Offshore staff

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Logistics is a key component in major deepwater development projects, and it poses a particular challenge when developments move into new areas. Mark Adams of Murphy Sabah Oil Co. Ltd. Addressed this issue at the Offshore Asia Conference & Exhibition, telling attendees, "Logistics is one of the critical functions in the oil and gas field."

Adams illustrated his point using Murphy's Kikeh project. Because Kikeh is the first deepwater project offshore Malaysia, there were no facilities in place capable of meeting many of the construction, storage, and installation needs.

Simultaneous operations in 2006 posed the most critical challenge, Adams said, citing batch drilling transportation and installation, and support activities as some of the overlapping demands.

"One of the major constraints we identified early on was land availability," Adams said. When the company's attempts to purchase land failed, the only option was to expand and improve existing facilities. This decision led to considerable upgrades at Asian Supply Base Sdn. Bhd., he said.

"We had limited space for expansion," Adams said, "so we made smarter use of existing space."

Examples of the "smarter use" include expanding the mud plant, changing quay allocation, and establishing aviation support.

Murphy invested $6.5 million over six months to meet all of its objectives, Adams said. The end result is a facility that not only managed to support the region's first deepwater development, but that will be capable of supporting the next one, he said.

1/17/2007