🔍 Key Concepts

• how drilling loads are classified on a jack-up or elevated mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) • difference between permanent loads (like structure and equipment weight) and non-permanent or changing loads • how storm conditions affect assumptions about load variability and stability calculations

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: In a severe storm, do the drilling loads stay constant, or can they change rapidly in size and location? • Which type of load classification is used in stability and leg/spudcan calculations to account for loads that may increase, decrease, or be removed altogether? • Think about whether the question is asking about where the load is applied (hook, rotary, setback) or about how the load behaves (fixed vs changing).

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which choices describe location-specific loads (e.g., at the traveling block, at the rotary, at the setback) rather than how the load behaves over time. • Confirm which term, in offshore stability and structural calculations, is used for loads that may be added, removed, or change magnitude during operations or in an emergency. • Make sure your choice matches a category commonly used in MODU stability manuals: lightship, deadweight, and one other type of load that changes with operations and weather.