ISO 35106:2017 PDF

Overview

ISO 35106:2017 - "Petroleum and natural gas industries - Arctic operations - Metocean, ice, and seabed data" specifies requirements, recommendations and guidance for the collection, analysis and presentation of physical environmental data used in arctic and cold-region petroleum and natural gas activities. The standard supports both design and operations (planning and execution) and applies to the Arctic and other locations characterized by low temperatures, sea ice, icebergs, glaciers, icing, persistent snow cover, frozen inland waters and permafrost. It can also inform new operations and design concepts, with the caveat that not all data needs for novel concepts are necessarily covered.

Key topics and requirements

ISO 35106:2017 organizes practical environmental data needs across a full range of metocean, ice and seabed subjects:

• General requirements: data sourcing, selection of parameters, monitoring, storage, statistical treatment, forecasting and quality assurance.
• Metocean parameters: wind (including polar lows, katabatic winds and low-level arctic jets), waves, currents, temperature (sea and air), tides and storm surges.
• Sea ice: seasonality, coverage, thickness, drift, features, physical properties and operational/design implications.
• Icebergs: occurrence, location and areal density, size/shape/stability, drift behavior and relevant data collection/analysis methods.
• Seabed and bathymetry: water depth, seabed data requirements for offshore design and operations.
• Atmospheric parameters: visibility, cloud ceiling, precipitation and daylight considerations relevant to Arctic operations.
• Operational considerations: weather windows, forecast needs, criticality and variability, statistical analyses and the handling of climatic trends.

The standard emphasizes appropriate data collection methodologies, presentation formats and the link between environmental information and engineering or operational decision-making.

Applications and users

ISO 35106:2017 is intended for professionals and organizations involved in Arctic and cold-region offshore activities, including:

• Offshore and subsea engineers using environmental inputs for structural and system design
• Metocean and ice specialists compiling site characterization reports and forecasts
• Operations planners and marine contractors managing installation, drilling, towing and support vessel operations
• Risk assessors and HSE teams evaluating operational envelopes and contingency plans
• Regulators and asset owners requiring standardized environmental data for approvals and compliance

Using ISO 35106 helps reduce uncertainty in environmental inputs, supports safer operational windows and informs robust design against ice, iceberg and extreme metocean conditions.

Related standards

• ISO 19901-1 and ISO 19906 - the document identifies relationships and complementarities with these ISO standards for offshore structures and arctic module design.

Keywords: ISO 35106:2017, arctic operations, metocean data, sea ice, icebergs, seabed data, petroleum and natural gas, cold regions, offshore design, operational planning.