“The PR platform topsides unit, which was completed ahead of schedule, sailed away to the Shah Deniz contract area in the Caspian Sea from the Azfen fabrication yard in Bibi-Heybat on 15 September. Prior to that, the topsides unit was jacked up onto the load-out frame at the quayside of the fabrication yard on 6 August 2017 and was transferred onto the STB-1 transportation barge on 9 September in preparation for sail away,” said BP.
The transportation, float-over and installation activities were carefully planned and took 6 days to complete.
The unit now has been installed on top of the PR jacket which was already at its offshore location in a water depth of 94 meters waiting for the deck.
The PR platform topsides unit weighs about 15,800 tons and is 100 meters long by 60 meters wide. It contains a 133-meter-long flare boom, 10 flowline reception facilities, five production separators, two flash gas compressors and three production export flowlines.
The construction of the PR topsides unit, which was built by the AMEC-Tekfen-Azfen (ATA) consortium at the Azfen fabrication yard, was fully undertaken in the country using local infrastructure and facilities. Over 5,000 people, including sub-contractors and specialist vendors, were involved in the construction works. More than 90 percent of these were Azerbaijani citizens.
“The PR platform topsides sail away and safe offshore installation is an extremely important project milestone as it finalizes our offshore facilities fabrication delivery. We are very pleased to deliver this final offshore installation activity safely and in time to support the giant Shah Deniz Stage 2 project completion and First Gas delivery next year. I am pleased to say that the project is making good progress towards full completion on schedule and below the planned budget. I would like to thank every person whose hard work has made it possible to achieve this milestone with excellent safety results,” said Ewan Drummond, BP’s Vice President, Projects.
First Shah Deniz 2 platform topsides were installed in July.
As part of the Shah Deniz 2 project, gas production will increase from 9 to 25 billion cubic meters per year. The produced gas will be exported to Turkey and the European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines.
A contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field's reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.
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