Technip reaps benefits of new piling technology from CIS Group

Conductor Installation Services Ltd (CIS), an Acteon company that provides hammer services to install conductors and drive piles, has successfully completed its first subsea piling services contract.

Remotely operated equipment

CIS used its new remotely operated Subsea Piling System, which makes it possible to drive piles as large as 36-inches in diameter, in water depths to 300 m. The piles were driven to permanently secure two subsea structures to the seabed and to initiate three rigid pipelines being installed by customer Technip on the Bøyla Development project offshore Norway.

Following preparation and testing of all equipment at its base in Great Yarmouth, England, CIS mobilised the full Subsea Piling System to Haugesund, Norway. It was then loaded onto the support vessel, from which the four-member CIS crew would carry out all subsea piling operations remotely using a control unit and monitoring system.

Bøyla field

In late March 2014, the team set out with all equipment to the Bøyla field. Working as weather permitted in a maximum water depth of 120 m, CIS successfully drove the three 30-inch Initiation anchor piles, four 30-inch manifold piles and four 24-inch pipeline end manifold (PLEM) piles. All piles were successfully driven into the seabed to their respective target depths, ranging from 10 m to 23 m. The subsea operation was successfully completed in April 2014, well within the requisite timeframe.

The scope of work was to install two different sizes of piles, which required re-dressing the pile-driving hammer to accommodate the second size of piles to be driven. Instead of transporting the hammer on the support vessel back to port to be re-dressed onshore, CIS and Technip worked together to formulate a more efficient solution to safely re-dress the hammer on the vessel in the field. By doing so, the time invested in this task was reduced, increasing vessel productivity by allowing it to remain in the field to carry out other work offshore. Throughout the operation, the Subsea Piling System performed as intended, confirming that the new technology reliably delivers substantial benefits.

Comments

CIS Group Managing Director, Andy Penman, commented: “The success of this operation for Technip is particularly meaningful for CIS on many levels. In light of the years that we invested in developing the Subsea Piling System, it’s extremely satisfying that it really ‘hit the ground running,’ performing flawlessly during its very first commercial operation. Coupled with the fact that it was also the first time that CIS has worked for Technip in Norway, it was a great opportunity to form the beginnings of a new relationship with them. Collaborating with Technip on a way to re-dress the hammer in the field illustrates that each team is highly creative and focused on ways to increase productivity, with safety in mind.”

Subsea piling system

The subsea piling process is carried out by an experienced CIS engineer from a control unit and monitoring system located onboard a nearby vessel. A hydraulic hammer, connected via an electronic umbilical cable to the control system, is lowered into the water and placed directly over the subsea pile. Once it is accurately positioned, the pile will be driven into the seabed by the hammer until it reaches its target depth.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/19062014/cis_completes_subsea_piling_services_contract_for_technip_863/