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Heading for Ingleside,TX: Largest Heavy Transport Vessel for Largest Offshore Platform Hull
The Dockwise Vanguard, the world’s largest semisubmersible Heavy Transport Vessel (HTV) to date, safely completed its first ever float-on operation earlier this week.
The vessel, loaded with the World’s largest semisubmersible offshore platform hull, the Jack/St. Malo, is now on her maiden voyage carrying the near 56,000 metric ton hull on her deck.
The Dockwise Vanguard successfully executed the float-on exercise of the Jack/St. Malo platform hull at the Silli-Do deep hole near the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in Geoje, South Korea. “The float-on operation was precisely and safely executed as planned. It took no more than 4 hours before the cargo stood firm on her cribbing,” states Ronald Goetheer, Project Manager at Dockwise. After almost two days of sea fastening, the Dockwise Vanguard departed at sunrise on the 12th of February, and will navigate around Cape of Good Hope heading towards the Kiewit yard in Ingleside, Texas, USA, where it is expected to arrive mid-April.
Dockwise Vanguard
The Dockwise Vanguard is an innovative semisubmersible HTV that is redefining the limits of exceptional heavy marine transport. The vessel has been designed to enable operators and contractors consider opportunities for mega offshore units which were until now considered unthinkable. With the loading capacity of up to 110,000 tons, the vessel is designed to serve the top end market focusing on next generation offshore
Companies in the Oil & Gas industry can now specify much larger and heavier offshore structures, and these can be integrated at a single fabrication site. These mega structures can then be transported onboard the vessel to remote offshore locations, even in harsh climates where no commissioning facilities are available. This feature can help reduce costs and optimize the overall project. In essence, the new vessel will play an important role in the field development philosophy of Oil companies, since it will be capable of transporting fully integrated mega offshore units.
The vessel’s design is also expected to help operators and developers create value. With its capabilities, timely and risky phases of offshore projects can be managed prior to hookup and commissioning. Interface optimization, higher degree of risk mitigation, lower insurance premiums, improved schedule flexibility, and reduced time-to-production – as well as reduced offshore man-hours – are a few examples of opportunities. In addition, the vessel’s advanced technical capabilities enable it to offer a completely new service: offshore dry-docking.
Increasingly, FPSOs are being located in remote areas that lack support infrastructure. In this circumstance, an offshore dry-docking service can be specially valuable. The Dockwise Vanguard’s FPSO dry-docking capacity offers inspection, maintenance, and repair opportunities (amongst others) at different conditional modes. The FPSO could remain connected to its mooring and turret system while keeping the riser systems intact, with the possibility of continuing limited production. In this scenario, the FPSO will still be able to freely weathervane around the turret mooring, with controlled heading made possible by the vessel’s propulsion system. The vessels capabilities completely avoid or significantly reduce downtime.
Innovative Design
The vessel is specifically designed to exceed the Oil & Gas industry’s expectations. “From the drawing board, we decided to engineer a truly exceptional vessel unlike others in the market,” states Michel Seij, Manager Engineering at Dockwise.
The Dockwise Vanguard is engineered to surpass current heavy marine transport limitations. The vessel’s deck covers a surface of 275 m x 70 m (902 ft x 230 ft) and is equipped with movable casings. In addition, the accommodation block and navigation bridge are located on the extreme starboard side. The vessel has no bow, and this, along with other design features, gives the vessel a unique appearance.
In addition, the vessel has a dedicated design for ultra-heavy units weighing up to 110,000 metric tons. Optimized deck strength and extreme wide-load capabilities are at the heart of the design philosophy; as are the vessel’s stability characteristics. It is equipped with a 27 MW redundant propulsion system consisting of two fixed propellers at the aft and two retractable azimuth thrusters at the bow. These can reach a maximum transit speed of 14 knots, which translates to average service speeds of 11-13 knots with cargo. In addition, the vessel allows for 16 m (53 ft) water above deck, accommodating cargoes with a higher draft.
Largest Heavy Transport Vessel for Largest Offshore Platform Hull| Offshore Energy Today.
