VIDEO: Time-lapse of Marathon’s Alba B3 platform installation

American oil and gas company Marathon Oil recently posted a time-lapse video of its Alba B3 platform being installed offshore Equatorial Guinea.

The jacket and topsides for the Alba field compression project were installed in January.

In its 4Q 2015 report on Wednesday, Marathon said that commissioning activities on the Alba compression project were now in progress and that the new facilities were on schedule for a mid-2016 start-up.

The jacket and topside were built by Heerema Fabrication Group under a contract awarded by the Houston-based Marathon Oil in April 2013.

The transportation and installation scope of work was conducted by Heerema Marine Contractors, Heerema Fabrication Group’s sister division, who used the Thialf crane vessel for final offshore installation.

The platform was originally scheduled to be installed on the field by end-2015 with start-up expected in mid-2016.

The 5,800-tonne topside was mated with the 91-meter tall jacket weighing 2.600 tonnes some 32 kilometers offshore Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The topside is 40 meters long and 40 meters wide with the height reaching 35 meters. The 33-meter-long, 4-legged jacket is 33 meters wide and 81 meters high.

The Alba 3 platform will compress gas from the existing Alba B2 platform through a 33-meter-long bridge connection. With this new platform, Marathon is expecting to boost production from the gas and condensate field.

Marathon on Wednesday posted a net loss of $793 million for the 4Q 2015, compared to a profit of $926 million in the year-ago quarter.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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