African or international work photo's.

[Kortbroek]

Praat jy nou nie dalk van die Konkiep rivier nie?

Ek kon sweer die driffie wat mens deurry op die Witputspad is die Huns riviertjie ma jy sal beter weet.

Daar is heel moontlik 'n huns riviertjie aan die noorde kant ja. Self nou nie seker nie. Die Konkiep is 'n groterigge drif wat jy kry soos jy uit die berge uit beweeg.

[DUSTRIDERS]

Praat jy nou nie dalk van die Konkiep rivier nie?

Ek kon sweer die driffie wat mens deurry op die Witputspad is die Huns riviertjie ma jy sal beter weet.

Daar is heel moontlik 'n huns riviertjie aan die noorde kant ja. Self nou nie seker nie. Die Konkiep is 'n groterigge drif wat jy kry soos jy uit die berge uit beweeg.

Nee daai driffie wat ek van praat is nie groot. Ekt n nuwe komper en nou nie n foto van hom om te post.

[Wooly Bugger]

 

[Rooi Wolf]

I'm also in the oil and gas industry.

Specializing in SURF (Subsea Umbilical Riser & Flowline) construction; and HOOKUP of FPSO's. That includes subsea anchor and mooring line installations and the whole process of connecting all the plumbing and anchor lines to FPSO.

I typically spend some time in quay side where these behemoths are getting build, usually Singapore or South Korea. There we finalise and streamline the HOOKUP procedures with engineers. Then sail with or join FPSO in final location where mooring and hookup take place.

Before the HOOKUP phase the pipelines, anchors and mooring lines are preinstalled in location. All comes together and installed with arrival of FPSO on site.

Once all is connected, commissioned and ready for production, that's my job done. :thumleft

[Rooi Wolf]

This picture above was my last HOOKUP in Malaysia.

Not a true FPSO, but a LNG vessel (Liquid Natural Gas). We moored the 1'st ever LNG vessel in Malaysia in 2016 for Petronas. This, the PFLNG2 DUA was again the first of its kind ever to be moored in deep waters. Deep being 1500m.

With the global drive to capture more gas instead of burning it off as a byproduct, this technology is hopefully going to become more prominent.

[DUSTRIDERS]

Deep being 1500m.

How many pipes from rig to bottom?!!!

[frankmac]

Deep being 1500m.

How many pipes from rig to bottom?!!!

Casing joints vary in length and diameter but av. around 11-12m each

[Rooi Wolf]

When we do a mooring campaign of an FPSO, the water depth and prevailing weather and current conditions will dictate the capacity, size and number of anchors and mooring legs to be installed.

The number of legs usually varies from 6 up to 20.

The FPSO either has a spread moor or a turret system.

In a spread moor the FPSO has 4 mooring porches onto which the mooring legs are connected, 1 porch on each corner of the vessel: port side fwd, port side aft, starboard fwd and starboard aft. The FPSO is moored in a predetermined orientation which is compatible with local weather and currents.

A turret mooring system entails the mooring legs getting connected to a built-in turret. This creates the effect of a geostationary static Turret but allowing the FPSO hull to rotate around the turret on a huge bearing system. A Turret is usually selected for areas where weather patterns and directions vary.

The numbers are staggering, but on an installation in ultra deep water, each mooring leg might typically have a Minimum Breaking Load of up to 5 000 Tons.

We moored an FPSO with a Turret system in 1900m water depth in Angola last year. It had 9 moorings legs in total, arranged into 3 clusters. Using the biggest commercially available chain on the market with chain diameter of 165mm and each link weighing 248kg.

[DUSTRIDERS]

each link weighing 248kg.

Liewe fok watse size U boltjies gebruik julle dan op die kettingkies!!!
Gooi nog baie interessant!!

[BullSmit]

each link weighing 248kg.

Liewe fok watse size U boltjies gebruik julle dan op die kettingkies!!!
Gooi nog baie interessant!!

