Talisman Energy, operator of Yme field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, has sent a letter to the Norwegian authorities warning that the Yme MOPUstor platform, evacuated this summer, could collapse into the sea this winter.
The operator has said that fixes are necessary in order to avoid such scenario.
“A structural collapse can arise through considerable shifts and deformations … The unit can then, in the worst case, drop down vertically, penetrate the tank and/or tip over on either side with a danger of damaging nearby pipelines/umbilicals,” Talisman wrote in a letter seen by Reuters.
The platform has been evacuated since mid-July 2012 due to cracks in the grouting around the legs of the facility.
The problematic Yme field has been facing delays in production, mainly due to the issues with the platform delivered by the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore. Independent technical studies have indicated that a substantial amount of work is still required to complete the facility to meet Norwegian specifications.
In August, SBM Offshore, the owner of the platform said that it was working to complete works on the Yme platform “as soon as possible” , but couldn’t specify the exact date.
MOPUstor
The MOPUstor concept, developed by GustoMSC, provides a solution for short life oil fields without direct access to pipeline infrastructure in water depths and environment not suitable for an FPSO. This MOPUstor concept consists of a steel storage tank supported directly on the sea bed, three (or four) tubular legs, firmly connected to the storage tank, a barge type platform deck that can be jacked along the legs and a jacking system.