Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept.1 / Trend /
McDermott Caspian Contractors, Inc. (McDermott), a subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott, S.A., has performed installation of offshore facilities at the Yuri Korchagin field for LLC LUKOIL-Nizhnevolzhskneft (LUKOIL), a subsidiary of OJSC LUKOIL Oil Company, McDermott reported.
The Yuri Korchagin field is the first of the North Caspian fields in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea to be developed by LUKOIL and brought commercially on-stream. The field development requires a number of major offshore facilities including an ice-resistant fixed processing platform (LSP-1) and adjacent living quarters (LSP-2) joined together by a 74.2 meter bridge. Oil from LSP-1 will be delivered to the marine transportation complex which consists of a Floating Storage Offloading system (FSO) and Single Point Mooring (SPM) via a 58 kilometer 12-inch oil pipeline.
Within the contractual scope of work, McDermott's performed the transportation and installation of 14 foundation piles for LSP-1, transportation and installation of the SPM substructure weighing 912 tonnes, including five foundation piles, and the SPM deck weighing 246 tonnes. McDermott has also completed hook-up of the SPM deck to the substructure.
Additional work performed by McDermott included engineering, procurement, fabrication, transportation and installation of tie-in spools connecting LSP-1 and the SPM to the 58-kilometer sub-sea pipeline as well as hydrostatic leak testing and flushing of the entire pipeline system. The pipeline was laid by McDermott under a separate contract with LUKOIL in 2008. McDermott will also perform transportation and installation of the FSO, its connection to the SPM system and testing.
"We are very pleased to continue to provide services to LUKOIL for the Yuri Korchagin development, thus strengthening our cooperation as well as McDermott's presence within the promising and dynamically growing Russian offshore market," says Dan Houser, Vice President and General Manager, Europe and Central Asia. "The project is managed by our Russian operations group and, wherever possible, we employ local sub-contractors and vendors. We aim at developing long-term sustainable partnerships with local companies, and I am pleased to report that in performing this offshore installation project for LUKOIL, we have used many Russian suppliers, vendors and subcontractors. Necessary support to the project has been provided by our own highly qualified marine specialists with vast international experience."
Fabrication of the installation aids was performed by McDermott fabrication base at Baku Deepwater Jacket Factory named after Heydar Aliyev, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), McDermott's long-term business partner in the Caspian. For the offshore installation work, McDermott has utilized six vessels provided by the Caspian Marine Services, Ltd., as per their agreement with another SOCAR's subsidiary, Caspian Sea Oil Fleet.
The project scheduled to be competed during the third quarter of 2009.