Installation of ''Berge Helene'' in the Chinguetti Field, Offshore Mauritania

Chinguetti is an offshore oil field located off the coast of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, North West Africa. Under a PSC with the Mauritanian Government, the development is operated by Woodside Mauritanian on behalf of AGIP, Hardman Petroleum, Fusion Oil and Gas and Roc Oil. Having been discovered in 2001, the field has an area of around 12km² and a diameter of 4.5km feeding three principle gas terminals, namely Chinguetti, Tiof and Banda.

Acknowledging the size and depth of the Chinguetti field, Woodside Mauritania recognized economies of scale in the use of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel (FPSO) to service the terminal. The converted tanker Berge Helene, operated by BW Offshore, was of sufficient size and capacity for the project with an overall length of 384.75m and storage capacity of up to 1.6 million barrels of oil. Thus, when Woodside commissioned FPSO Berge Helene to service the Chinguetti Oil Field Terminal, Global Mooring Services was awarded the mooring contract.

 Mobilisation of Vessels

Once operational procedures had been established, the required vessels were mobilized. In total six vessels were used; two large D Class II Anchor Handling Vessel, one acting as the Main AHV (with a mezzanine deck to support an ROV) and a second for support, also a large barge for transportation of the suction anchors, and finally three tugs to position the FPSO.  

 Instillation of Single Point Mooring 

Using the Support AHV a single point mooring buoy was installed within the Chinguetti field. The system consisted of a Stevmanta VLA anchor connected to a fibre wire and buoy assembly-

Pre-instillation of the FPSO Mooring System

At this stage the suction anchor was connected to the mooring chain. Thereafter, using the Main and Secondary AHV`s, the suction anchor was moved into place and connected to the suction pump. Upon completion the Suction Anchor Handling Frame and ROV were demobilized.
 

Mooring of the FPSO Berge Helene

With the combined use of the Main AHV and the ROV, the pre-laid mooring lines were connected the FPSO turrent guide locks. The tug vessels were used to bring the FPSO onto location and maintain its position throughout the project.
 

 Reliance Field Project: Mooring ''Smart-1/Dhirubhai-1'' FPSO in Bay of Bengal, off the East Coast of India     

The Dhirubhai offshore oil and gas field, located in the Krishna Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 60 kilometers from Kakinada. Reliance Industries Limited is responsible for developing the field, which comprises an approximate area of 15sq kilometers with wells in deep water at 1200 meters.
The FPSO Dhirubhai-1 has, in addition to 9 million standard cubic meters per day of gas production, a production capacity of 60 000 barrels of oil per day and a storage capacity of 1.3 million barrels of oil. The Smart-1, later renamed to Dhirubhai-1, is the first FPSO in India. 
 

 Mobilisation of Vessels

To support the magnitude of this operation a total of six vessels were in use namely, Olympic Pegasus (AHT), Far Scout (AHT), SAL Type 161B (HLV), one submergible barge, and two local support vessels.

 Mooring

For this project an APL produced Submerged Turret Production (STP) system was chosen as the mooring system. In total nine mooring lines were installed to keep the FPSO in place for its scheduled ten years of service.

 Other project locations

Rio de la Plata, Argentina

Neptune Oil Field, Gulf of Mexico, United Stated

Cascade and Chinook Subsea Development, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico

North East Gateway, Massachusetts Bay, USA

Tupi Oil Field, Brazil

Peregrino Oil Field, Campos Basin, Brazil

Bilabri Oil Field, Nigeria

Bonny River, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Adanga Oil Field, Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria

Gjoea Oil Field, The North Sea, Norway

Volve Oil Field, The North Sea, Norway

Bombay High Oil Field, offshore Mumbai, India

Azurite Oil Field, offshore Republic of the Congo

Shah Deniz Alpha Field, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan

Story coming soon.