Worldwide Field Development News Nov 10 – Nov 16, 2012
This week the SubseaIQ team added 3 new projects and updated 19 projects. You can see all the updates made over any time period via the Project Update History search. The latest offshore field develoment news and activities are listed below for your convenience.
Australia
Maari Partners to Buy Raroa FPSO
Nov 15, 2012 – OMV New Zealand, on behalf of the Maari field partners, announced the intent to exercise the option to purchase the Raroa FPSO. Since 2009 the Maari partners have leased the Raroa from Tablelands Development Ltd. Included in the lease is an option to buy the vessel after the fourth contract year at a pre-agreed buy-out price. Ownership of the FPSO will give the group the flexibility to refurbish and make upgrades as needed throughout the life of the field. Ownership transfer will be effective as of March 8, 2013. Additionally, MODEC Management Services has been awarded an operations and maintenance services contract for the Maari field through 2017 with options to extend in two year increments. MODEC currently operates 15 FPSOs worldwide.
Project Details: Maari
Drilling Commences at Zephyros-1
Nov 13, 2012 – Joint Venture partner Karoon Gas Australia announced the spudding of Zephyros-1, an exploration well in permit WA-398-P. The well is being drilled on the border of a large tilted fault block and will test the presence, quality and extent of reservoirs in the Plover formation. ConocoPhillips, the operator, has contracted the Transocean Legend (mid-water semisub) to carry out the drilling program which includes a minimum of 5 wells and will continue through 2013. Zephyros is the second well to be drilled and follows the highly successful Boreas-1 well. The remaining wells will be announced as they reach joint venture approval.
Project Details: Zephyros
Asia – Far East
WZ6-12 Development Nearing Completion
Nov 13, 2012 – Roc Oil continues to drill successful wells in the WZ6-12 development area offshore China. Its latest well, WZ6-12-A7, reached a total depth of 8,720 feet while targeting the Sliver and Liushagang prospects. Just over 34 feet of net oil pay was encountered within the Sliver prospect. Liushagang yielded 259 net feet of water wet sands with up-dip potential remaining. A 7″ liner will be set to allow future completion and tie-in to production facilities. Based on the recent drilling results the company is re-examining the area for additional exploration potential. At least two development wells will be needed before the field can be brought online. First oil is still planned for early 2013.
Project Details: Beibu Gulf
S. America – Other & Carib.
BPZ Ready to Flip Switch at Corvina
Nov 13, 2012 – Development drilling in BPZ Energy’s Corvina field will soon begin from the newly installed CX-15 platform. The Peruvain Ministry of Energy and Mines granted the company an environmental permit which cleared the way for drilling and eventual operation of all production and injection facilities on the platform. The current plans call for the Petrex-28 rig to be mobilized to the platform with the first well being spud in December 2012. Production of first oil is expected to take place in 1Q 2013.
Project Details: Corvina
Europe – North Sea
Voyageur Spirit Completing Commissioning Process
Nov 16, 2012 – The Voyageur Spirit FPSO has been on location at the Huntington field in block 22/14b in the UK North Sea since early October undergoing hook-up of risers and completion of commissioning. An exact date of start-up activities has not been set as it is dependent upon favorable weather and the timing of first oil which has been pushed back from 4Q 2012 to 1Q 2013. Prior to being towed to location, the Voyageur Spirit underwent upgrades at the Nymo shipyard in Norway to prepare for Huntington.
Project Details: Huntington
Subsea 7 Wins Martin Linge SURF Contract
Nov 16, 2012 – Total E&P Norge awarded a subsea, umbilical, riser and flowline (SURF) contract worth almost $800 million to Subsea 7 for development activities at the Martin Linge gas field in the Norwegian North Sea. Under the contract, Subsea 7 will provide engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the subsea facilities associated with the field. Engineering and project management are expected to commence immediately with offshore operations forecasted to begin in the spring of 2014. Contract duration is estimated at 4 years.
