Goliat templates head out

Goliat subsea templates being loaded.

“This marks the first Goliat hardware load out and shows our commitment to being on schedule and meeting client expectations. Our in-house engineering organisation and the Egersund yard have again demonstrated outstanding teamwork and worked tirelessly to successfully complete this milestone,” says Svein Oskar Nuland, head of Aker Solutions’ Egersund yard.

The Goliat contract, signed in September 2009, comprises of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of a complete subsea production system. Subsea hardware deliveries include eight overtrawlable, four-slot subsea templates with manifolds, 24 subsea trees, subsea control systems, 20 km (12.4 mi) of steel tube umbilicals, workover equipment, and a tie-in and connection system.

Gulmar gets new support vessel

Gulmar Offshore took delivery of theGulmar Atlantis, the first of its two newbuilds from the Hanjin shipyard in Busan, South Korea. These latest generation diving/ROV support vessels each have an 18-man, 300 m (985 ft) rated diving system with twin diving bells and twin 18-man self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboats. The vessel has a 140 ton AHC crane with 2,500 m (8,200 ft) hook depth capacity with 70 ton hook load, and a 40 ton crane with 600 m (1,965 ft) hook depth. The vessel design has a large free deck space and built-in gas storage. Additional features include IT networked offices, cabins, workshops, and more

Gulmar says these new vessels are being delivered as the market for subsea services is about to see a significant upturn caused by rising global energy demand.

Special Reports

TAQA Bratani has awarded Expro a year-long contract to provide large bore landing strings in the North Sea.

TAQA says its 2011 work plans include developments at the Falcon site.

Technip has signed a frame agreement with Reef Subsea subsidiary Technocean AS for subsea services in the North Sea and offshore Canada over the next four years.

Technocean says it will call on its newly chartered construction vessel thePolar King. The vessel specifications include 150 AHC crane, 1,000 sq m (~10,760 sq ft) back deck, moonpool, and two 3,000 m (~9,850 ft) rated work class Perry Slingsby ROVs installed in a ROV hangar with dedicated AHC LARS systems

Kongsberg Marine reports a record length multi-sensor AUV pipeline survey in Hjelte fjord. A Hugin 1000 AUV inspected about 30 km (19 mi) in an eight-hour, two-pass job. The subjects were two subsea pipelines.

In the first pass, an HISAS 1030 synthetic aperture side-scan sonar detected and tracked the pipe. On the second pass, the AUV followed at low altitude the path established in the initial run and conducted the inspection using an EM 3002 multi-beam echo sounder and optical camera.

Both pipelines were surveyed at a constant speed of 4 knots and at 4-25 m (13 to 82 ft) altitude, depending on the sensor in use. Water depth was 180-560 m (591 to 1,837 ft.).

Subsea 7 has won an engineering and installation contract from E.ON Ruhrgas UK E&P for the Huntington development in the North Sea.

The Subsea 7 workscope comprises the installation of 12 km (7 ½ mi) of the 8-in gas export pipeline, installation of infield flexible flowlines, main static umbilical and associated risers, as well as installation of subsea structures followed by tie-ins, pre-commissioning, and system testing. Engineering work has commenced in the Aberdeen office with installation using several of Subsea 7’s fleet occurring through to 2012.

The Huntington ddevelopment is located 140 nautical miles northeast of Aberdeen in block 22/14 in the Central North Sea, with water depths of 90 m (295 ft). E.ON Ruhrgas UK E&P is the operator and has a 25 % interest.

Aker Solutions has been awarded a contract by ConocoPhillips for modification work on the Eldfisk field. Contract value is approximately NOK 1. 3 billion ($236.8 million).

The work scope comprises modifications of all the existing platforms, Eldfisk 2/7 A, Eldfisk 2/7 FTP, Eldfisk 2/7 B, and Embla, as a consequence of installation of the new Eldfisk 2/7 S platform. The purpose of the modification work is to extend the life of Eldfisk.

Work starts immediately, with completion scheduled for May 2015. The project will be managed from Aker Solutions’ offices in Stavanger, Norway.