About Offshore Trainer
Offshore Trainer is a 3D training model of a generic U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas drilling and production platform, above and below the waterline, with linked drawings, guided lessons and an offshore safety guide. It is for new hands, technicians, designers and engineers learning how offshore facilities are built, how they work and how they are worked on safely.
Content last reviewed: November 8, 2026 · Site version v4. Two facilities: a fixed drilling and production platform in about 300 ft of water and a deepwater tension leg platform with its own drilling rig in about 3,000 ft of water. A jack-up drilling rig is next.
Disclaimer
Offshore Trainer is an educational model of typical U.S. Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf practice. It is not a substitute for the regulations that apply to your facility (30 CFR 250, 33 CFR Subchapter N, 40 CFR 435 and others), your operator's safety and environmental management system, work permits and procedures, manufacturer instructions, or the judgment of a qualified engineer or competent person. Dimensions, ratings, set points and calculations are representative and are not for design, construction, operations, well control or emergency response. Offshore work requires the training, orientation and authorization your employer and the operator specify.
Drawings, DXF downloads and CAD symbols are generated from the training model. They show typical arrangements at representative sizes and are not for design or construction. Process and instrument symbols are drawn in the style of ISA-5.1 as commonly used on U.S. oil and gas drawings, and electrical symbols in the style of IEEE 315; the owner's legend sheet governs on real projects.
No engineering services. The content, drawings and exports were not prepared, checked or sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer, and using the site does not create an engineer-client relationship. Everything is provided as is, without warranty of any kind. Exported files carry the same notice in their header rows, and drawing title blocks say "NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION" and "NOT PE-SEALED".
The certificate records participation in a self-paced, unproctored program. It is not offshore orientation, water survival, helicopter underwater escape or any other training an operator requires before you go offshore, and it does not make anyone qualified or authorized for any task.
The facilities
Both facilities are generic: neither is a real platform, field, lease or operator, and no real incident is reenacted. The fixed platform's layout and sizes follow published Gulf of Mexico practice: an eight-leg steel jacket in about 300 ft of water with 48 in piles; a cellar deck, a main deck and a drilling deck carrying a platform rig (derrick, drill floor, BOP stack and closing unit, choke manifold, mud pumps, pits and shakers, and its own power module); nine dry-tree wells; oil, gas and water separation, gas dehydration and compression, oil export and produced-water treatment; gas-turbine power with an emergency generator; firewater; two cranes; quarters for 96, a helideck, four lifeboats and two boat landings. The deck sizes are close to those reported in the trade press for a four-level Gulf of Mexico drilling and production platform. Where a size came from a report, a regulation or a manufacturer's catalog, the item's panel in the trainer says so; everything else is labeled a model value.
The deepwater tension leg platform floats in about 3,000 ft of water. Four 72 ft steel columns on a ring pontoon carry a three-level deck box; twelve steel tendons, three at each corner, pull the hull down to piled foundation templates on the seabed, so it hardly heaves and its twelve wells end in dry trees on deck, reached through top-tensioned risers. A platform rig on the upper deck drills through a dual-bore drilling riser with a five-BOP surface stack. Separation, an electrostatic treater, glycol dehydration and turbine-driven export compression send oil and gas down steel catenary risers. Three gas turbine generators at 13.8 kV make the power; quarters for 150 with the helideck on top, ten lifeboats (five on each side), liferafts, a rescue boat and two fire pumps follow the Coast Guard rules for floating units. Hull, tendon, foundation and riser sizes sit inside ranges published for Gulf of Mexico TLPs, and the rig sizes come from a published Gulf TLP platform rig specification sheet where the part says so; process sizes are model values.
Cables run in aluminum ladder cable tray built to published manufacturer data for that kind of tray (24 in wide, 9 in rung spacing, supports at 10 ft). Every bend and branch is a separate fitting at the maker's standard 24 in radius, which keeps the cables at no less than 7 times their outside diameter, the smallest permanent bend a cable distributor's guide gives for shielded or armored cable. Trays leave buildings through multi-cable transits. Short drops to motors and instruments are in rigid aluminum conduit with seals where the area classification calls for them; generator and medium-voltage cables are armored and enter their boxes through glands. Pipe supports are spaced within the suggested spans for each pipe size; where each support goes is a model value. Remote-mounted transmitters have their impulse tubing modeled, and the gas meter's transmitter sits in a heated enclosure as an example of that practice; freezing weather is uncommon on the Gulf of Mexico shelf, so whether a transmitter is heated depends on the service and the operator, and the item says so.
