The latest milestone in the southern North Sea Cygnus gas field project took place on Monday as the first piece of major infrastructure sailed out from Isleburn’s facilities at Nigg Energy Park, Scotland (pictured).
The beginning of the subsea isolation valve (SSIV) and WYE structures’ journey to the Cygnus site 150km off the coast of Lincolnshire, brings the project a crucial step closer to completion.
The Cygnus field – operated by GDF SUEZ E&P UK (38.75%) with partners Centrica Energy (48.75%) and Bayerngas UK (12.5%) - is the largest discovery in the Southern Gas Basin in the last 25 years with gross reserves of about 18billion cu m. First gas is targeted for late 2015 and by 2016 the field will be the second largest individual gas producer in the UK.
The subsea structures will travel 575km on the Ugland barge UR-2 and both structures will be installed using the Seaway Heavy Lifting vessel, Stanislav Yudin.
The SSIV manifold weighs 156-tonne and the WYE manifold weighs 548-tonne. It is one of the largest subsea manifolds to be installed in the North Sea, equivalent in size to 20 double decker buses parked side by side.
All components of the structures were procured by GDF SUEZ E&P UK and assembled by Isleburn.
Jean-Claude Perdigues, Managing Director of GDF SUEZ E&P UK, said: “This is a pivotal point in the project as the first structure sails out from the UK. It heralds the beginning of structure deployment offshore for our flagship Cygnus development as we continue our drive to achieve first gas from the field next year. The experience and expertise of the team at Isleburn has resulted in smooth delivery of these subsea structures and contributes to our continued project success. The contract with Isleburn was awarded on 20th December 2012.”
The Cygnus Partnership is led by operator GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd (38.75%) with partners Centrica (48.75%) and Bayerngas (12.5%).
Subscribe
