Mexico: Van Oord to Execute Subsea Rock Installation for Pemex

Van Oord‘s flexible fallpipe vessel (FFPV) Tertnes has been to the east coast of Mexico (Bay of Campeche) to execute subsea rock installation projects on pipelines and cables for various main contractors. The ultimate client is state oil and gas company PEMEX.

FFPV vessel Tertnes was deployed to the Far East via the Panama Canal to guarantee a timely commencement of the works in Mexico. Supported by the local offices in Houston and Mexico City, the operations will take place in the fourth quarter of 2011. This project is Van Oord’s first ever rock installation project in Mexico.

Subsea rock installation technique is very suitable for ensuring stabilisation and protection in the uneven seabed conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. Here, rock outcrops and reefs require a proper preparation of the seabed before and after the installation of pipelines and cables. Van Oord has an extensive track record on executing similar works all over the world.

For FFPV Tertnes, this is the second job in Latin America in one year. In late 2010, the vessel completed a pipeline stabilisation project for Brazilian oil and gas operator Petrobras in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil.

Van Oord operates two other state-of-the-art flexible fallpipe vessels. FFPV Stornes (27,000 tonnes), operational since late September 2011, and FFPV Nordnes (24,000 tonnes) are currently both working on rock installation projects in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

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Source: Van Oord, November 1, 2011