Who regulates what
On the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regulates the wells, the production safety system, cranes, electrical area classification and pipelines on the lease (30 CFR 250). The U.S. Coast Guard regulates lifesaving equipment, means of escape, guards and rails, personal protective equipment, workplace conditions and navigation lights (33 CFR Subchapter N and Part 67). The Environmental Protection Agency sets discharge limits (40 CFR 435 and its general permit). Under a 2014 memorandum of agreement for fixed platforms (OCS-09), BSEE inspects many of the Coast Guard's requirements on the Coast Guard's behalf. On a floating facility the Coast Guard's rules for vessels also apply (33 CFR 143.120 points to 46 CFR, including the lifesaving, helicopter deck, fire pump and crane rules of 46 CFR Part 108), and BSEE's Platform Verification Program covers the whole new floating platform with its risers, tensioners, foundations and tendons (30 CFR 250.910(b)). The trainer cites the rule behind each requirement it shows so you can read it yourself.
How to read the numbers
Values in the trainer fall into four kinds. Where it matters, the text says which kind a number is.
| Kind | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation | Set by a federal regulation. The section is cited. | Guard rails at least 42 in high (33 CFR 143.110(a)); the surface safety valve closes within 45 seconds of the shut-in signal (30 CFR 250.821(b)) |
| Standard, named only | A consensus standard governs the topic. The site names it but takes no values from it, because the text is sold by its publisher. | API RP 14C safety analysis; API RP 2A-WSD structural design; API RP 14G firewater |
| Typical practice | Published by a government report or a manufacturer, and common in the Gulf of Mexico, but varies by operator. | Jacket leg diameters and pile sizes from BSEE research reports; ladder cable tray and instrument tubing sizes from manufacturer data |
| Model value | A representative number chosen for the 3D model. | Vessel sizes, pump and compressor ratings, production rates, set points shown on the process flow diagram |
The arc flash tool shows its equations and every input on screen and is labeled a teaching model (IEEE 1584-2002 equations; the current edition of IEEE 1584 uses a different method).
References
Regulations were read on eCFR on the dates shown. Codes and standards are revised regularly: confirm the edition your project or employer has adopted. For standards, the edition shown is the one 30 CFR 250.198 incorporates by reference where the rule names one ("per 30 CFR 250.198", read October 22, 2026); "edition not verified" rows were not checked and their current status should be confirmed with the publisher. Standards named without a value taken from them are listed so you know where a topic lives, not as a source for a number on this site.
Regulations
| Reference | Edition | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| 30 CFR 250 Subpart H, production safety systems | eCFR, read Oct 21, 2026 (includes the June 10, 2026 amendments, 91 FR 35304) | Subsurface safety valve depth and closure (250.814, 250.818, 250.821); tree and SSV requirements (250.802, 250.820); boarding shutdown valve (250.838); safety system design and area classification plans (250.841, 250.842); pressure vessels and relief valve set points (250.851); flowlines (250.852); ESD system (250.855); engines (250.856); glycol units (250.857); compressors (250.858); firefighting, including floating facilities (250.859); fire and gas detection (250.862); bypassing (250.869); hot work (250.871); safety device testing intervals (250.880) |
| 30 CFR 250 Subparts D and G, drilling and well operations | eCFR, read Oct 22, 2026 (includes the June 10 and August 10, 2026 amendments) | Diverter lines, control stations and testing (250.430 to 250.433); drilling fluids: hole fill and postings at the driller's console, the mud gas separator and degasser, mud testing each tour, monitoring on the rig floor, quantities on hand and mud-handling areas (250.455 to 250.459); work on a platform with producing wells (250.723); real-time monitoring for a surface BOP on a floating facility (250.724); surface BOPs on floating production facilities and the dual-bore drilling riser (250.733(b), 250.734(a)(1)); 12 in diverter lines for floating drilling (250.431(a)); the BOP stack, its control stations, choke and kill lines, the choke manifold and BOP testing (250.730 to 250.737) |
| 30 CFR 250 Subpart A | eCFR, read Oct 21 and 22, 2026 | Cranes (250.108); welding, burning and hot tapping (250.113); electrical equipment and area classification (250.114); documents incorporated by reference and their editions (250.198) |
