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Ocean Installer wins subsea installation job in GoM
Ocean Installer has been awarded a subsea installation job in the Gulf of Mexico with one of the world’s leading international oil and gas companies on its largest deepwater producing field which sits in over 1800m water depth.
This is Ocean Installer’s first SURF contract in the GoM and marks a milestone for the company in the region.
The project, which involves the installation and testing of umbilicals and associated equipment, will be managed from the Ocean Installer Houston office with onshore preparations starting immediately. Offshore work will take place this summer and Ocean Installer will be utilising the Subsea Construction Vessel (CSV) the Normand Clipper, which is on a long-term charter from Solstad Offshore.
“This is our first SURF job in the GoM and we are very pleased to have secured this work only a year after we established our Houston office and less than four months after introducing our first vessel in the region. We are now looking forward to working closely with our client to execute the project in a safe, high quality and efficient manner,” says Mike Newbury, President of Ocean Installer in the US.
Ocean Installer opened its Houston office in April 2013 and the Normand Clipper arrived in Houston in January. The vessel has been well-received in the market and has since its arrival experienced good utilisation executing several jobs in the regional spot market.
Press Release, May 02, 2014
Q7000: Helix Orders Semi-Submersible Rig from Sembcorp Marine
Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard has secured a US$346 million contract to build a second semi-submersible well intervention rig for Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (Helix), a market leader in subsea well intervention services.
Scheduled for delivery in mid-2016, the semi-submersible light well intervention rig will be built based on a design jointly developed by Sembcorp Marine Technology Pte Ltd (SMTP), a fully-owned Research & Development subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, and Helix. Featuring the latest technology, the rig – named Q7000 by Helix – is an efficient purpose-designed platform with capabilities to perform a wide variety of tasks, including conventional and extended top hole drilling, subsea construction, decommissioning well intervention, coiled tubing operations and twin ROV deployment.
The Dynamic Positioning (DP) class 3 unit has the ability to operate in deepwater operations worldwide, including the North Sea and West of Africa.
William Gu, General Manager of Offshore Division said: “We are honoured that Helix has chosen to build their second semi-submersible well intervention rig with us. This repeat order is significant as it testifies as to their trust and confidence in our design and building capabilities in rigs with well intervention and subsea capabilities that are customised to meet this new growth segment of the market. We are committed to build on our partnership with Helix and to meet their stringent standards of quality, safety and reliability.”
Owen Kratz, Helix’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are pleased to work with our trusted partner Jurong Shipyard on this second unit of the semisubmersible well intervention rig, to be named Q7000.”
The above is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of Sembcorp Marine for the year ending December 31, 2013.
Galliano, LA: Edison Chouest to build 40 new supply vessels
BY: Jennifer Larino, Managing Editor
Edison Chouest Offshore said today it will build more than 40 new vessels to meet growing demand for offshore oil and gas support in the Gulf of Mexico, the Arctic and Brazil.
The new vessels continue an aggressive build campaign the Galliano-based company launched in 2011. The privately held company, which has vessels under construction at shipyards through the U.S. and in Brazil and Poland, did not disclose the cost of the newest round of builds.
Most of the construction work will be spread among Chouest’s four U.S.-affiliate shipyards — North American Shipbuilding in Larose, LaShip in Houma, Gulf Ship in Gulfport, Miss., and Tampa Ship in Tampa, Fla. — as well as its Brazilian shipyard, Navship.
The largest portion of the new build program will be the construction of 17 diesel-electric platform supply vessels. Chouest intends to market the new vessels, which feature a new hull form designed to carry more weight while lowering hydrodynamic resistance, as a more fuel-efficient option to oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico.
Chouest’s plans also include two new ice class vessels designed for service work in the Arctic and four new subsea construction vessels slated for service in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s fleet of icebreaking vessels, which will total six when the new builds are delivered, has supported Royal Dutch Shell’s drilling activity in Alaska.
Chouest also provided an update about its affiliated port facilities at Port Fourchon. The C-Port 3 facility currently under construction will open in March and feature six covered slips to transfer cargo and provide support for deepwater support vessels. Design has begun on an additional section, C-Port 4, which could have as many as nine covered slips.
