The 22,400 ton steel jacket for the Statoil-operated Mariner A platform on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) left the Spanish Dragados yard on Monday and is now on its way to the North Sea.
At 134 meters high and with a footprint of 88 x 62 meters, the structure is the largest steel jacket ever built for a Statoil project.
Statoil says the load-out from the Dragados yard in Cadiz, Spain onto the 544 barge took place in late July and yesterday the main tug, Skandi Iceman, was connected. The 1,835-nautical mile journey from the southern part of Spain to the Mariner field in the North Sea is expected to take around two weeks.
When it arrives at the field, located approximately 93 miles east of Shetland Isles, the jacket will be launched by ballasting the barge to a certain angle, allowing the 22,400-ton structure to slide horizontally into the sea. The structure will be upended and maneuvered into the right position by the heavy-lift vessel Saipem 7000 before being secured by 24 piles, ensuring that the structure remains safely in place over the field’s 30-year life.
Topsides installation is planned to take place in 2016.
Check out the video below to see a similar jacket installation, this one at the Gina Krog in the Norwegian North Sea.