| 30 CFR 250.490, hydrogen sulfide | eCFR, read Oct 21, 2026 | H2S detection, alarm levels, sensor spacing and testing, breathing equipment, briefing areas and warning flags (safety guide) |
| 30 CFR 250 Subpart S, safety and environmental management systems | eCFR, read Oct 31, 2026 | SEMS elements, stop work authority, ultimate work authority, job safety analysis and management of change (safety guide and safety check) |
| 30 CFR 250.113 and 250.114; 250.300; 250.1160 and 250.1163 | eCFR, read Oct 30 and 31, 2026 | Welding, burning and hot tapping; electrical installation on platforms; deck drains to a sump system (the sump piles); flaring and venting limits and flare meters |
| 46 CFR 111.05, equipment ground, ground detection and grounded systems | eCFR, read Oct 31, 2026 | Earthing and bonding on the floating facility (safety guide) |
| 30 CFR 250 Subpart J, pipelines | eCFR, read Oct 22, 2026 | Pipeline burial, crossings and hydrostatic test pressure (250.1003); pipeline risers on tension leg platforms and other floating platforms (250.1002(b)(5)) |
| 30 CFR 250 Subpart I, platforms and structures | eCFR, read Oct 22, 2026 | Soil borings near TLP piles (250.907(a)); the Platform Verification Program for new floating platforms (250.910(b)) and the verification agent’s duties through design, fabrication and installation (250.916 to 250.918); the annual in-service inspection report (250.919) |
| 33 CFR 142, workplace safety and health | eCFR, read Oct 21 and 22, 2026 | Personal protective equipment (142.27 to 142.48), including safety belts and lifelines at a 10 ft fall hazard (142.42) and personal flotation devices (142.45); guarding of deck openings (142.87); lockout and tagout (142.90) |
| 33 CFR 143, design and equipment | eCFR, read Oct 21, 2026 | Lights and warning devices (143.15); means of escape (143.101); personnel landings (143.105); guards and rails, 42 in minimum, and the helideck perimeter (143.110); floating OCS facilities and the vessel rules that apply to them (143.120, read Oct 22, 2026) |
| 46 CFR 108, design and equipment (mobile offshore drilling units), applied to floating OCS facilities by 33 CFR 143.120 | eCFR, read Oct 22, 2026 | Stability (108.301); fire pumps and fire main (108.415 to 108.419); fire-protected lifeboats in two widely separated locations and float-free liferafts (108.520, 108.525); a rescue boat (108.560); eight lifebuoys (108.580); helicopter deck, its safety net and access routes (108.233, 108.235); cranes (108.601) |
| 33 CFR 144 and 146, lifesaving and operations | eCFR, read Oct 21, 2026 | Life floats and survival craft, life preservers and ring life buoys (144.01); station bill, alarm signals and drills (146.105, 146.110, 146.125) |
| 33 CFR 67, aids to navigation on fixed structures | eCFR, read Oct 21, 2026 | Obstruction lights and the fog signal on the platform (67.05, 67.10, 67.20) |
| 40 CFR 435 Subpart A | eCFR, read Oct 21, 2026 | Produced-water oil and grease limits (produced-water treating equipment) |
| 29 CFR 1910.25, 1910.28, 1910.146, 1910.151 and 1910.1000 | eCFR, read Oct 21, 22, 30 and 31, 2026 | Stair angle, riser, tread and width, used as a comparison for the model's stairs (1910.25); ladder safety systems on fixed ladders over 24 ft, as a comparison for the vessel ladders (1910.28(b)(9)); permit-required confined spaces, as good practice (1910.146); eyewash where corrosives can splash, shown as good practice (1910.151(c)); the general-industry H2S ceiling and peak (1910.1000 Table Z-2) |
| 47 CFR 80 and 42 CFR 84 | named only | Marine radio stations; respirator approval (library reference entries) |
Industry standards (named only)
| Standard | Edition | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| API RP 14C | 7th ed., March 2001, reaffirmed March 2007, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Surface safety systems: safety analysis, the sensors and shutdown valves on each component, ESD stations (Appendix C), testing (Appendix D) |
| API RP 14J | 2nd ed., May 2001, reaffirmed January 2013, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Design and hazards analysis for offshore production facilities |
| API RP 75 | 3rd ed., May 2004, reaffirmed May 2008, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Safety and environmental management programs (SEMS) |
| API RP 2003; ANSI Z87.1, Z89.1, Z41 and Z88.2 | edition not verified | Static, lightning and stray currents; eye and face, head and foot protection and respirators named in 33 CFR 142 |
| API RP 14E | 5th ed., October 1991, reaffirmed January 2013, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Offshore production piping |
