Assignments
Gyda field, Norway Raising of a steel jacket
Using the RMS Push-Up System, the raising of a steel jacket for BPs Norwegian Gyda field built by Aker Verdal is the heaviest and tallest installation of its kind to date - 8000 tonnes in weight, 78 meters high! Thanks to this method, the jacket could be built vertically and lowered directly onto the pre-installed drilling template, as opposed to the common horizontal methods using a launch truss and buoyancy tanks. This enables a simpler and lighter design since the jacket will experience loads in the upright position only, greatly reducing stress from launching forces.
600 tonnes of steel saved Weight savings due to the vertical construction were calculated at somewhere between 500 and 600 tonnes. The cost of using our four 91 meter Push-Up masts was far less than that of the materials saved. Parts of the six-legged jacket were built in the UK and then transported to Norway for final assembly. Joining together the top and bottom sections was a complicated task: The 2700 tonnes top structure had to be raised 55 meters above the ground, while the bottom section was skidded in position under the suspended top structure, which was then lowered to prepare for welding the sections together at 28 points.
A new record Some earlier lifts of this type have been high, and some have been heavier, but this is believed to be the highest and heaviest combination yet.
© rms lifting systems ab 2004