Project Details: Martin Linge (Hild)
Gudrun Platform Deck Arrives in Norway
Nov 16, 2012 – Production from the Statoil-operated Gudrun field in the Norwegian North Sea is expected to begin during 1Q 2014. The company is a step closer to its start-up goal with the arrival of the production platform’s deck from Aibel’s construction yard in Thailand. The topsides components, which include the operations deck, living quarters, platform modules and helideck, will now be assembled on land. Once complete the unit will be taken via heavy lift vessel to the Gudrun field and attached to the jacket structure which has already been installed. Installation of the deck topsides is expected to take place in the summer of 2013.
Project Details: Sleipner Area
Providence Announces Drombeg Potential
Nov 14, 2012 – Providence and its partner Sosina recently completed a potential resource assessment and major seismic inversion program over its Drombeg prospect in the southern Porcupine Basin offshore Ireland. Analysis results indicate recoverable P50 prospective resource potential of 872 MMbo within Drombeg and a new target identified below the main prospect. Additional Lower Cretaceous seismic anomalies have been identified both laterally offset to and vertically stacked with Drombeg which provide further resource potential. Supplemental data and 3D seismic of the area will be needed to accurately evaluate the true potential of Drombeg.
Project Details: Dromberg
Antrim Inks FPSO Agreement for Fyne
Nov 14, 2012 – A Heads of Terms agreement was signed between Antrim Energy and Hummingbird Production Limited, a subsidiary of Teekay Corporation, for an option to lease the Hummingbird Spirit FPSO for the development of the Fyne field in UK North Sea block 21/28a. The agreement will be subject to approval of a Field Development Plan which Antrim (operator) must submit to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change no later than January 2013. First oil is tentatively expected in 4Q 2014 contingent upon timing of the redeployment of the FPSO from its current work location. Results from well 21/28a-11, drilled earlier this year, have increased Fyne 2P reserve estimates to 11.7 million barrels of oil.
Project Details: Fyne
Shell Acquires Additional Stake in Schiehallion
Nov 14, 2012 – Shell and Murphy Oil signed an agreement whereby Shell will acquire Murphy’s 5.9% stake in the Schiehallion field offshore Scotland. The field is located in blocks 204 and 205 of the West of Shetlands area in 1,300 feet of water. Execution of the agreement will bring Shell’s stake in the field to 55%. Partners in the field include BP (operator) with 33.5% and Statoil and OMV, both with 5.9% stakes.
Project Details: Schiehallion (Quad 204)
Major Causeway Milestone for Antrim
Nov 13, 2012 – Antrim Energy announced the start of oil production from the Causeway field in UKCS block 211/23d. Commissioning of the field has commenced with gross production rates of roughly 4,500 barrels per day on a 53% choke. The long horizontal geometry of the well has lead to slow clean-up and is impacting initial flow rates. Electric submersible pumps are expected to contribute to production rates through the first half of 2013. Antrim maintains a 35.5% working interest in the block.
Project Details: Causeway
Ithaca Updates Greater Stella Area
Nov 13, 2012 – Ithaca Energy plans to start its Greater Stella Area (GSA) development drilling program by drilling four production wells at the Stella field starting 1Q 2013 using the Ensco 100 (350′ ILC). Each of the Stella wells is expected to take 90 days to complete. These wells will be tied into the FPF-1 floating production unit which is currently being upgraded at the Remontowa yard in Gdansk. Commissioning of the vessel and hook-up to the GSA production hub is scheduled for 1H 2014. Engineering and construction of the GSA subsea facilities is on schedule with installation to take place throughout 2013. More wells are planned for the Stella, Harrier and Hurricane fields once the four initial Stella wells are brought on line.
Project Details: Stella/Harrier
MidEast – Persian Gulf
Total Extends Al Khalij Involvement
Nov 14, 2012 – Total will continue to operate the Al Khalij field offshore Qatar for the next 25 years thanks to the signing of a Heads of Agreement between Qatar’s Ministry of Energy and Industry, Qatar Petroleum and Total. Qatar Petroleum will maintain a 60% stake in the field while Total will remain the operator with a 40% stake. Al Khalij was discovered by Total in 1991 and production was initiated in 1997.
