First christmas tree systems for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG project’s have arrived in Australia.
The tree systems left the subsea manufacturing facility at Bridge of Don in Aberdeen, Scotland on 3 October and arrived at GE’s Jandakot facility in Western Australia on Friday 21 November 2014.
Ichthys Project Managing Director Louis Bon said it had been a huge team effort to complete, test and ship the tree systems from Scotland.
“Christmas trees are a vital component of the subsea equipment necessary to complete the project’s development wells,” Bon said.
“Following inspection and pre-deployment testing at GE’s Jandakot facility, the christmas tree systems will be handed over to the drilling team and installed as part of the project’s upcoming production drilling campaign.”
Bon said the arrival in Australia of the trees is the latest of several milestones reached recently by the project, including the installation of the turret in the FPSO hull , the successful positioning of the subsea support structure on the seabed , and the load out of the first module from China for the LNG plant in Bladin Point.
The two tree systems were accompanied by a pair of tubing head spools (and associated parts), as well as the project’s first completion riser system.
The delivered christmas tree systems weigh more than 100 tonnes each with fittings and associated structures, featuring the latest technology to meet specific requirements of the Ichthys LNG Project.
Located about 220 kilometres offshore Western Australia and 820 kilometres southwest of Darwin, the Ichthys Field covers an area of around 800 square kilometres in water averaging depths of around 250 metres.
The Ichthys Field is estimated to contain more than 12 trillion cubic feet of gas and 500 million barrels of condensate.