Construction sector tooling up for Persian Gulf expansion program

The company's main focus is on design, construction, and installation of offshore production facilities and rigid steel pipelines, and associated onshore processing/distribution infrastructure. The company services Iranian offshore projects from the Valy-Asr yard in southwest Iran, close to the city of Khorramshar in Khuzestan province, and opposite IOEC's Ghaem yard.

Currently, the company is involved in several development projects for Persian Gulf oil and gas fields, including Aboozar, Nowrooz, Reshadat, Ilam, and Salman, where the conditions and hydrocarbon compositions call for a wide range of material shapes and grades. In particular, there is a need for NACE MR-01-75 certified materials to fulfil sour gas service requirements. TASDID works with a variety of hydrogen sulfide-resistant materials, from stainless steel to duplex and Inconel.

P4 jacket ready for launch, with jackup drilling barge in the background.

In terms of platform structures, the main projects this year have involved supply and installation of five jackets and associated piles with a total weight of more than 13,000 metric tons (14,330 tons) to Iranian Offshore Oil Operating Co. (IOOOC) for the Reshadat field renovation and development. The location is 110 km (68 mi) south of Lavan Island in 60-70 m (197-229 ft) water depth, with a contract value of around $62 million. All the jackets have been installed offshore; the last one – P4 – is the largest jacket in the Persian Gulf.

Launching was the most complicated and precarious activity, as the field was crowded with four other installed jackets nearby, along with the (live) R4 production platform and a drilling rig working on the W4 jacket (which the company had installed in 2010).

For IOEC, TASDID has a nine-month, $9-million contract for Phase 19 of the South Pars gas field development. This calls for construction and load out of three jackets with a total weight of 6,000 metric tons (6,614 tons) and 4,000 metric tons (4,409 tons) of piles. Here the offshore location is in 68 m (223 ft) water depth, and 110 km (68 mi) south of Kish Island. The company previously supplied three jackets, a deck, bridge, and flare for the same client for South Pars 9 and 10.

A second ongoing contract ($5 million) for IOEC calls for construction and load-out of the FZA and FYA jackets for the Foroozan field development 102 km (63 mi) south of Kharg Island. Both are due to be installed next February in 45 m (147 ft) water depth.

In order to expand its offshore construction capability, TASDID purchased the derrick lay bargeDLB Shawnee, previously owned by J.Ray McDermott and later by Global Offshore Mexico. This vessel, which accommodates 260 personnel, can lay rigid pipes from 8- to 36-in. (20- to 91-cm) diameter. On-deck equipment includes a 600-metric ton (661-ton) revolving crane (860 metric ton/948 ton in a fixed position).

However, for its current installations in the Persian Gulf the company has subcontracted pipelay to KITO Enterprise (UAE), which is deploying its DP-2 S-lay vesselC-Master. KITO in turn has outsourced welding for this program to Serimax in France, positioning to Fugro (UAE), and non-destructive testing to RDT (the Netherlands).

TASDID is responsible for installing 13 pipelines with a total length of around 210 km (130 mi) for three projects for IOOC. The combined value of the programs is more than $225 million. Recently, pipelay was completed for the Ilam-Salman and Aboozar-Nowrooz fields. Last month laying of infield lines was still in progress for the Reshadat fields.

For all EPCI or EPCC projects, the company performs its own load-out operations using contracted barges for these tasks and for transportation to offshore locations. However, in the future, the company plans to purchase a variety of marine vessels (i.e. flat barges, tug boats, anchor handling tugs) to allow it to fulfil all its requirements independently.

Facilities at the Valy-Asr yard include a 14-ha (34-acre) fabrication area; a 500-sq m (5,382-sq ft) covered workshop area; open and covered warehouses and storage extending over 22,000 sq m (236,806 sq ft); and 1,800 sq m (19,375 sq ft) of covered office space. There are also three 180-m (590-ft) skid-beams and three 36-m (118-ft) quay walls with capacity to accommodate loads of up to 6,000 metric tons (6,614 tons).

Around 500 employees work on offshore activities at Valy-Asr, including subcontractor personnel. This facility has capacity to fabricate 20,000 metric ton/yr (22,046 ton/yr) of steel structures, although TASDID owns only 30% of the site. However, a new 28-ha yard (Velayat) is under construction in three phases at Velayat in a nearby region, which will be wholly owned by TASDID. The location is on Minoo Island between Khorranshar and Abadan. Both yards have the benefit of a very low tidal level (maximum 1.2 m/3.9 ft), as they are far from open sea (140 km/87 mi distant). This is very important for load-out activities.