VESSELS, RIGS, & SURFACE SYSTEMS
David Paganie - Houston
Jubilee FPSO set to sail
Jurong Shipyard has completed the conversion of Ghana’s first FPSO for the deepwater Jubilee Phase 1 development.
The FPSOKwame Nkrumah MV21, commissioned by MODEC, will sail to West Africa to start its long-term charter with Tullow Ghana. First oil is due in the second half of this year.
According to the shipyard’s parent company, Sembcorp Marine, the vessel is designed to operate for 20 years without dry-docking and also incorporates the largest turret ever for an offshore application. It has capacity to process 120,000 b/d of oil and 160 MMcf/d of gas, with a storage capacity of 1.6 MMbbl of oil and a water injection rate of 230,000 b/d.
The conversion from the VLCCOhdoh (ex-Tohdoh) entailed detailed engineering, installation, and integration of 17 modules, including a water treatment plant, crude separation plant, chemical injection plant, gas process and injection plant, the turret, electricity generation plant, and a 120-room living quarters module.
Huntington partners to charter Sevan floater
Sevan Marine has signed a letter of intent to transfer the FPSOSevan Voyageur to the Huntington oil field development in UK central North Sea block 22/14.
The cylindrical floater is due to be decommissioned from its current UK location on the Shelley field in July. Shelley is operated by Premier Oil, one of the partners in the Huntington project.
According to Sevan, the proposed charter will be for a fixed term of five years with optional extensions, with an estimated contract value for the fixed term of $535 million.
The FPSO concept allows for an early production start, and will add flexibility to attempt to optimize production and to access further resources from the field’s deeper reservoirs, according to Stavanger-based Noreco, another partner in the development.
The FPSO will have the capacity to process 30,000 b/d of oil. First oil is expected late next year.
In a separate development, Sevan has secured commitments for a $525-million senior debt project finance facility for itsSevan Driller II vessel, with ING Bank as mandated lead arranger. The vessel is contracted for a six-year fixed term to Petrobras, and is due to be delivered from the Cosco Nantong Shipyard in China early in 2012.
Meanwhile, Petrobras has signed a letter of intent with Engevix Engenharia SA to begin procurement services for construction of eight FPSOs destined for the Santos basin pre-salt region.
Petrobras says the LOI aims to avoid delays in the Santos basin presalt development schedule. The contract will follow formal approval of the LOI by Petrobras’ partners.
Maersk boosts deepwater rig fleet
Keppel Offshore & Marine has delivered its third DSS 21 deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig to Maersk Drilling, 43 days ahead of schedule.
DSS rigs are a proprietary deepwater design developed and owned by Keppel’s Deepwater Technology Group and Marine Structure Consultants. They are designed to achieve maximum uptime with reduced emissions and discharges. The DSS series rigs can drill wells in water depths of 10,000 m (30,000 ft). Although the rigs are equipped with a dynamic positioning system, they can also be attached to a pre-laid mooring system.
Statoil contracts Helix for intervention vessel
Statoil has awarded Helix Energy Solutions Group a FEED contract for the development of its “Category B” semisubmersible well intervention vessel.
The vessel will be engineered for year-round well intervention operations, providing a comprehensive range of through-riser heavy well intervention and light drilling techniques, including TTRD (through tubular rotary drilling), wireline, coil tubing, pumping, and cementing.
The design of the vessel will be based on Helix ESG’sQ4000 semisubmersible platform, which operates in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition to theQ4000, Helix’s intervention fleet includes the light intervention and diving vessels Seawell and Well Enhancer, and the company also operates the MSV Normand Clough via CloughHelix JV.
GSP Bigfoot 1 to install Black Sea pipeline
The shallow-water derrick/laybargeGSP Bigfoot 1 will install a subsea pipeline for Phase II of TPAO’s Akcakoca gas project in the Turkish Black Sea.
Owner Grup Servicii Petroliere recently completed an $85-million conversion program on the vessel at its yard in Constanta Sud – Agigea, followed by sea trials in the Black Sea to test speed, maneuverability, and directional stability. The trials were witnessed by representatives of ABS, which supervised the conversion process and issued the class certificate.
GSP Bigfoot 1 is equipped to install pipelines with outer diameters of 6 to 32-in. (15.2 to 81 cm), and can accommodate a crew up to 208. After completing its initial assignment in the Russian sector, a shallow-water pipeline installation, the vessel will transfer to Akcakoca, where it will install a 7-km (4.3-mi) long, 12-in. diameter subsea pipeline.
It will also perform tie-ins to Akcakoca’s existing 12-in. (30.5-cm) offshore trunklines vie a wye-piece connection. Gas is transported through this system to an onshore plant at Cayazgi. GSP also undertook the pre-installation subsea survey.
The barge will be supported in this program by two anchorhandler tug supply vesselsGSP Vega and Amber II. In addition, GSP is responsible for construction and installation of the Phase II project’s steel jacket/dual-deck platform, which it claims will be the largest to date in the Black Sea.
GSP has won another contract in this region for its new DP-1 support vessel, theGSP Alcor, which will provide supply/standby services to OMV Petrom in the Romanian sector.
Rowan accepts first of four jackups
Keppel AmFELS has delivered the first of four EXL jackup rigs to Rowan Drilling Co.
TheRowan EXL I should be deployed for work immediately after delivery, executing a 10-month contract with McMoRan Exploration Co. in the Gulf of Mexico.
“With the strengthening demand of higher-specification jackups for deep and difficult wells worldwide, the addition of the Rowan EXL rigs to our premium fleet will augment our asset base and boost our ability to meet the growing needs of our customers,” says David Russell, president of Rowan.
Keppel AmFELS says construction of the three other similar jackups for Rowan is progressing well. All are within schedule and budget.
The ABS-classed rigs, built as an enhancement of the LeTourneau Super 116E model, are designed to drill high-pressure, high-temperature and extended-reach wells. They can operate in water depths of 350 ft (106 m) or more and can drill to a sub-surface depth of 35,000 ft (106,680 m).