early days until today, with suction buckets for wind turbines being the most recent appli-cation.

"This is a much deserved recognition to each of you for having played an essential part in the de-velopment of a highly innovative and cost-effective new foundation solution, said Lars Andresen. "Thanks to your efforts, NGI has been involved in the conception, development, design and instal-lation right from the start. This enabled NGI to contribute to hundreds of offshore installations us-ing the suction pile idea."

"The fact that NGI is still at the forefront of offshore technology development is due to efforts of many of our colleagues throughout the last 40 years, and we want to recognize all of them for their contribution. This honor is to be shared with all of them, said Knut H. Andersen on behalf of the three laureates.