| API RP 14G | 4th ed., April 2007, reaffirmed January 2013, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Fire prevention and control on fixed open-type platforms; firewater |
| API RP 14F and RP 14FZ | 14F 5th ed., July 2008, reaffirmed April 2013; 14FZ 2nd ed., May 2013; per 30 CFR 250.198 | Electrical systems for offshore platforms (Division and Zone) |
| API RP 500 and RP 505 | 500 3rd ed., December 2012; 505 1st ed., November 1997, reaffirmed August 2013; per 30 CFR 250.198 | Area classification |
| API RP 2A-WSD | 22nd ed., November 2014, reaffirmed September 2020, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Planning, designing and constructing fixed offshore platforms |
| API RP 2T | 3rd ed., July 2010, reaffirmed June 2015, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Planning, designing and constructing tension leg platforms |
| API RP 2RD | 1st ed., June 1998, reaffirmed May 2006, errata June 2009, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Design of risers for floating production systems and tension leg platforms: production, drilling and pipeline risers |
| API RP 2SIM | 1st ed., November 2014, reaffirmed September 2020, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Structural integrity management of fixed platforms |
| API Spec 2C and RP 2D | 2C 6th ed., March 2004; 2D 6th ed., May 2007; per 30 CFR 250.198 | Offshore pedestal cranes; their operation and maintenance |
| API Spec 6A and Std 6AV1 | 6A 21st ed., November 2018, with errata and addenda; 6AV1 3rd ed., July 2018; per 30 CFR 250.198 | Wellhead and christmas tree equipment; safety valve validation |
| API Std 6AV2 and Spec 14A | 6AV2 1st ed., March 2014; 14A 11th ed., October 2005, reaffirmed June 2012; per 30 CFR 250.198 | Surface safety valve installation and repair; subsurface safety valve equipment |
| API RP 14B | 6th ed., September 2015, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Subsurface safety valve systems |
| API MPMS Chapter 6.1 | 2nd ed., May 1991, Addendum 1 August 2020, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Lease automatic custody transfer (LACT) systems |
| API Std 53 | 5th ed., December 2018, per 30 CFR 250.198 | Well control equipment systems for drilling wells: BOP stacks, closing units and their testing |
| API Spec 16A, 16C and 16D | 16A 3rd ed., June 2004, reaffirmed August 2010; 16C 1st ed., January 1993, reaffirmed July 2010; 16D 2nd ed., July 2004, reaffirmed August 2013; per 30 CFR 250.198 | Drill-through equipment (BOPs); choke and kill systems; control systems for well control and diverter equipment |
| API Spec 4F and RP 4G | edition not verified (not incorporated in 30 CFR 250) | Drilling and well servicing structures (derricks and masts); their inspection and maintenance |
| API Std 520, 521, 526, 527, 537, 610, 616, 617, 618, 661, 674; API 510 and 570; API RP 1111; API MPMS Chapter 14.3 | edition not verified | Relief and flare systems, pumps, compressors, turbines, air coolers, vessel and piping inspection, offshore pipelines, orifice metering |
| ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII; ASME B31.3 | edition not verified | Pressure vessels; process piping |
| ASME B31.1 (Table 121.5); MSS SP-58 | edition not verified | Suggested pipe support spacing; pipe hangers and supports |
| NFPA 70 (Articles 392, 430, 445, 500 to 505 and 695), NFPA 70E, NFPA 15, NFPA 20, NFPA 72, NFPA 780, NFPA 2112 | edition not verified | Cable tray fill and separation, motor circuits, generator conductors, hazardous locations and fire pump circuits; lightning protection; electrical safety at work; water spray, fire pumps, alarms; flame-resistant clothing |
| IEEE 1580, IEEE 485, IEEE 1188, IEEE C37.2, IEEE C37.20.2, IEEE C57.12.01; IEEE 1584 | IEEE 1584-2002 for the arc flash teaching model; others edition not verified | Marine cable; station batteries; protective device numbers; metal-clad switchgear; dry-type transformers; arc flash |
| NEMA VE 1 and VE 2 | edition not verified | Metal cable tray systems and their installation |
| ISA-5.1, ISA-75 series, ISA-84 / IEC 61511 | edition not verified | Instrument symbols and tags; control valves; safety instrumented systems |
| AMPP (NACE) SP0176; AWS D1.1; ISO 19902 | edition not verified | Cathodic protection of fixed offshore platforms; structural welding; fixed steel offshore structures |
Government reports and data
- BSEE Technology Assessment Program reports on Gulf of Mexico fixed platforms (TA&R 202, 224, 549, 578, 642): eight-leg jacket geometry, leg and pile diameters, leg batter, conductor guide levels, deck elevations and hurricane performance. Used for the jacket, piles, conductors and deck heights (typical practice).