S. America – Brazil
Petrobras Signs LoI for Iracema Norte FPSO
Nov 15, 2012 – Petrobras and its partners in block BM-S-11 announced the signing of a Letter of Intent with Schahin and MODEC for the charter of an FPSO that will be used for the development of the Iracema Norte area in the Santos Basin. The vessel will be operated by Schahin and MODEC and chartered to the Consortium for a period of 20 years. MODEC is tasked with taking VLCC Alga and converting it into FPSO Cidade de Itaguai MV26 which is to be installed on location in December 2015. Once operational, the vessel will be capable of handling 150,000 bopd, 280 MMscf of gas per day and storing a total of 1,600,000 barrels of liquids. SOFEC, a subsidiary of MODEC, will design the mooring spread that will hold the FPSO on location in 7,349 feet of water.
Project Details: Iracema
Statoil Boosts Peregrino Recovery
Nov 15, 2012 – Statoil is well known for its use of multilateral well technology and has used it extensively on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company has now taken its expertise to the Peregrino field in block BM-C-7 offshore Brazil. Peregrino was regarded as an oil field with large potential for increased recovery based on already low recovery rates and in-place volumes of nearly 2.3 billion barrels. By using horizontal wells drilled with geosteering technology to optimize placement, water injection and flow assurance measures, the estimated recoverable resources have been increased to the range of 300 to 600 million barrels of oil. To date, the company has drilled 15 production wells of this type at Peregrino and has doubled the expected recovery rate.
Project Details: Peregrino
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100 Million Tons of Ships, Hyundai Heavy Surpasses All Others
Image courtesy Qatar Gas
The Korea Times and Yonhap news reports today that South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has cumulatively built over 100 million tons of ships over the shipyard’s 40 year history.
No other shipbuilding company in the world has ever built more.
According to the Korea Times,
Hyundai Heavy has delivered a total of 1,805 diverse types of ships, ranging from drilling vessels, LNG or LPG carriers and container ships to submarines and naval ships, to more than 280 ship owners in 49 different countries.
The ships include 510 container ships, 351 oil tankers, 343 bulk carriers and 124 product carriers.
Last month, HHI won orders for 4 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and 1 LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) worth USD $1.1 billion. The orders included two 162,000 cbm LNG carriers for Golar LNG of Norway and two same-class ships for an unnamed European shipowner.
According to a Dow Jones report in January, HHI’s 2012 annual order and sales targets are up 19.6% and 9.5%, respectively, from its results in 2011, when it booked $25.54 billion in orders and KRW25.2 trillion in sales.
Asian shipyards such as HHI are bracing for challenging times ahead however as current oil prices increase operating costs, a glut of containerships and tankers put heavy downward pressure on freight rates, and newbuild ship financing becomes increasingly more complex for shipowners.
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USA: Broadwater Shelves LNG Plan
Broadwater Energy said that it has decided not to go forward with any aspect of its LNG project, the company said in a letter to U.S. FERC.
Broadwater also asked the Commission to vacate its previous authorization for the LNG project.
The company is a joint venture by TransCanada Corporation and Shell Oil, and it planned to build a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) attached to a yoke mooring system about 9 miles off Long Island and 10.5 miles off Connecticut, with a maximum regasification capacity of about 9 million mt of LNG per annum.
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INPEX Orders USD 2 bln FPSO from DSME (South Korea)
The second largest shipbuilder in the world, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Co, announces that it has received an order to construct a giant Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO).
The order comes from a Japanese oil giant, INPEX and is a part of the company’s Ichthys project, offshore Australia.
Daewoo made the announcement on the Korea Exchange, saying that the estimated worth of the project is $2 billion.
The FPSO will serve for offshore storage and export of condensate from the Ichthys field. The condensate will be transferred from the CPF to the FPSO and, further, it will be exported from the FPSO via a floating loading hose to offtake tankers.
The vessel will also treat and dispose of produced water. It will be located approximately 2 km from the Central Processing Facilitiy and will contain liquid (condensate and water) treatment facilities, living quarters and associated utilities.
