JUBILEE SUBSEA STRUCTURE NEARS COMPLETION (PAGE 55, MAY 12, 2010)

THE contractors for the subsea structures at the Jubilee Oil Fields,Technip, has said the company has completed more than 65 per cent of various installations in readiness for the arrival of the floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).
It said almost all the connections to the drill centres on the seabed to the riser bases had been completed, while other works and fabrication off and onshore were currently ongoing to ensure that the country started its production from the last quarter of this year.
The Country Manager for Technip, Mr Stéphane Solé, said the completion of the other parts which involved the installation of four production risers, two gas risers, water injection risers and other facilities to the FPSO would be done by a special vessel, Deep Pioneer.
He said the completion of the FPSO in Singapore was good news to the company’s operation since they had gotten close to the area where the remaining works would be the connection of the needed lines from the bases to the turret for production to commence.
Mr Solé said the Deep Pioneer would arrive in the country two weeks after the FPSO had taken position, and would be accompanied by two other supply vessels, which would feed it with the needed input for the timely completion of the Jubilee Project.
He explained that even though the Deep Pioneer was a multi-purpose vessel, it needed more space, and as such, it had to sail with two other vessels to enable it to perform its functions effectively.
Before arriving in the country, the country manager said Deep Pioneer would make a stopover at Technip Flexible Plant in Le Trait, France, to load some of the flexible risers to be installed at the Jubilee field.
Mr Solé acknowledged that they were encountering some difficulties working in the country, and that they were hampering their duties, since the country was new to them.
He, however, expressed the hope that the country stood a chance of becoming a strong member of oil producing nations in the world as more related oil services would start arriving due to the country’s high level of economic and political stability.
He said conducive business environment was very important to the investor community, and that Ghana had demonstrated that.
Mr Solé said Technip was also doing everything possible to ensure that it enhanced its local content and maximum safety in its line of operation.