Delmar has industry leading experience in both design and installation of suction pile foundations. Delmar has installed and recovered suction pile foundations more than any other contractor in the world.

There are several design parameters that drive suction pile design:

• Required holding capacity
• Padeye uplift angle (mooring piles)
• Soil conditions
• Pile cap connections
• Initiation piles
• Manifold piles
• Deepwater backdown system piles
• Installation method
• Delmar single vessel technique
• Construction vessel technique

Delmar uses several different techniques to analyze its suction pile foundations. The most sophisticated includes Finite Element Analysis of the pile structure, the surrounding soil, and the soil plug inside the pile. Depending on the application and previous analysis, more simplified modeling techniques may be used. Delmar has built an extensive database for mooring pile anchors for use in the Gulf of Mexico.

Delmar designs a variety of suction pile foundations for a range of offshore applications. Delmar has designed, built, and installed suction piles for equipment foundations, parking and storage, initiation, subsea lifts, and mooring. With the Delmar Subsea Connector (DSC), suction pile deployment and mooring line connections are greatly simplified. The overall project options also increase, since the bare pile can be left installed without any of the mooring components. This flexibility helps with:

• High vessel traffic areas
• Project with permanent anchor piles
• Synthetic mooring installation
• Mooring line change-outs
• Component damage
• Line size change for different vessel use
• Component change-out for permanent systems

Due to significant advancements in design, the Delmar Subsea Connector is now offered in several configurations for permanent use with long-term production facilities that have a wide variety of mooring components.

Delmar has also developed the tools necessary to make suction pile anchors a safer, more cost-effective anchor foundation option for both temporary drilling rigs and permanent floating production facilities. As Delmar continues to install and retrieve suction piles, Delmar remains committed to further enhancing this technology.