The Aniva Bay project
The customer
Saipem are a global contractor in the offshore construction industry, particularly in deepwater pipelay and field development and offshore drilling. After investing some 1.2 billion Euros in its offshore fleet between 1998 and 2001, it now has one of the most technologically advanced and efficient in the industry. Saipem were the lead contractor working for Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd (SEIC), a Shell-led operating company for the Sakhalin II Production-Sharing Agreement. This organisation was formed in 1994 to develop the Piltun Astokhskoye oil field and the Lunskoye gas field in the Sea of Okhotsk, offshore Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. The Sakhalin II development is the largest single foreign direct investment project in Russia, requiring a multi billion dollar investment.
The challenge
Global Marine was sub-contracted by Saipem to install a 5 km length of integrated power/telecom cable from the beach to a Tanker Loading Unit. The cable had to be buried to a minimum cover depth of 0.5 metres through rock. Networker and Rocksaw were assigned the task of making the 3,500 mile journey between Indonesia and Sakhalin Island to mobilise for the project. The scope had to be delivered to specification within a tight schedule to allow other construction operations to be completed before the onset of winter. Infrastructure on the Island was poor, so every conceivable spare part was transported up to Sakhalin with the aim of limiting the impact of any mechanical downtime. Networker was supported by two anchor handling tugs and a support barge to transport Rocksaw and Injector spares. Safety and protection of the marine environment were of the highest priority for our customers, who intensively audited the vessels prior to and during mobilisation.
The benefits
To Saipem and their Customer (SEIC) the installation of the power cable allows the TLU to be powered directly from the shore thus providing a robust dedicated power supply in a hostile offshore environment. Highlights Global Marine’s capability in installing power cables while satisfying the stringent demands of the offshore market. This new customer presented a dynamic and challenging operating environment which continues to validate our product portfolio as we succeed in penetrating new markets worldwide.
The customer says...
" Well done and a task well executed" - Alan Rogers, SEIC
" Congratulations to the Networker and her crew for a job well done in Sakhalin" - David York, Saipem
We say...
By any measure, this was a successful operation. We continue to expand our skill base and once more have demonstrated the effectiveness of our subsea tools and platforms.
Facts and figures
The cable was installed to the customers’ satisfaction by the earliest date possible, and was buried to a minimum depth of 1.3 metres through rock. The vessel arrived back in Batam on schedule, a remarkable achievement for a 120 day project.