South Korea’s shipbuilders have benefited greatly from the INPEX’s Ichthys project. Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd has recently received a $2.71 billion order for the construction of an offshore central processing facility (CPF) for the Ichthys project.
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UAE: FPSO BW Athena Leaves DryDocks World Dubai
Ithaca Energy Inc. revealed that the ‘BW Athena’ Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Vessel (“FPSO”) has departed Dubai Dry Docks World to be met by a dedicated guard vessel.
All FPSO production critical equipment was run and fully tested prior to vessel departure thus minimizing the period between arrival in the field and first production of oil.
Upon arrival in the field the BW Athena will be hooked up to the pre-installed production system. Hook-up will mark completion of the development phase and the Company anticipates that the production phase will commence in early Q2 2012. Production is anticipated to reach approximately 22,000 (1) barrels of oil per day (“bopd”), approx. 5,000 bopd (net to Ithaca).
Shipbuilding Tribune – UAE: FPSO BW Athena Leaves DryDocks World Dubai.
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BG Group Secures $1.8B for Brazilian FPSO Program
BG Group announced Thursday that it has received initial approval from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for up to $1.8 billion of long-term finance to fund part of the company’s interests in the pre-salt Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.
Subject to further approvals and the completion of a final agreement, the funding facility will be allocated to BG Group’s share of local procurement and construction costs for the eight floating production, storage and offload (FPSO) facilities that will be owned by BG Group and its Santos Basin partners.
The 150,000 barrels of oil per day capacity vessels are part of the wider first phase, fast-track development program in the Santos Basin that will deliver 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day of capacity by 2017.
By the second quarter of 2012, BG Group expects to agree terms with BNDES on finance with a 14-year term.
“We are delighted to have received this initial approval from BNDES for long-term financing of up to $1.8 billion which will add to the diverse funding options already in place as we progress our global growth programme,” said BG Group Chief Financial Officer Fabio Barbosa.
“In particular, the funds will help underpin BG Group’s investments for the successful development of our world-class pre-salt Santos Basin interests. Finally, it also represents the support of one of the key players in the Brazilian government to our partnership with Petrobras and the country.”
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Angola: Total’s Usan Produces First Oil
French supermajor Total, operator of Block OML138, announces the start-up of production of the offshore Usan field in Nigeria, in line with the planned schedule. Usan is the second deep offshore development operated by Total in Nigeria, coming on stream less than three years after Akpo.
Discovered in 2002, the Usan field lies around 100 kilometers off the South East Nigerian coast in water depths ranging from 750 to 850 meters. The Usan development comprises a spread moored Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel designed to process 180 000 barrels per day and with a crude storage capacity of 2 million barrels. Its size of 320 meters long and 61 meters wide makes it one of the largest vessels of this type in the world. Development involves 42 wells that are connected to the FPSO by a 70 kilometers long subsea network.
Yves-Louis Darricarrère, President Exploration-Production at Total, stated on the occasion:
“I’m particularly proud to announce start-up of this major project together with the concession holder NNPC. This project demonstrates the ability of Total, a key operator of large-scale deep offshore developments in the Gulf of Guinea, to lead ambitious projects that will contribute to increase production for the Group and for the country. Total as operator has introduced a number of technological innovations, among which is a solution that drastically reduces gas flaring and thus minimizes the project’s environmental impact. The development of Usan has involved a record 60% of local content man-hours and thus has contributed to strengthening the know-how of the Nigerian industry in the area of hydrocarbon exploitation in the deep offshore.”
The Usan project has involved an unprecedented level of Nigerian local content, with over 500,000 engineering man-hours and 14 million construction and installation man-hours performed in Nigeria. FPSO construction included an offshore integration of 3,500 tons of locally fabricated structures. In addition, large-scale training and capacity building programs were put in place, raising the skills of the local workforce to the benefit of future projects.
Total’s wholly owned subsidiary Total E&P Nigeria Ltd. operates OML 138 with a 20% interest, while Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the concession holder. Total’s partners are Chevron Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. (30%), Esso E&P Nigeria (Offshore East) Ltd. (30%) and Nexen Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. (20%).
Offshore Energy Today Staff, February 24, 2012
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Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 