BBC Austria Loads Subsea Structure for SEME Project in Nigeria

Lifting and transfer services were delivered by the vessel ‘BBC Austria’ helping the Nigerian South Atlantic Petroleum company (SAPETRO) to load SEME project critical subsea structure onto ‘OOC Panther’, an offshore supply vessel supplied by the Hamburg based company Opielok.

Previously being abandoned in 1997 by its former operators, the SEME oil field in Benin, Nigeria is currently subject to redevelopment efforts. SAPETRO as the new field operator drilled three new producer wells that should drain the field again. Applying modern techniques, a total of 9,000BLPD (barrels of liquids per day) is projected as peak production, whereof one third is expected to be water and two thirds oil.

SAPETRO committed to the project expecting the field may be drained optimally for another 16 years.

The 2009 built BBC Austria belongs to BBC Chartering’s compact heavy lift series with 7,500 dwt capacity and 2x 250mt cranes. BBC Chartering operates ten vessels of this series referred to as “BBC Europe Type”.

Press Release, May 05, 2014; Image: BBC Chartering