Intervention Technology Lady Grete In 2006 i-Tech was awarded a contract to support Woodsides deepwater drilling operations in the turbulent waters offshore

Intervention Technology

Lady Grete

In 2006 i-Tech was awarded a contract to support Woodside’s deepwater drilling operations in the turbulent waters offshore Kenya. At short notice, a decision was

made by Woodside to contract a second ROV onboard support vessel Lady Grete to assist drillship Chikyu during the exploration drilling campaign. As their

preferred supplier of ROVs, Woodside came directly to i-Tech for a solution.

Due to the immediate requirement in a remote location, i-Tech mobilised a new Centurion QX work-class system directly after completing factory acceptance

tests in the UK. An engineering team was dispatched from Australia to meet the system in Mombassa and began work onboard Lady Grete to design and install

the ROV interface structures.


Lady Grete

After an initial design and engineering period lasting 12 days, fabrication of the massive mezzanine deck structure began. The majority of the steel came from South Africa and the fibre-reinforced walkway grating was flown in from Dubai. Twenty-four inch I-beams had to be manufactured from 20mm and 30mm plate as none were available locally at short notice, requiring an enormous welding effort. All beams were tested using non-destructive techniques to ensure they

complied with both Australian and DNV quality standards.

From a completely bare deck, more than 80 tonnes of equipment was fully installed and operational in 5 days through round-the-clock working, a

phenomenal achievement considering the complexity of such a job in an unfamiliar location. The photo diary illustrates just how complex this installation

was in such a short space of time and is a typical example of the skill and commitment of i-Tech’s ROV technicians and engineers.


Toolbox Talk gets things kicked off in

Mombasa


The giant mezzanine deck is lifted onboard

Lady Grete


From a bare deck, the mezzanine begins to

slot into place


Beams spread the load to the main deck

structure


Once the main mezzanine structure is in place, work can begin on the rest of

the installation


The mezzanine structure is painted to

provide corrosion protection


Having loaded the ROV control van

onboard, the winch is craned into place


At 30te, care is taken to position the winch

on the mezzanine structure


ROV workshop van is hoisted into place


After 5 days of round-the-clock construction

work, the ROV installation is

complete


Test dives ensure all systems are fully

operational


Key Facts – Equipment Installed

• A-frame 14.0Te

• Umbilical Winch 30.0Te

• Power Pack 2.8Te

• Control Van 12.0Te

• Workshop Van 8.0Te

• Centurion QX ROV 2.5Te

• TMS 2.5Te

• A-frame Mounting Skid 4.0Te

• Motor Alternator Set 0.5Te

TOTAL WEIGHT 76.3Te


Project Summary

• i-Tech single-sourced by Woodside

• rapid mobilisation of Centurion QX ROV system to remote location – i-Tech’s first foray into Kenya

• from bare deck, full installation of pre-fabricated mezzanine structure and ROV spread onboard Lady Grete in 5 days

• i-Tech’s experience of installing ROVs onboard support vessels a key factor in the success of this mobilisation

• the global approach of i-Tech spanned three continents to ensure Woodside had a fully operational ROV in record time

• having completed the Kenya contract, the Centurion QX is now on long-term contract in Australia

Documents

Intervention Technology Lady Grete In 2006 i-Tech was awarded a contract to support Woodsides deepwater drilling operations in the turbulent waters offshore