Offshore Notes Elevating Support Vessel to get GE Power
Remedial Offshore purchased V228 mediumspeed diesel engines from GE Marine, Erie, Pa., to power the new Remedial Offshore Elevating Support Vessels (ESVs). Touted as the world's first self-propelled, 325-ft./100-m nominal water depth-rated jack-up well intervention vessel, Remedial Offhore's ESV design provides a hybrid between a jack-up drilling rig and a marine vessel. The new ESV concept is designed to offer versatility and functionality, ranging from an incorporated electric well workover package to a large open deck for offshore support functions. Each vessel is outfitted to provide a stable work environment for deploying the most advanced well intervention or production enhancement technologies. ESV abilities include well workovers, sidetracking, well abandonment, facility upgrades, brownfield rejuvenation projects and small field developments, as well as providing complete services for well intervention. Each ESV will employ four GE diesels --- one 8-cylinder V228 and three 16-cylinder engines. Two Remedial Offshore ESVs are under construction in China, one at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard Ltd. in Shandong, and the second at the COSCO Shipyard Group's facility in Nantong. GE has already delivered to the shipyards two 8V228 and six 16V228 engines, manufactured at the company's Grove City, Pa. facility. "When we set out to find the best fit for the ESV power generation needs, we considered several key points to be critical to our operation. Therefore, the engine manufacturer selected absolutely had to satisfy these requirements, and that's why we chose GE's engines to meet our needs," said Remedial Offshore Chief Executive Officer Rich Altman. "We knew this would not be an easy task to fulfill and stay within a reasonable budget. We are extremely satisfied with having made this decision and we look forward to future opportunities and joint cooperation with GE. We will definitely draw on our relationship to refine performance and address any future operating environmental regulations that come our way." What is the ESV? Remedial Offshore's ESV technology provides stable offshore work platforms specifically designed and purpose-built to support remedial oil and gas activities and applications. The Remedial Offshore ESV concept is fully compatible with advanced well intervention technologies and facilitates mature field rejuvenation. Each Elevating Support Vessel: � Allows global deployment in a vast number of mature basins; � Can work in nominal water depths to 325 ft./100 m; � Is self-propelled (7 knots), eliminating need for tugs or anchor-handling vessels; � Can carry more than 3,000 tons/2,722 metric tons of variable load; � With a high-capacity (308 tons/280 metric tons) pedestal crane on a traversing gantry that does not obstruct equipment on the large, open deck (~10,000 sq. ft./930sq. m. ); � Is self-elevating, which enhances safety, extends the "weather window" in which it can operate, and optimizes its onboard crane lift capabilities; � Includes an electric 500-kip "doubles" workover rig.
Contract for 10 GPA 696 IMR Vessels
Bourbon earlier this year tapped Guido Perla & Associates, Inc. (GPA) to deliver the concept design, regulatory package, and final design for 10 GPA 696 IMR vessels. The vessels, which will measure 100 x 21 m, are the GPA 696 IMR vessels are currently the largest in the GPAdesigned PSV fleet, which include vessels measuring 58m - 92m ft. in length overall. The 10 IMR multipurpose vessels, which will be equipped with two deck cranes and a helideck designed for a Super Puma Helicopter EC225, will be constructed at Zhejiang Shipyard in China, where 18 GPA 670 PSVs owned by Bourbon have been or are currently being constructed, including four GPA 670 PSV MKII Special Products and 4 GPA 670 PSV MKII ROVs. The configuration of the environmentally friendly diesel-electric propulsion system of the Fifi-1 certified GPA 696 IMR (Inspection, Maintenance & Repair), which will be equipped with Z-Drives, tunnel bow thrusters and azimuthing bow thrusters delivered by Schottel, creates fully redundant engine rooms and thruster compartments and also results in reduced maintenance cost and improved station-keeping at offshore installations, and significantly increases crewmember safety. This has been GPA standard for all the GPA 600 and 200 series of offshore support vessels. With this order, the number of new GPA 600 and 200 series of offshore support vessels already serving the industry or currently or soon to be under construction has increased to 134.
April 2008
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