Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS – Crowley Maritime Corp. reports that its ocean class tugs and 455 series high-deck-strength barges have successfully delivered, moored, and made storm safe the Jack/St. Malo semisubmersible floating production facility in the US Gulf of Mexico.
As was done when Crowley’s ocean class tugs successfully delivered theOlympus platform and Luciusspar to the US Gulf in 2013, the company’s Houston-based Solutions project management team, which manages the tugs and barges, completed the delivery in three stages of work in both nearshore and offshore waters.
During the first stage, the nearshore phase, the topsides were skidded onto the company’s 455 series bargeJulie B at the Keiwit facility dock in Ingleside, Texas, where they were later lifted and installed onto the hull of Jack/St. Malo. Once in place and secured, the Ocean Wind and Ocean Wave next provided assistance by pushing the Jack/St. Malo facility, away from Corpus Christi, through the Port of Aransas, Texas, and out to deeper waters. The Ocean Sun followed the flotilla and was equipped to provide assistance, if needed.
The second phase of work, the offshore stage, started when heOcean Wind and Ocean Sun towed the facility to its final location, alongside the Crowley-contracted tugboat Harvey War Horse II. Also during this phase, the Solutions team arranged for the company’s 455 series barge 455 7, towed by Crowley’s tug Warrior, and third-party barge Marmac 400, towed by Crowley’s tug Pilot, to deliver the piles to the project site. Finally, the Marty J, towed by the Pilot, made three subsequent trips to the installation site to deliver additional equipment – including chains, connectors and line reels – that were used in the mooring of the floating facility.
In the final stage, the positioning phase, theOcean Wind, Ocean Wave, Ocean Sky, Ocean Sun, and Harvey War Horse II worked together to hold the Jack/St. Malo in its final location, and remained on site in a star pattern to provide support as the spar was connected to its moorings and made storm safe in more than 7,000 ft (2,134 m) of water.
Scheduled to begin producing oil and natural gas later this year, the facility will have a capacity of 170,000 b/d and 42.5 MMcf/d (1.2 MMcm/d) of natural gas. Jack/St. Malo will act as a hub for the 43 subsea wells, including pumps and other equipment on the seafloor.
03/03/2014
