Montrose BLP sails out from Heerema’s yard (Gallery)

Talisman Sinopec has informed that the new Montrose Bridge Linked Platform (BLP) topsides has sailed out from the Heerema Fabrication Group’s Zwijndrecht yard, 12 miles south of Rotterdam.

The topside for the Montrose BLP was recently loaded on Heerema’s barge. Heerema Zwijndrecht started the fabrication in March 2013, and constructed the 10,500 tons topside within three years. The topside is 75 meters long, and 44 meters wide, with a height of 40 meters.

Talisman Sinopec said on Monday that the 10,500 tonnes topsides would make a short stop off at Schiedam (west of Rotterdam) for the installation and commissioning of an 80-tonne pedestal crane and the attachment of the upper sections of the exhaust stacks.

After that, at the end of April, the platform will travel 430 nautical miles to the Montrose area located in Block 22/17, in the Central North Sea.

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) is responsible for both the transportation to the offshore location and the installation on site which will be performed with HMC’s crane vessel Thialf.

Talisman Sinopec UK sanctioned the Montrose Area Redevelopment (MAR) to enhance the Montrose Area infrastructure, including the development of three new fields – Godwin, Cayley, and Shaw.

The new BLP will be connected to the Montrose Alpha platform to provide additional process and plant support facilities.

According to Talisman Sinopec, the project is expected to extend the life of the Montrose Area fields by at least 13 years, to beyond 2030, and unlock an additional 100 million boe of reserves.

Bill Dunnett, Managing Director of TSEUK said: “The Montrose Area Redevelopment is not only one of the biggest capital projects in the UK North Sea this year, but also a tangible demonstration of the long term commitment of our shareholders and partners to the UKCS.

“It adds a completely new facility to our core infrastructure and can be a game-changer for this business, adding significant production and maximising economic recovery from these historic assets for years to come.”

Talisman Sinopec Energy UK Limited is the operator with a working interest of 58.97%, and Marubeni Oil & Gas (U.K.) Limited is the sole partner.

Ronald Wiebes, Yard Director Heerema Zwijndrecht, said: “It is a complex topside full of equipment. The success of this project is among other things due to the excellent cooperation with the customer in all levels of the organization.”