On 19th August, following several days of preparation, the 5,000 ton floating sheerlegs Asian Hercules 3 arrived on site. The suction piles were pushed out in only 4 hours before the lifting operation commenced. The sheerlegs lifted the entire platform partly out of the water while keeping the jacket submerged at 40 metres. The sheerlegs sailed with the entire platform in the hooks approximately 50 nautical miles to the Jitang field, where the platform was immediately reinstalled. The relocation operation was completed on August 22nd due to the extreme dedication of the SPT offshore team together with its partner Redtech Offshore, the client Vestigo, and Heavy Lift Vessel owner Asian Lift. All was accomplished within a record-breaking time of only 3 days! With this achievement we are very pleased to demonstrate the huge benefits of suction pile technology which now also includes re-usability. PCSB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), is a leading exploration and production (E&P) company taking on increasingly challenging projects to bring new oil & gas supplies to the market.
Relocation Ophir Wellhead platform
A suction pile wellhead platform operated by Vestigo Petroleum Sdn Bhd (“Vestigo”), a subsidiary of PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, (PCSB) was successfully removed from the Ophir field, relocated and re-installed at the Jitang field, offshore Malaysia. The successful relocation of a wellhead platform in one piece without any further structural modifications is the first in the world.