David Paganie
Managing Editor
ABERDEEN, UK -- FloaTEC introduced a dry tree floating production concept for Gulf of Mexico and West Africa deepwater development at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen, Scotland, which it plans to have ready for the market in 2008.
FloaTEC says it plans to deliver all major components of the dry tree production semi fitted with a large drilling rig, from its JV Parents J. Ray McDermott and Keppel FELS' multiple yards on the Gulf Coast, reducing project risk and schedule through a high degree of self-performance from engineering through construction and installation. This gives FloaTEC a clear advantage from competition in securing deepwater development contracts in the GoM, where some projects are slipping by an average of two years, said Eric Namtvedt, FloaTEC president, at the announcement.
"We have the potential to create a market space where competition is irrelevant," said Namtvedt. "Many deepwater projects in the Gulf are slipping because of the lack of experienced industry personnel, limited rig availability, rising construction costs impacting project economics, long-lead delivery times for key components, and limited spare yard capacity," he said. "FloaTEC, working with our JV Parents, has the resources to handle lumpsum, EPCI risks for deepwater developments, which can recover some of the loss from these projects slipping. We will design, build, integrate, and deliver the complete dry tree floating production units from the Gulf Coast."
Benefits of using this deepwater production solution, according to FloaTEC, include lower drilling costs – avoiding the need for high-cost MODUs for development drilling and workover operations; reduced installation costs – quayside integration eliminates the need for a heavy-lift vessel for installation and hook-up; and lower operating costs – dry trees eliminate subsea intervention. But the key advantage is higher recovery rates, according to Namtvedt.
FloaTEC is completing final model tests on the dry tree semi concept.
9/7/2007
