AAL Delivers Offshore Solution for Greater Enfield Project

AAL has completed a 90-day ‘one-ship-solution’ to deliver pioneering Thermotite ‘ULTRA’ subsea pipes and other subsea equipment to the ongoing Greater Enfield project, on behalf of TechnipFMC.

The Greater Enfield project is a development of subsea oil production and water injection wells located 60 km north-west of Exmouth, Western Australia.

The cargo was loaded onto the AAL Nanjing MPV in Kuantan and Tanjung Langsat, Malaysia. The vessel was mobilized from Singapore where a tailor-made accommodation block was installed in Jurong Port to host a group of specialist offshore marine construction workers, TechnipFMC’s own team and additional AAL superintendents and personnel – all of whom remained onboard throughout the entire operation.

AAL’a solution involved the AAL Nanjing operating offshore in the Exmouth Gulf for 71 days, transferring cargo ship-to-ship (s-t-s) to two platform supply vessels (PSVs) and initially interacting with Technip’s pipe layer / installation vessel G1201 at the start up of the offshore campaign.

Namir Khanbabi, AAL’s chartering & operations director, said: “This was a major offshore operation and key scope in one of Australia’s most important offshore oil production projects. It was very challenging in terms of quality control and the environmental, health and safety compliance associated with operating offshore in the Exmouth Gulf for so many days, transferring cargo s-t-s and accommodating not just our crew, but 12 extra passengers. This included strict ballast and waste management regulations and the constant well-being of all the personnel onboard.”

He added: “The sourcing and management of the offshore marine construction crew was key to our scope of work and testament to AAL’s expanded capabilities for taking on similar operations on a full project basis in the future – potentially with the provision of the full marine spread. The dedication of our land and sea-based teams and flexibility of the AAL Nanjing herself – a perfect vessel for such a demanding job – enabled us to deliver upon TechnipFMC’s high expectations.”

Archie Walker, project director for TechnipFMC, concluded; “TechnipFMC worked closely with AAL to develop the procedures for the loading and the working of the vessel when in Australian waters, for the transfer of pipeline to the installation vessel the G1201. The project was completed successfully without any recorded HSE incidents or schedule delays.”