There are numerous ocean areas in the world with extreme shallow water conditions (0 to 4 m water depth),
e.g. in the German Bight, in the north of the Caspian Sea and in the swamps of Nigeria. Access to these
‘amphibic’ areas is a major problem during all stages of a project; for personnel, materials, transport and
installation of platforms and modules, safety. rescue and maintenance. The choice of the ‘right’ plant base
(artifi cial island, barge solutions, piled platforms, or other) and the corresponding export facilities are of crucial
importance. These aspects have to be covered simultaneously for all construction stages and have major
impact on CAPEX and OPEX as well as on the ease of operation.