Offshore staff
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, UK – Atlas Copco Compressors has delivered a 50-metric ton (55-ton) air compressor package to Baku for installation on a platform on the Shah Deniz field, 90 km (56 mi) offshore Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea.
The consignment, mounted on a single skid, comprised three ZR500 water-cooled screw compressors, a closed circuit water cooling system, three heatless dryers and a ZT110 black start screw compressor for emergencies. It was designed, built, and tested at Atlas Copco’s Hemel workshop north of London.
The main air compressor package was more than 11 m (36 ft) long, 6 m (19.7 ft) wide and 3.75 m (12.3 ft) high, and had to be shipped out from Immingham on the English east coast.
Later on in transit, the equipment will travel via canal from the Black Sea into the Caspian Sea for installation on the platform.
Due to the exposed nature of the location on the offshore platform location, the main air compressor package has been weatherproofed, winterized, and built to withstand wind speeds of up to 45 m/s (147 ft/s) and ambient air temperatures ranging from 7°C (45°F) to +40°C (104°F) at high relative humidity.
It is designed for continuous 24-hr operation and to cope with inertial accelerations brought on by seismic activity.
It will provide instrument air for pneumatic controls and actuation of critical valves and instruments on the platform. Normally two of the main air compressors will be running continuously to provide 100% of the platform’s instrument air needs. In the event of a power failure and loss of the main air compressor package, the black start air compressor, supplied by the platform’s emergency power generator, will start and provide the minimum compressed air needed to safely shut down platform operations.
06/30/2015
