FPSO conversion for Prosafe
Keppel Shipyard, a subsidiary of Keppel Corp. Ltd., has completed the conversion of a 132,500-dwt tanker into an FPSO for Prosafe Production.
The vessel underwent repairs at Subic Shipyard in January 2002 and arrived at the Keppel yard in early July for conversion work. The work scope for ABO FPSO included fabricating and installing the flare tower and helideck, installing production skids, boilers and turbo alternators, renewing bottom plates, and internal tank blasting and painting.
The vessel was previously known as Grey Warrior.
This is the sixth conversion project that Keppel Shipyard has carried out for Prosafe Production in the last five years. Keppel also completed upgrading the Petroleo Nautipa FPSO in July 2002 and delivered the vessel to Tinworth, a joint venture of Fred Olsen Production and Prosafe Production.
AMEC working on Bonga hull
The hull for an FPSO to serve the Bonga field offshore West Africa has reached the end of its 13,000-nautical-mile journey and begun a 10-month construction program. The hull moved from South Korea to AMEC's Wallsend facility on Tyneside, where it will become one of the largest and most complex floating oil and gas production facilities ever built.
AMEC's work scope covers the engineering design, fabrication, integration, and commissioning of the topside production facilities.
According to AMEC chief executive Sir Peter Mason, the Bonga FPSO will be the third floating production vessel the company will have completed for Shell at the Tyneside yard.
The vessel is scheduled to begin working for Shell off West Africa in early 2004.
New company to design supply vessels
Newly formed Rigdon Marine LLC will specialize in designing environmentally friendly vessels to provide offshore oil support in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as for international markets.
Under an agreement concluded in November with Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. of Mobile, Alabama, Rigdon Marine of New Orleans will build ten 210-ft high-specification platform supply vessels for the Gulf market, according to Larry Rigdon, founder of the new company.
The boats are being designed jointly with Guido Perla & Assoc. of Seattle, Washington. They will feature electric motors to drive 360° azimuthing thrusters, will use less diesel fuel than conventional direct diesel-driven propulsion systems, and will generate much less pollution. The vessels are intended to excel in supporting deepwater operations and are designed to maintain a speed of 13 knots under fully loaded conditions.
The supply vessels will be equipped with a DP-2 level dynamic positioning capability to hold a precise position. Certification will be issued by the American Bureau of Shipping.
Semi repairs at Kværner Rosenberg
Dolphin AS selected the Kværner Rosenberg yard in Stavanger, Norway, to carry out inspection and repair work on the Bideford Dolphin. Drilling operations were suspended on the Tordis field when a crack appeared in the semisubmersible.
Over the past year, Kværner Rosenberg has restructured its organization and facilities to accommodate emergency jobs as well as the traditional work of building new platforms.
The Bideford Dolphin is part of a fleet that comprises eight semisubmersibles and one DP deepwater drillship. Repair work on the rig was completed in late December. The Bideford Dolphin returned to the Tordis field to resume drilling.
Conversion in progress
Torch Offshore has contracted with Davie Maritime Inc. of Quebec, Canada, for the conversion of the Smit Express. The 520-ft heavy transport vessel, to be re-named Midnight Express, will be converted into a DP-2 offshore construction vessel capable of working in varying water depths throughout the world.
Since April 2002, the vessel has been at the Davie Maritime shipyard, where the functional design was being performed. Some of the conversion work was to begin immediately following the contract announcement in early December 2002.
The cost of the entire conversion project, including anticipated financial costs, will be bet-ween $80 million and $90 million.
"The current schedule should put the Midnight Express in the water and ready for work in the fourth quarter of 2003," said Lyle G. Stockstill, Torch Offshore chairman and CEO.