The company is also planning to expand its C-Terminal worksite at Fourchon to include outside storage areas, warehouses, cement and barite plants, and fuel, water, mud and drilling fluid sales stations. Chouest purchased the facility earlier this year.
Chouest, founded as Edison Chouest Boat Rental in 1960, operates a fleet of nearly 250 offshore service and support vessels worldwide.
USA: MOSS Reviews Permanent Platform Wire Replacement
InterMoor successfully replaced (8) spiral-strand platform wires on a permanent production facility in May 2011 without requiring a platform shutdown or loss of production. The operation was completed using a single Construction Anchor-Handling Vessel (CAHV) at a significant cost savings from the traditional method involving a derrick barge.
Each mooring line consisted of unjacketed spiral-strand wire at the fairlead, two sections of jacketed spiral strand in the water column and studless chain at the seafloor. Syntactic-foam submersible buoys had been installed at each spiral-strand wire connection, so each mooring line had two buoys.
Only the platform wires were to be replaced, and the remaining mooring components including the buoys were to be reused. Protecting the existing components from damage during recovery and reinstallation posed several unique challenges. One of the main operational challenges was to design a way to bring the upper buoy and platform wire out of the water and secure them on deck so that the old platform wire could be disconnected. To accomplish this, InterMoor designed and installed a custom hang-off porch at the CAHV’s stern. The porch used a combination of pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders to manipulate and align the entire porch as each buoy connection was recovered and deployed. The porch also had separate stoppers for the socket connections and a removable cradle for the buoy. Another operational challenge was the unknown condition of the buoys themselves, particularly since they were to be reused on the replacement wires. There was no industry experience at the time in retrieving foam buoys that had remained submerged at depth for over a decade. This paper will explore these challenges and others in more detail as well as the steps that were taken to successfully overcome them.
Subsea World News – USA: MOSS Reviews Permanent Platform Wire Replacement.
Solstad, Ocean Installer Order Subsea Construction Vessel from STX OSV (Norway)
STX OSV Holdings Limited (“STX OSV”), one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of offshore and specialized vessels, has received an order for the design and construction of a large, advanced Offshore Subsea Construction Vessel (OSCV) for Ocean Installer and Solstad Offshore.
The contract value amounts to approximately NOK 1.4 billion. Ocean Installer and Solstad will have joint ownership of the vessel, which is to be operated by Ocean Installer. The vessel is scheduled for delivery from STX OSV in Norway in 2Q 2014. The hull will be delivered from STX OSV in Romania. The contract is subject to board approval by the Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credits (GIEK), expected to be received on or around 20 June 2012.
The vessel, of type OSCV 06L, has been designed by STX OSV and Solstad in close cooperation with Ocean Installer, and is highly advanced in terms of station keeping, efficiency and operational performance. The vessel is designed to operate efficiently under demanding conditions and is well fitted for SURF (Subsea,Umbilicals, Risers, Flowlines) operations.
The vessel is 156.7 meters long, 27 meters wide and has an aft cargo deck area of 2,100 m2. She will be equipped with a 150 t Vertical Lay System (VLS) and a 3,000 t below deck carousel, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in hangars launched through moonpools, and two AHC offshore cranes (400 t and 100 t) which both can operate down to depths of 3,000 meters. The accommodation facilities will have a capacity of 140 persons. The vessel is designed according to the latest environmental standards with focus on low fuel consumption.
