Mooring replacement project offshore Equatorial Guinea completed

InterMoor Inc., an Acteon company and part of its foundations and moorings business, finished replacing critical components in an FPU mooring system offshore Equatorial Guinea on schedule, enabling the prime contractor, Boskalis, to expand the InterMoor work scope.

The original contract covered replacing old mooring chains and wire ropes for eight of the 12 mooring lines along with two drag anchors on Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc.’s (MEGI’s) Zafiro Producer floating production unit. During the operation, Boskalis contracted InterMoor to replace an additional mooring line.

Engineering work and installation

The engineering work began in October 2014 in Houston and the Netherlands, where the Norwegian Anchor Handling & Construction (AHC) vessel Olympic Zeus was mobilised. InterMoor completed the installation work on location 64 km west of Malabo, offshore Equatorial Guinea, from the Olympic Zeus.

During the installation, InterMoor thoroughly inspected all the mooring lines as they were being disconnected from the floating production unit to determine which portion of the line required replacement with new chain and connectors. The company also documented the installation to ensure the client had accurate, as-built information on the mooring system.

The offshore installation was completed in March 2015 to MEGI’s satisfaction and the project will be finalised with all documentation delivered in April 2015. InterMoor had previously worked for MEGI in country, but this was the company’s first time working in conjunction with Boskalis.

Focus on integrity management

Jim Macklin, Vice President of Projects and Engineering, InterMoor, said, “Our past experience working with MEGI on their mooring installation leveraged our ability to deliver this work safely and on schedule. The current market conditions in the oil and gas industry mean that more of our clients are focusing on integrity management to maintain their production levels. InterMoor will work to ensure production is uninterrupted by complications from mooring failures.”

Helping the local community

Not only was the project a success offshore, it also helped the local community onshore. InterMoor, MEGI, Boskalis and Olympic donated US$30 000 to a local school, based on the onboard safety performance of the crews during the execution of the work. The local school, Escuela Unitaria de Bareso, will purchase new furniture, improve the playground, install washroom facilities and waterproof windows.

Adapted from press release by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/offshore-and-subsea/23042015/mooring-replacement-project-offshore-equatorial-guinea-completed-on-schedule/