ID :
326147
Thu, 04/24/2014 - 16:27
Auther :

Baku Shipyard to build a subsea construction vessel for Stage 2

Baku, April 24 (AzerTAc). BP on behalf of the Shah Deniz consortium has signed a contract with Baku Shipyard worth $378 million to design and build a Subsea Construction Vessel (SCV). On behalf of BP the contract was signed by Gordon Birrell, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. When completed, the SCV will be deployed for the Stage 2 development of the Shah Deniz field, which lies some 70 kilometres offshore in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The Shah Deniz Stage 2 project requires a subsea installation vessel to install the subsea structures over eleven years between 2017 and 2027. The vessel will include dynamic positioning to allow working in 2.5 metre significant wave height (Hs), a 750 metric tonne main crane for 600m subsea operation, an 18-man two- bell diving system, two work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), a strengthened moon pool, two engine rooms with 6x4.4MW + 2x3.2MW engines and a deadweight of 5,000 metric tonnes at 6.5 metres draft. The SCV will be designed by Marine Technology Development, the ship design and development arm of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M). The vessel is expected to be completed in April 2017. Rovnag Abdullayev, President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), said: “We are very privileged that BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) has chosen Baku Shipyard to design and build the SCV and believe that Baku Shipyard is well placed to support Azerbaijan’s growth in the oil and gas sector.” Gordon Birrell, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, commented: “We are pleased to begin cooperation with yet another major local service company to progress the execute phase of the giant Shah Deniz Stage 2 development project. This new flagship vessel for the Caspian, to be built by Baku Shipyard, will provide essential support for the construction of the Stage 2 subsea structures which will form the biggest subsea production system in the Caspian. Clearly, the contract underpins our plans to deploy for the first time new advanced subsea production technology to the Caspian as part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 development. “I am also pleased to say that the contract we have signed today is among the twelve major contract awards for the Shah Deniz Stage 2 and South Caucasus Pipeline expansion projects which we have awarded since we announced the final investment decision last December. These contract awards are part of the overall tremendous progress being made across multiple areas of this major development project and underpin our efforts to deliver First Gas in late 2018. The Shah Deniz partnership remains committed to maximising the use of local resources in delivering this important gas development project. It is a world-class project that can only be delivered through close cooperation among BP, Shah Deniz partners including SOCAR and Azerbaijan’s local supply chain.”

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