- Trade press articles, BSEE studies and MMS reports on Gulf of Mexico tension leg platforms (not named): column and pontoon sizes, tendon diameter, wall and segment length, foundation templates and piles, well slot spacing, production and drilling riser sizes, catenary riser sizes and angles, process capacity ranges and compressor sizes (typical practice). The fire pump size comes from a BOEM development plan, the lifeboat size from a Coast Guard investigation report and the crane boom length from a BSEE investigation report, none named.
- BOEM plan attachments for U.S. OCS platform rigs (Pacific OCS platforms, not named): the BOP stack arrangement, the closing unit, mud system volumes and the shaker size (typical practice).
- BSEE Safety Alert 339 (2018): a gas sensing line run in a cable tray. Used for the rule in the model that tubing never runs in electrical tray.
- BSEE incident and investigation reports (not named): typical wellhead pressure ratings, heater-treater and crane sizes, riser guards (typical practice).
- U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-712 (1981): a Gulf of Mexico platform with two boat landings at diagonal corners and 20 in conductor casing.
- NOAA National Data Buoy Center station 42019 climatic summary: mean significant wave height, wind speed and sea temperature near the shelf edge, used for the sea state shown.
- BSEE and U.S. Coast Guard Memorandum of Agreement OCS-09, Fixed Platforms (2014), and the OSHA and Coast Guard Memorandum of Understanding (1979): who inspects what.
Manufacturer data
Sizes of commercial equipment come from published catalogs and data sheets: aluminum ladder cable tray and its load table, marine power and instrumentation cable, rigid aluminum conduit and explosion-proof seals, stainless instrument tubing and fittings, pressure transmitters and manifolds, heated instrument enclosures, motor control centers, metal-clad switchgear, dry-type transformers, gas turbine and diesel generator packages, LACT units, lifeboats, helidecks, ram and annular BOPs and triplex mud pumps. Drilling contractors' published rig specification sheets give the derrick height, base and hook load, the top drive and the rig's generator sets, and trade press articles give the deck size and levels of a Gulf drilling and production platform. Makers and companies are not named on the site; the model shows the generic type. Each item's panel gives the size and says it is typical, and real units differ by maker.
Privacy and security
The site has no accounts, no advertising and no analytics. Training progress stays in your browser. Fonts, scripts and models are all served from this site, so a visit makes no requests to other companies. The site is served over HTTPS with a Content-Security-Policy and related security headers. If you use the error report form or the contact form, what you type is used only to answer you and fix the site. The privacy notice has the full account.
Accessibility
The trainer is designed for a desktop or laptop with a mouse, at 100–200% browser zoom. Panels, lessons, the catalog, the library and the drawings work from the keyboard, and the catalog, library and drawings are an alternative to clicking in 3D. Dialogs trap focus, close on Escape and return focus; camera flights are skipped when the browser asks for reduced motion. Text colors are checked against the panel backgrounds for at least 4.5:1 contrast (WCAG 2 AA); the 3D view itself is a picture, and the catalog, facility pages, equipment reference and drawings carry the same information as text. Screen-reader behavior has not been tested yet. If something does not work with your browser or assistive technology, please report it the same way as a content error.
Third-party software
The 3D view runs on the three.js library (r160, MIT License, © 2010-2023 three.js authors; license text). The type is IBM Plex Sans and IBM Plex Mono (SIL Open Font License 1.1; license text). Both are served from this site, with no third-party requests. Everything else on the site is covered by the terms of use.
Report an error
If you find a value that disagrees with a regulation, a standard or manufacturer's data, tell us where it is, what it says, and your source. Every report is checked against the source, and confirmed errors are fixed.