Offshore staff
VLISSINGEN, the Netherlands – The 9,150-metric ton (10,086-ton) jacket for Statoil’s Valemon platform has departed the Heerema Vlissingen yard for the Norwegian North Sea.
It will be installed on theValemon gas field, 160 km (99 mi) west of Bergen, in around 135 m (443 ft) water depth.
Heerema Fabrication Group was awarded the design/fabrication contract for the 160-m (524-ft) high jacket in September 2010. Six months later, Statoil also contracted the company to design and build the 210-metric ton (231-ton) wellhead module. Both were designed by HFG Engineering and built by Heerema Vlissingen.
Among the design challenges were to keep the jacket weight below the maximum lifting capacity of the Heerema crane vesselThialf, and part-integration of the wellhead module in the topsides following its installation in 2014. Early installation of the wellhead module will allow Statoil to drill wells prior to completion of the platform.
Other notable features included strengthening the foundations with reinforced concrete, and the solution to minimize impact offshore if a vessel collides with the jacket, devised jointly with TNO Technical Research Center Delft.
5/29/2012
