A reel twist on the traditional carousel

Transcription

1 A reel twist on the traditional carousel THE MARKET DEMAND THE FIRST PROJECT In late 2012, following a brand audit of customers and further market investigation, Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, recognised that there was strong client demand to lease a carousel. This carousel would be modular in construction for containerised transportation around the world, be flexible enough to work on the back deck of a wide range of vessels of opportunity and provide the capacity to deploy/recover a wide range of different diameter flexible products with a maximum weight of 1,500 tonnes. The carousel was successfully used to install 9.7km of 218mm diameter umbilical in the South Belut field offshore Indonesia for ConocoPhillips. As the Installation contractor, Kreuz Subsea engaged Aquatic Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Aquatic Engineering & Construction, to mobilise the modular carousel system onto the Seamec Princess Vessel and transpool the umbilical prior to sailing to the field and laying off the vessel starboard side. The entire operation from equipment mobilisation through to transpooling, offshore laying and demobilisation was completed within approx. 3 weeks.

2 THE ENGINEERING CHALLENGE The brief arrived at Aquatic s engineering department with a clear outline of what was required. It was a project that would bring together both commercial and engineering expertise, utilising the full strategic resources of the entire company. It is common practice in the offshore industry for carousels to be designed for a specific application and integrated in the structure of a dedicated host vessel. In contrast the Aquatic carousel has been designed to be operated on the back deck of a wide range of vessels for a broad spectrum of clients and project applications. Key design parameters to be satisfied were: 1,500Te product payload 50mm to 550mm product diameter 2m to 3 m product minimum bend radius Line tension to be maintained on the product at all times Maximum 10Te/m2 deck loading Minimum 15 years working life Modular construction Transportable in a number of standard 40 shipping containers Worldwide operations In addition to the above parameters cross disciplinary design reviews held at the outset of the project identified further requirements for an adjustable top flange and expandable/conical hub for the following reasons: Adjustable top flange to minimise the height of the centre of gravity of the spooled product to maximise vessel stability where the maximum capacity of the carousel is not required Adjustable hub - to provide a range of minimum product bend radii for maximum product capacity Conical hub to prevent collapse of the coils on the carousel in the event of a reduction of product line tension during spooling or deployment To maintain product line tension a dedicated tensioner was integrated into the design of the carousel system. This tensioner is mounted on a sliding compensator frame, which forms part of the level wind tower, moving towards or away from the carousel hub as required to maintain product line tension. Throughout the project all potential risks, hazards and obstacles identified were investigated and remedial actions implemented to optimise design, manufacture and performance resulting in a unique carousel system. In addition to the technical challenges the whole carousel system had to be designed, manufactured, assembled and tested within severe time constraints imposed by the first client s operational deadline. Following assembly and preliminary testing of the carousel system in the UK it had to be dismantled, containerised and shipped to Singapore for its first mobilisation on the Seamec Princess in October For the mutual convenience of the company and client the carousel was fully assembled on the quayside in Singapore following which Factory Acceptance Test FAT was successfully completed under DNV surveillance. THE MOBILISATION Immediately following FAT the carousel system was broken down into manageable sections and reassembled on the back deck of the Seamec Princess where it was sea-fastened in position along with a second Aquatic tensioner (AQTT-13) and overboarding chute. The product to be spooled onto the carousel was positioned on a barge adjacent to the vessel together with an Aquatic reel drive and track system (AQPR-02) and tensioner (AQTT-06) in readiness for spooling of the product. All equipment on both the vessel and the barge were controlled by a team of Aquatics most experienced offshore personnel. The most difficult element of any mobilisation is when the product is being spooled. It demands great attention to detail and many man hours to ensure that no issues are encountered when the product is spooled off later at sea. This first spooling onto the carousel was the most complicated that the Aquatic team has ever had to perform. Three discrete lengths of 218mm diameter product (2.8km, 3.4km and 3.4km) with two very large in-line, mid-section connectors (8m long and 1m in diameter) were spooled onto the carousel to provide a continuous 9.6km product for deployment at sea. To maximise the length of product that could be spooled onto the carousel the adjustable conical hub was set at its smallest radius of 2m with packers fitted to increase the radius to 2.3m to meet the minimum bend radius requirements of the product. A false floor also had to be designed and constructed under which the in-line connectors were located to prevent interference with the even spooling of the rest of the product onto the hub. This highly complex operation, which was completely successful, put both the Aquatic team and carousel through their paces and strengthened the confidence of both Aquatic and the client in the capabilities of the carousel.

