Gene Kliewer, Houston
Pipeline installation awards
Murphy Sabah Oil Co. has awarded the Kikeh gas pipeline project to TL Offshore Sdn. Bhd. The SapuraAcergy joint venture owned Sapura 3000 pipelay vessel has been contracted for the installation.
The export pipeline contract covers engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning of a 138-km (86-mi) long, 12-in. (30.5-cm) diameter pipeline in water depths to 1,350 m (4,429 ft), from the Kikeh field to the onshore gas terminal at Labuan. The contract includes the linepipe procurement and coating, pipeline landfall, installation of a deepwater pipeline end manifold, and an in-line tee for the future tie-in of the Kinabalu East/Deep platform. Offshore installation is scheduled for 3Q 2007.
In the North Sea,Total E&P UK Ltd. has contracted Subsea 7 Inc. to design, fabricate, and install a 3-km (1.9-mi)-long pipeline bundle system to tie back the Jura 1 and Jura 2 wells to the Forvie subsea manifold for export to the Alwyn and Dunbar platforms. Subsea 7 will use the controlled depth tow installation method. Engineering is under way, and fabrication is expected to begin on the $45-million project in October at Wick, northeast Scotland.
Subsea 7 also was contracted byPetrobras to engineer, fabricate, and install both rigid and flexible pipelines on the Brazilian continental shelf to the year 2010 in a $390-million agreement.
The first rigid pipeline installation is scheduled between Oct. 2007 and Feb. 2008. It will involve fabrication and installation of 22 rigid pipelines from 6 in. (15 cm) to 12 in. (30.5 cm) diameter, totaling 141 km (87.5 mi), in water depths to 1,500 m (4,921 ft). Fabrication will take place at Subsea 7’s spool base in Ubu, Espírito Santo.
ROV activity
In further work off Brazil for Petrobras, Subsea 7, via its i-Tech division, has landed three contracts totaling $18 million to provide ROVs for three drilling units.
I-Tech ROVs contracted to Petrobras.
Fugro will be adding to its fleet of ROVs this year. The company has ordered two more ROVolution simulators from General Robotics Ltd. The simulators are scheduled to go to Aberdeen, UK; Macaé, Brazil; and Singapore.
The new simulators have been configured to model both the FCV 3000 ROV (equipped with a RigMaster grabber arm and Titan 4 manipulator) and the Seaeye Tiger ROV, according to General Robotics. Fugro’s existing ROVolution simulator is being upgraded to the same specification. All the simulators have been equipped with a new hydrodynamic module to simulate the different operating characteristics of the electrically powered Seaeye Tiger and the hydraulically operated FCV 3000.
“The GRL ROVolution simulators give Fugro the ability to provide structured and testable basic, intermediate, and advanced ROV pilot training to all our ROV operating personnel during their career development with Fugro,” says George Robertson, Fugro’s global ROV training manager.
Subsea systems
BHP Billiton has awarded a $110-million contract to Cameron for 13 subsea trees, manifolds, and related equipment for the Pyrenees project off northwestern Australia. Initial delivery and installation are scheduled for 4Q 2008 and will continue through 2010, according to Cameron. In addition to the trees and manifolds, the contract includes associated flowline connections, chokes, and related equipment.
BP as operator for Skarv has awarded VetcoGray a contract for the subsea production system and has awarded the Offshore Division of Samsung Heavy Industries a contract for the topsides. The subsea production system contract, valued at $265 million, covers detailed design, project management, and supply of subsea production equipment as well as installation and commissioning support. Also included is an operational support and associated services contract. The $350-million topside fabrication and installation contract for the FPSO includes six modules at 2,500 metric tons (2,756 tons) each and the flare tower, which will be mounted on the FPSO. Construction is expected to begin in Dec. 2008, and the completed FPSO is scheduled to leave South Korea at the end of 2010.
Murphy Oil Corp. has contracted FMC Technologies Inc. to provide subsea systems for the Azurite project offshore Republic of the Congo for $80 million. FMC is scheduled to provide 10 vertical subsea trees, related slimbore wellheads, control systems, and one 10-slot manifold for delivery beginning in mid-2008.
The Azurite project is in 4,600 ft (1,402 m) of water, in the Mer Profonde Sud block, offshore Republic of the Congo.
Subsea power JIP in second phase
The second phase of a joint industry project (JIP) that is looking into high-capacity subsea power cables and transmission systems is under way.
Goals for PowerCab Phase Two include design optimization of a lightweight 100 MW, 132kV, 525A rated cable with an extended dynamic fatigue life. A prototype cable will be manufactured and fatigue tested, and approval in principle will be sought for the cable design.
London-based BPP Technical Services has been managing PowerCab on behalf of four participating companies - BG International, BP Exploration, DUCO (Technip), and Shell UK.
The PowerCab JIP Work Program concerns developing subsea electrical power cable designs with high dynamic loading capacity and has been separated into two phases. PowerCab Phase One was completed successfully. Phase Two has been ongoing since April 2007.
The objectives of Phase One were to undertake analysis, material selection, and testing to arrive at the design of a range of electrical power cables with the capacity to deliver exceptionally high dynamic fatigue loading performance.
The PowerCab Phase One Work Program was divided into four parts:
- Developing candidate cross-sections for static mechanical and thermal performance
- Testing conductor materials for fatigue life
- Evaluating candidate designs for dynamic performance
- Cross-section and performance definition of optimum cable designs.
High-capacity subsea power cables and transmission systems are required increasingly for subsea electrical power transmission to and from offshore installations, electrically heated pipelines (especially in the ultra deepwater fields), and multiphase pumps, as well as subsea processing including all-electric subsea technology (electric trees and control systems), particularly in connection with oil and gas fields at long distances from existing infrastructure.
Availability of reliable, high-capacity subsea power cables and transmission systems will enhance the capability of conventional and high-capacity subsea power cables to draw economic benefits from offshore field developments and power generation schemes. Benefits of the work will accrue both on a short-term economic level and for long-term strategic technology options, says BPP Technical Services. Examples include removing power generation equipment on offshore platforms as well as the use of remote gas for power generation and its transmission to the customer.
