The award of contracts to provide accomm-odation modules for Esso Norge's Ringhorne platform and TotalFinaElf's Amenam-Kpono development offshore Nigeria presents Emtunga with the sort of problem fabricators generally do not mind too much - balancing a challenging workload.
Under a subcontract to Samsung in Korea, the company is currently building the 1,000-ton accommodation module for CTOC's Cakerawala gas platform, destined for the Gulf of Thailand. Emtunga was awarded this contract on the condition that it could meet a very tight project schedule. Construction commenced earlier this summer and the module is due to be delivered in February of next year. Construction of the Ringhorne living quarters is set to start in late October or early November, with delivery due in October of 2001. Work on the Amenam/Kpono quarters will get under way around the turn of the year, with a target completion date of February 2002.
The 1,200-ton Ringhorne living quarters will be made up of both single and double cabins. It will be capable of accommodating up to 130 workers during the initial phase of the field's development when an extensive drilling program will be undertaken. Once this is completed, a contingent of 30-40 people will be accommodated in the single cabins.
Emtunga's agreement is with Heerema Tonsberg, which is leading a consortium with ABB under a full EPIC contract with Esso. Part of the reason Heerema was awarded the Ringhorne job was the platform's similarity to the Jotun B facility, which the same consortium delivered to Esso Norge's satisfaction in 1998. The accommodation unit will have a great deal in common with the earlier Jotun one, also built by Emtunga for the consortium. The main difference will be the addition of an extra level at the base of the structure, which will house various control rooms and utilities.
Enhanced living standards
Over the last few years, Emtunga has been keen to stress the advantages of standardizing the design of offshore living quarters. As well as yielding economic benefits, the practice facilitates continuous improvement. Feedback has been obtained from workers on the Jotun platform that will enable Emtunga to make minor changes to the new Ringhorne facility which will further enhance the occupants' living standards.
Emtunga had waited some time for news of the Amenam/Kpono work. TotalFinaElf awarded the main contract to Eiffel in France some time ago, with Emtunga specified to supply the living quarters. But then there were delays to the start of the project, understood to be connected with problems agreeing financing.
The development will comprise separate production and accommodation platforms, as well as an FPSO. The accommodation module will be smaller than recent units built by Emtunga for the Norwegian market, but no less luxurious. Klas Wallin, Emtunga's marketing manager, explained that high standards of accommodation were needed in order to encourage skilled offshore workers to locate to this part of the world.
Grane
The contract for the accommodation module for Norsk Hydro's Grane platform, delivery of which will be required by mid-2002, is due to be announced in November. Emtunga's main competitor for this work is Leirvik Sveis of Norway. As a Norwegian company, Leirvik may have the edge, with Kvaerner already onboard to provide the production module and responsible for the interface between the main platform modules.
However, Leirvik's main competitive edge comes from its experience of building lightweight aluminium structures - it recently won the contract to provide the accommodation module for Statoil's Kvitebjorn platform on this basis. The accent on Grane is thought to be on lowest cost, a factor that should favor steel construction, which is one of Emtunga's principal strengths.
For more information contact Klas Wallin, Emtunga. Tel: +46 512 324 00, Fax: +46 512 129 62, E-mail [email protected]
