Later this year, Aker-Kvaerner Subsea will deliver a complete subsea production system to Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 deepwater development offshore India.
The $400-million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract is the largest subsea award to date, according to Aker Kvaerner. The scope of supply includes:
- 19, 127-mm (5-in.) and 178-mm (7-in.) subsea trees
- Six six-slot production manifolds, 225 metric tons (248 tons) each
- One deepwater pipeline end manifold, 370 metric tons (408 tons)
- One umbilical distribution hub, 170 metric tons (187 tons)
- Three subsea distribution assemblies, 110 metric tons each (121 tons)
- 32 lengths of steel-tube umbilical totaling 101 km (63 mi)
- 57 km (35 mi) of electric power cable
- Subsea control systems.
The assignment also has a demanding schedule, with all equipment due to be delivered by the end of 2007 - 20 months after the contract was signed, according to deputy project manager, Alf Kristensen.
System engineering and project management are based at Lysaker, Norway, outside Oslo. Construction is under way at various Aker Kvaerner sites: umbilicals at Moss and subsea trees at Tranby, both in Norway, and controls in Aberdeen, UK. The Port Klang manufacturing center in Malaysia is producing three manifolds and assembly/testing of Aker Kvaerner’s subsea tie-in equipment. The first offshore installation is due in September.
KG-D6, with reserves in the order of 400 bcm (14,126 bcf), is in the Krishna-Godivari basin off the east coast of India. The seabed in the area slopes sharply, causing water depths for the field to vary from 700 m (2,297 ft) to 1,700 m (5,577 ft).
Some of the wells have high flow potential, so the bore in eight of the subsea trees will be 178 mm (7 in). These structures will weigh in at 55 metric tons (61 tons) each.
Each production manifold will have two to five wells tied back to it, the longest tieback being 6.4 km (4 mi). From the manifolds, production will flow through in-field pipelines to the pipeline end manifold (PLEM); the longest manifold tieback is 6.8 km (4.23 mi).
Subsea lay-out for Reliance’s KG-D6 development off India - Aker Kvaerner Subsea is supplying the subsea production system under a $400-million EPC contract.
Production will go ashore via a control and riser platform (CRP) in about 100 m (328 ft) water depth. As reservoir pressures drop two to three years after startup, an additional platform with compression facilities will boost the pipeline pressure. There will be two 10-km (6.2-mi), 610-mm (24-in) production pipelines running between the PLEM and the platform, and three 24-in. lines running 25 km (15.5 mi) from CRP to shore. Gas will be received at an offshore terminal at Kakinada.
Aker Kvaerner’s project participation goes beyond the subsea EPC contract. Aker Kvaerner also performed front-end engineering design for the whole field development. Engineering for the onshore plant was awarded to a consortium of Aker Kvaerner companies led by India-based Aker Kvaerner Powergas. Aker Kvaerner Process Systems is delivering part of the MEG-regeneration system.
A good performance on KG-D6 will stand Aker Kvaerner in good stead to bid for future subsea work in the Indian sector. This could include further developments in the KG-D6 area, where Reliance already has proved up further reserves. The PLEM has been designed to accept additional pipeline tie-ins.
There is a good fit between Aker Kvaerner and Reliance, says Pål Helsing, senior vice president, subsea systems, Aker-Kvaerner Subsea. Both are committed to robust project execution and fast-track delivery. Working with Reliance provides an important boost toward realizing the company’s ambitions in India, where the advance of offshore exploration and development into deeper waters requiring subsea and floating production solutions provides it with a natural platform for winning more work.
The company also aims to expand its activities in the Asia/Pacific region. In the region as a whole, as in India, it is attracted by forecasts of high growth rates both in general economic terms and for the oil and gas sector. Helsing expects Asia/Pacific to become an important region for the company.
The Aker Kvaerner group has long had a presence in the region which it is now strengthening. A key part of the strategy is the $100 million Port Klang manufacturing facility in Malaysia. Construction nearly was complete in March, and production of the first items is under way, including subsea trees and drilling risers.
Aker Kvaerner Powergas, with Aker Kvaerner as majority owner, has been present in India for many years. In 2006, Aker Kvaerner increased its interest in the company with a view to gaining greater access to its engineering resources.
Some 50 Indian engineers now work for the Aker Kvaerner Subsea division. They are visiting Norway in small groups for training in the subsea trades, after which they provide support from Aker Kvaerner Powergas in Pune, an industrial center 500 km (310 mi) from Mumbai. Indian engineers are used as a resource pool to support the group’s work, not only in India, but globally. This is facilitated by using a common project execution model, with a common IT platform.
Aker Kvaerner is also building a subsea service base to support its projects at Kakinada.
