Oil and gas firm Neptune Energy, the operator of the giant Cygnus gas field in the UK North Sea, on Thursday announced the start of the first Walk to Work (W2W) campaign at the field.
"A program of brownfield modifications, maintenance, and inspection activities will be supported by Bibby Marine’s WaveMaster 1 vessel, reducing time, costs, and environmental impacts," Neptune Energy said.
The vessel is equipped with a ‘motion-compensated transfer gangway’, enabling crews to safely walk between the vessel and the Cygnus Bravo platform.
"It is an efficient and less carbon-intensive means of accommodating the 50 personnel carrying out the work, in comparison with carrying out multiple helicopter flights to and from shore," Neptune Energy said.
The W2W campaign at Cygnus Bravo, which is usually unmanned, will also increase productive time allowing for additional operations to be undertaken that would have otherwise been scheduled separately, the company said.
Neptune Energy’s Managing Director for the UK, Alexandra Thomas, said: “Partnering with Bibby Marine on our first W2W campaign, we believe this approach could be very effective for the Cygnus field and provide significant efficiency and environmental benefits. This will enable us to consider alternative execution strategies for extended shutdowns, intensive fabric maintenance or inspection programs in the future.”
Neptune operates the Cygnus field with a 38.75% interest, with Spirit Energy holding a 61.25% stake as a partner.