MDL Wraps Up North Sea FPSO Job

MDL has carried out a complete overhaul of a number of lifting equipment on board a North Sea FPSO, in the facility’s 20th year in operation.

The marine services project, which reinstated a 25-tonne riser pull-in winch and three 200-tonne anchor chain winches, is estimated to have contributed to extending the working life of the FPSO by a further 10 years.

The initial scope of work carried out by MDL’s project and engineering team was to survey the lifting equipment on board the North Sea facility, to assess condition and plan 5-year maintenance and testing, following a period of no operation.

Following the survey, the MDL teams executed on-board equipment overhaul, including complete winch strip down, service, reassembly and load testing. MDL offshore expertise also came into play for winch wire respooling, carried out in-situ under tension.

“Over 1400 MDL man hours have gone into this project across all MDL disciplines to deliver a solution that was fit for purpose and added value by extending the assets’ producing life, without costly repair works onshore,” said Steve Morrison, MDL project engineering manager.