3 CLIENT RESPONSE Kurush Contractor, CEO Working with Aquatic towards the successful completion of the project was a mutually supportive and efficient experience. The performance of new carousel has exceeded our expectations and operations completed ahead of schedule. We are already considering how we can work with Aquatic and its 1500te carousel on future operations. SUMMARY The Aquatic 1500te carousel is without doubt a game-changer. Genuinely unique, with patents pending, this is a valuable piece of kit for both Aquatic and its clients in the oil and gas industry around the world. Fully modular, the carousel, like all Aquatic equipment, can be shipped in containers around the globe. Operationally effective, the carousel is a classic piece of competent, engineering excellence; smooth to operate and effective for offshore projects needing its capacity and flexibility at sea. Aquatic is globally renowned as an independent supplier of modular carousels, reel drive systems and tensioner solutions for the oil and gas, telecommunications and renewable energy industries. The company has a market-leading reputation for laying and retrieving flexible and semi-rigid products on the seabed, proven ability in shallow and deep water, and extensive experience of off- and onshore installations, transpooling, recovery and decommissioning. Aquatic is part of Acteon s wider risers, conductors and flowlines offering and joins the other Acteon companies in linking subsea services across a range of interconnected disciplines. Combining the strengths of a major global organisation with those of independent market specialists, all Acteon companies have complementary skills, experience and technologies that link seabed to surface across a range of interconnected disciplines. The Americas Europe, Middle East & Africa Asia Pacific info@aquaticsubsea.com

4 Equipment reliability is a core competency for Aquatic THE PROJECT AQUATIC S ROLE Subsea 7 were contracted by Petrobras to perform an EPIC or Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning Project, for buoyancy support risers and its risers. Each buoyancy support riser has 27 steel catenary risers, flexible service lines and umbilical risers that are supported in single catenary configuration from the seabed to the Buoyancy Support Riser. Flexible jumpers connect the bouyancy support riser to the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit) and a flexible static line extends the steel catenary riser ends up to the well head. As part of the work scope Aquatic provided a 200te modular reel drive system (AQPR- 08E-200), complete with power pack, control cabin and ancillary support equipment. In addition, Aquatic supplied a reel skidding drive system, which was custom-designed and fabricated specifically for this project. The skidding system efectively locked the reel drive system in position for the transpooling operations on board the Acergy Polaris.

5 THE EQUIPMENT MOBILISATIONS AND OPERATIONS The reel skidding drive system was fabricated and designed by Aquatic and one of their suppliers. Like all Aquatic equipment, the reel skidding drive system is modular to make its transportation and subsequent build extremely simple. The reel skidding drive system formed an integral part of the project, and was operated by a team of Aquatic offshore technicians. The reel drive system and the reel skidding drive system were shipped to Brazil in February Both were assembled on location and commissioned and functiontested over the next two months, before operations commenced on board the Acergy Polaris in May The reel drive system and the reel skidding drive system were operational over the next 11 months until March 2014, when operations concluded and the reel drive system was demobilised. During the project period, the reel drive system was fully operational and reported little or no downtime, demonstrating the reliability and client peace of mind when choosing to work with Aquatic. The sketch below details the interface between the reel drive system and the reel skidding drive systems. Similarly, the reel skidding drive system was also operational during this period and the customer was pleased with Aquatic s role in the success of that phase of the project. STRENGTH IN DEPTH It is strength in depth that sums up what Aquatic is about. It s our equipment range and the acknowledged, proven expertise and experience we have in abundance. It s reflected in our technical skill and SURF knowledge and the quality of local personnel we use on projects around the globe. We work safely, and we do not take unnecessary risks on any operation we re involved with. This strength in depth means we re dependable and our customers enjoy working with us, time and again. The Americas Europe, Middle East & Africa Asia Pacific info@aquaticsubsea.com

6 Rapid response for DeepOcean MODULARITY & FLEXIBILITY THE CHALLENGE THE SOLUTION Aquatic customer DeepOcean urgently required an AQPR-02 reel drive system to be mobilised to Kristiansand, Norway, for an urgent job in the Åsgard field. This unexpected request came at a moment when most equipment and people were already allocated to projects elsewhere. There was a single AQPR-02E that had just returned from a long term project. It was in great need of maintenance and repair. Similarly, there was also only one team at Peterhead that had just returned from a project off Singapore. Aquatic had an extremely small window in which to respond positively to their customer, or decline. Aquatic turned around the AQPR-02E maintenance in double quick-time and had it delivered to Aberdeen Harbour for the same weekend s shipping schedule to Stavanger. Aquatic s team at Peterhead worked around the clock to deliver the full spread in time for departure to Norway.

7 THE OUTCOME DeepOcean was highly appreciative of the effort Aquatic had made for them and wrote to compliment and thank those involved. By supporting our customer, DeepOcean in turn were able to meet their own customer s urgent need. UNRIVALLED EXPERIENCE Aquatic is globally renowned for laying and retrieving flexible and semi-rigid products on the seabed and has proven ability in shallow and deep water, and extensive experience of off- and onshore installations, transpooling, recovery and decommissioning. From its custom-built workshop and yard facility, clients are offered a complete storage, inspection and management service for spare pipeline and umbilical products and reels while Aquatic s own extensive range of equipment includes powered-reel drive systems, tensioners and storage reels. This kit is modular in design, making it highly flexible, able to be dismantled and easily transported by road or sea in standard containers to anywhere in the world; for clients this means faster, more cost-effective mobilisation and demobilisation, an essential component of success for any commercial project. The Americas Europe, Middle East & Africa Asia Pacific info@aquaticsubsea.com