Construction specialists seeking further alliance opportunities

Integration of the methanol injection module on the Girassol FPSO deck.

Eiffel was subcontracted for four of the modules (total weight 4,000 metric tons - 4,409 tons) at its yard in Fos sur Mer (southern France), and Sonamet was subcontracted for the other two (total weight 1,000 metric tons - 1,110 tons) at its yard in Lobito, Angola. Ponticelli’s Angolan subsidiary Pontumo handled fabrication of the hook-up components in Luanda. All consignments were delivered by the end of 2006.

For Ponticelli, the offshore works in preparation for the installation of the modules, followed by hookup, was by far the most demanding aspect of the project. With production from Girassol continuing during the construction program, all activities on board the vessel were conducted under simops (simultaneous operations i.e. construction works and production) conditions.

These conditions required a high level of preparation and scheduling, maximization of the off-site works, implementation of strict work permit procedures, and the use of specific tools and equipment to operate in classified areas. The experience gained by Ponticelli from numerous refurbishment campaigns at refineries and petrochemical plants in Europe proved beneficial in this campaign, which is due to be completed mid- 2007 offshore Angola.

Rosa is by far Ponticelli’s largest project to date, with the offshore part occupying a workforce of 650 at peak, and a total of nearly 2 million man-hours. The company’s previous high-profile references include six months of hookup and platform re-vamping for Chevron Angola’s Sanha condensate project; and eight and a half months’ hook-up work relating to six modules for the N’Kossa development offshore Congo.

Rosa module: fabrication in progress at Fos sur Mer.

According to Jean-Christophe Garapin of Ponticelli’s Commercial Department, the company’s experience in the offshore sector dates back to the 1970s, when it was more a construction specialist. Its first project was Elf’s Ashtart offshore Tunisia. Until the mid-1990s, its yard in Bordeaux (no longer in use for offshore purposes today) produced numerous topsides modules, mainly for fields in the North Sea, Mediterranean, and West Africa. Laterly, the company’s oil and gas focus has been almost exclusively on Libya, Venezuela, and West Africa, served increasingly by local operations.

In 1997, it established Ponticelli Nigeria in Port Harcourt, which today employs nearly 200 staff. Its main specialties are mechanical works, including structural steel and pipework fabrication, equipment maintenance, and hookup.

Recently, this subsidiary performed a series of offshore work programs for Total’s Amenam Interim Water Injection project. This included fabrication/erection of piping spools; fabrication/installation of structural extension for the AMP1 platform; fabrication of hang-off structure with boat landing to AMP2; flange change of 18-in. riser on AMP2 jacket; and fabrication of subsea clamps.

In 2005 Portumo Sucursal Angola was established as a similar service center in response to Sonangol’s demands for indigenous operations.

Ofon partnership

Prior to Rosa, Ponticelli worked with Eiffel on the Cobo and Bruce projects. Recently, the two companies submitted a joint bid for the main deck of phase 2 of Total’s Ofon development off Nigeria, which calls for a new 12,500-metric-ton (13,778-ton) production platform, three wellhead installations, and one living quarter module.

The partners are pitching for the production platform in association with Doris Engineering - also in a rival bid with Hyundai. According to Eiffel’s Offshore Division Director Arnaud de Villepin, “We intend to carry out the engineering in France, but fabrication would be handled by Sembawang in Singapore and in Nigeria because of the need to maximize local content. We plan to use the South African-owned Grinaker yard in Port Harcourt for steel structure fabrication.”

Eiffel’s facility in Fos is not part of this bid. “We must propose the most competitive price,” de Villepin explains, “and Fos is more expensive than Far East yards. But that gap is decreasing year on year - prices, for example, are rising, because of wage increases.

“With us and Ponticelli, we are two companies from the same culture, and we are also complimentary in construction and management of big projects. Also, we are not as big as the major offshore contractors, so when we work together, we do so as a team, splitting the risks as well as the profit.

“Another point is that because of our two companies’ respective sizes, we are not working on 10 oil and gas projects at the same time, but on one or two. So if we are successful on Ofon Phase 2 or other bids, we can commit all our forces to the project, which means our relationship with the client is closer. We can therefore react better to the client’s needs, with greater flexibility.”

Eiffel and Ponticelli are also bidding jointly for a single compression platform in Angolan waters, again operated by Total. On its own, Eiffel is targeting various upcoming projects in Nigeria, some operated by Chevron and ExxonMobil.

“We particularly want to develop our living quarter fabrication capability in Nigeria,” says de Villepin. “This could be via our joint venture with local company OOP Engineering.” Prospective projects include the quarters module for Ofon Phase 2, and Shell’s Block H development.

“In our bids for Ofon 2, we have proposed training our partner engineering companies to handle this type of fabrication, hookup, and so on: this capability does not exist presently.”

The yard at Fos is currently undergoing an extension to handle masts for offshore wind farms. Depending on the outcome of Eiffel’s other bids, it could be available for topsides or living quarters construction in 2008.

“We have been doing one or two offshore projects or less per year in recent times, but all of them have been successful, both for ourselves and our clients. It is not easy, because in France, man-hour rates are very high compared with those in the Middle East or Far East yards, and the portion of man-hours is very important. Also steel prices remain very high. But we are still competitive in terms of quality, time schedule, flexibility and, most important, final prices.”

In the past, Fos built drilling modules for projects in the North Sea and Azerbaijan, and more recently a fast moving workover rig for Eni offshore Libya. “Now we are thinking about jackups also,” says de Villepin, “because this is a very dynamic market at present. But the specialist yards in the Far East are overloaded, and they are proposing timed deliveries for 2011 and beyond.

“We have already been contacted by drilling contractors who are looking for available slots in some yards. If we return to this market, we will focus on heavy-duty jackups. For this, a joint venture is not necessary, nor would we subcontract the work elsewhere.”