Hurricane in another failed hook-up attempt off Shetland

UK-based Hurricane Energy has suffered another setback in its efforts to hook-up the Aoka Mizu FPSO to a buoy as part of the Early Production System development of the Lancaster field located in the West of Shetland area.

To remind, during hook-up operations of the FPSO Aoka Mizu back in January, the rope being used to pull in the buoy became snagged and it was not possible to complete the hook-up operation.

As a result of this and deterioration in weather conditions, the FPSO was forced to return to the Cromarty Firth to complete remediation work on the buoy pull-in system and prepare for the next opportunity to pull in the buoy.

However, a similar thing happened on Saturday, February 2, 2019.

Namely, according to Hurricane’s statement from Monday, during the buoy hook-up operation on February 2 immediately prior to engaging the latches in the turret to lock the buoy into position, the pull-in rope failed.

The company noted that there were no injuries to personnel or damage to the Aoka Mizu. A survey of the buoy by remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) confirmed that it has returned to its starting position and is not damaged.

The Aoka Mizu is returning to the Cromarty Firth to await delivery of a new pull-in rope.

Hurricane plans a phased development of the Lancaster field. The first phase of the development is an EPS, using two wells tied back to the Aoka Mizu FPSO. First oil is scheduled for the first half of 2019.

Offshore Energy Today Staff