Page 61 - Danish Offshore Industry 2016

NO DOWN TIME AT ALL One of the jobs giving SubC Partner the opportunity of proving their innovative skills was the replacement of buoyancy modules on a live FPSO riser for Maersk Oil UK. Downtime shows on the bottom line. That is a gloomy TECHNICALLY DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS fact hanging over the head of every crew member on a One of the challenges was a buoyancy of 1 ton which a rig. If avoided it is obviously worth going for. That is why remotely operated underwater vehicle had to handle, the solution SubC Partner carried out for Maersk Oil UK too, when grabbing the buoyancy modules with specially at their Dumbarton Field was something which would be made tools. Here it was necessary to invent a ballasting of considerable value in many other situations. The job solution neutralizing the enormous power let loose called for changing the unstable buoyancy modules on a on the system. But the patented concept worked as live FPSO riser, while production was maintained, a chal- planned. That whetted the appetite and provided impor- lenge no company till then had been able to meet. tant experience for future problems. “Naturally, we started by defning the problem in close “We are a problem-oriented company handling most dialogue with our client – how we look at things and different technical jobs, and we have more technical how we might come up with a technical solution. We are solutions and patents in the pipeline. Each project is cut defnitely a hands-on orientated company transforming down into minor activities, so we can use the individual theory into proper solution, so our basic attitude was parts as building blocks for other projects. That is the that it was possible to do the job while the riser was live. way we work,” explains Lars Wigant who merged previ- In that way expensive loss of production was avoided on ous and similar solutions into the project phase. a unit producing some 40-50,000 barrels per day,” ex- plains Director & Partner Lars Wigant, who quickly came “Historically seen most operations under water have up with an interesting solution. been carried out by divers, but for two reasons we aim at substituting divers by remotely operated vehicles (ROV). “Within nine months we had established a proven con- One reason is that operations are safer when you do not cept, and by now we are working on improvements ena- have to send down divers. And the other reason is costs. bling us to perform a similar job even faster. Worldwide It is mostly cheaper not to use divers. Here we can make we see a distinct potential comprising umbilicals and fex a difference when we have a chance to improve a tech- power cables, too, so now the successful completion of nological solution, and I might add that we have a lot of the project for Maersk Oil UK means that we can travel ideas which have not yet been properly born.” ■ around the world offering similar solutions.” 59 / NO DOWN TIME AT ALL