+1....

Gooi!!!

[Kaboef]

The incremental weight as the chain is unrolled/lowered must be phenomenal. For every 4 chain links lowered, the weight increases with a ton. 

I would love to see the capstans or pulleys around which these chains run.


THanks for the posts and photos.

[JMOL]

 

Julle ouens werk met groot goeters.  My grootste item op my lessenaar is my laptop, of ek as ek dalk 'n middagslapie vang 

Dis baie interresant.  Gooi nog.

[DUSTRIDERS]

I would love to see the capstans or pulleys around which these chains run.

Net n paar fris boere voorarms Kaboef!!

[Crankshaft]

Jisssss, baie dankie julle vir die lees stof.  Ek volg graag

[Rooi Wolf]

In preparation for a mooring campaign the anchors and mooring legs are preinstalled and wet stored on seabed.

Variuos types of anchors exist, but most common ones we use these days are called suction piles. It basically looks like an upside down glass with a one way valve system on top. It would typically be up to 30m high with a 8 m diameter. And weighing a good few tons.

When we lower it down into position, the pile basically sinks into the seabed. Pushing down under its own weight and with the one way valve forming a vacuum, it gets sucked down into the seabed until only the top flat "glass bottom" sits flush with seabed.

On this part of the anchor you have connection points for the actual mooring leg.

The mooring legs are designed to create sideways load onto the suction pile by having them longer than what the water depth is by a factor of about 10. This creates a catenary effect on the mooring system upstairs on the FPSO, stabilizing it in 360° directions.

When the FPSO arrives in location ready for mooring, it needs very carefully managed heading controll and station keeping. It will typically have a target position with a max tollerance of only a few meters in waters sometimes deeper than 2 000m.

This station keeping and heading controll is a science in itsself. Usually carried out by having 4 x tugs connected to the FPSO.

In addition to the station keeping tugs one also need a Anchor Handling Tug. This guy will recover the ends of the preinstalled mooring legs, and in a very well calculated sequence, cross haull them over to the FPSO.

This pic has got the whole spread of vessels in. FPSO, 4 x tugs and Anchor Handling Tug. The FPSO is 395m long to give some scale.

[Rooi Wolf]

I would love to see the capstans or pulleys around which these chains run.

Min of meer so.. 

These are called Fairleads. They deviate the mooring leg coming up from the seabed onto the FPSO.

[Kaboef]

Incredible

Do you use submersibles to attach chains to the suction anchors?
Or how do you work so deep underwater?

[Rooi Wolf]

Incredible

Do you use submersibles to attach chains to the suction anchors?
Or how do you work so deep underwater?

We use ROV's. Remote Operated Vehicles.

These are unoccupied, usually highly maneuverable, and operated by a crew from onboard the vessel from which it is launched.

They get lowered down into the depths with a whinch and gets flown around at the command of ROV pilot. The team running them are qualified electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and even robotic experts.

The ROV's got a tether connected to it that feeds the ROV station onboard with images and allow the ROV pilot to fly the vehicle around performing various tasks. They vary in size and capibilties from mere inspections with cameras to connections or disconnections of subsea rigging.

[Rooi Wolf]

Once the FPSO is moored and tied down to the seabed, the HOOKUP phase starts.

This entails connecting risers and umbilicals to the FPSO. Risers are either production (export), water injection or gas injection pipes. Umbilicals are made up of cables mainly controlling valves and flowrate of the subsea assets.

Production risers bring the oil from subsea pipe network up to FPSO. Water and gas injection risers pump water or gas back into the subsea well maintaining pressure in the well.

All of these pull-ins of risers, umbilicals and mooring legs require rigging and tackle with huge capacity. It is done with winches with Safe Working Loads of up to 600 Tons.

[DUSTRIDERS]

Lyk my hulle vra jou of jy kan berg klim voor jy die job kry?!!