Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Statoil has awarded a $260-million frame contract to Subsea 7 for inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) of subsea installations and pipelines across northwest Europe.
“With increased focus on lifetime extensions and opportunities for enhanced oil and gas production by using existing infrastructure, there is a growing need for such subsea services,” says Jon Arnt Jacobsen, Statoil’s chief procurement officer.
The contract covers provision of a dedicated vessel on a full-time basis, plus project management and engineering support, for ROV-based IMR work in the Norwegian Sea and North Sea, starting July 1.
Subsea 7 has entered into an eight-year contract with Eidesvik Offshore to provide a new IMR vessel for this program, the Ulstein SX148, which is due to be delivered in late 2012.
In addition to IMR duties, the SX148 can be used for well stimulation operations.
According to Ulstein, the moon pool is located centrally in the ship’s hangar, in a layout providing a spacious and safe indoor work area on the main deck. It accommodates three ROVs and a module handling system.
Also onboard is a 100-metric ton (11-ton) active heave-compensated crane to be used mainly for lifting/lowering heavy equipment from/to the sea floor. The vessel’s high freeboard means that the work deck is high above the waterline, which Ulstein says enhances the safety of the deck crew.
The vessel can perform demanding operations in harsh weather conditions - its X-BOW hull line design reduces hull motion induced by high waves. It is also ice-reinforced for arctic conditions.
The new vessel will be 106.5 m (349 ft) long and 24.5 m (80.3 ft) wide with a top speed of over 17 knots, and will be accommodated 90 personnel.
02/11/2011