Steinar Riise, CEO of Ocean Installer said: “We are very satisfied with placing the contract for this new-build, and are looking forward to developing our operations with this vessel, which is built for heavy construction work, and is highly advanced when it comes to station keeping, efficiency and operational performance. This investment is in line with our growth strategy, as the vessel is capable of conducting the full range of subsea construction operations in the global market. Moreover, this joint venture consolidates the strategic cooperation between Solstad and Ocean Installer”
Ocean Installer is a Norwegian subsea entrepreneur headquartered in Stavanger,Norway. Ocean Installer holds strong EPCI expertise within the SURF (Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers, Flowlines) segment and is rapidly expanding its operations andorganization within and beyond the North Sea basin. Solstad Offshore ASA is among the largest shipping companies in Norway, providing advanced vessels and extensive maritime competence for operations related to the offshore petroleum industry. The company has about 1,600 employees, and operates 50 vessels all over the world. Solstad Offshore is headquartered in Skudeneshavn, Norway and has branch offices in Brazil, Singapore, United Kingdom and Australia
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PHOTOS: Express installing subsea manifolds « Helix Currents
Photos courtesy of Helix Subsea Construction Field Engineers Robert Bailey & Matt Gonzales.
Taken on board Helix ESG’s pipelay vessel, Express, these photos show two Pipeline End Terminal manifolds (PLETS) as they are hoisted off an adjacent supply boat and lowered down to the seabed.
A PLET is used on one, or both ends of pipelines to provide connection point from the pipeline to existing subsea structures in place. The existing structure may be a subsea tree, another PLET or a manifold and are connected by a jumper. The PLETs and other subsea structures have upward looking connectors while the jumpers have downward looking connectors. This configuration allows the jumpers to be installed using Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).
Helix Subsea Construction, a business unit of Helix ESG, is installing this PLET as part of the overall scope of Subsea Umbilical, Riser and Flowline (SURF) work for Noble Energy at the Noa Field, offshore Israel. The field is in approximately 2,556ft of water (779m) and is being developed for natural gas.
Source: PHOTOS: Express installing subsea manifolds « Helix Currents.
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Gulf of Mexico Records Largest Demand for Specialised Offshore Vessels
Infield Systems have made a report on the offshore construction activity demand in order to recognize key regions and gauge supply developments stressing the possibility for activity increase due to the arrival of transcontinental pipelines and the deepwater tie-in of various satellite wells matched to an increased level of subsea installations. Demand is expected to reach its peak during 2015.
North America, particularly the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), has been recording the largest demand level mainly because of the availability of assets.
A considerable growth is expected in Asia and West Africa to 2016, supported by West African projects perceived as one of the key constituents of the emergent deepwater market and the region is seen as a key to a continued utilization of strategic assets. The Asian market features numerous countries including Malaysia, India, China and Indonesia, each reflecting differing dynamics, providing a slightly different opportunity for vessel operators who are keen to secure high utilization.
The global recession has affected all offshore developments and oil companies forcing them to restructure their capital cost commitments together with their offshore expansion plans.
Considerable confidence in Global financial markets has been regained. The declining oil price trend seen in Q2 2011 stabilized during Q3 2011. Greatly depending on whether the major economies return to recession, the global oil demand is anticipated to grow, although at a slower rate than expected.
Infield Systems strongly believe that the level of activity for specialist vessels will increase as E&P ventures expect to rise as a result of exploited reserves.
Vessel operators dealing with harsh and remote environments are most likely to be at the forefront of the expected growth. However, Infield Systems expects the global fleet to become more technologically advanced.
Infield Systems’ Global Perspective Specialist Vessels Market Report To 2016 is dedicated to the construction and construction support vessels that are employed in the development of offshore oil and gas fields. The third edition of this ground breaking report provides an in depth analysis of global and regional trends and the supply and demand dynamics for the period 2007 through to 2016.
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Norway: North Sea Giant Stays with Technip
Technip Norge AS have declared an option to the existing contract for the 2012-season on the OCV “NORTH SEA GIANT” and will now retain the vessel until end 2013.
The vessel will be employed on a number of large subsea construction projects in the North Sea during 2012, including flex-lay duties on Goliat-project in Barents Sea.
Technip also holds options for the vessel for 2014 and 2015.
M/V North Sea Giant has been designed for long term construction works in the open sea, supporting a crew of 120 people . The ship has a heliport, exercise hall, movie theater and sauna. There are two cranes on deck, one with a load capacity of 400 tons and the other 250 tons.
The vessel is one of the biggest OCV in the world at this moment. It is 156 meters long, 30 meters beam and over 22 MW of installed power.
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