Dutch firm in charge of putting two offshore oil platforms in place by mid-May

Marine Masters, the Netherlands-based salvage, transport, installation, and decommissioning player, has been handpicked to handle the installation works for two offshore wellhead platforms in the Gulf of Kutch, India for SunPetro, said to be the country’s second-largest private oil producer.

The Dutch contractor’s work entails detailed preparation for lifting and mooring activities, covering the lifting of two jackets and their respective topsides, upending and installation of piles, and the creation of a dedicated platform for subsea and piling operations.

Since each jacket weighs approximately 800 tons, the Netherlands-based firm believes it underscores the project’s technical demands and the need for precise engineering execution. This project is managed by main installation contractor ACE Pipeline and directly overseen by Consolidated Support Services (CSS).

While describing the greenfield Bhasker A and B platforms, designed and constructed by SunPetro, as “a pivotal offshore installation project,” the Dutch company elaborates that it involves the development of two wellhead platforms, featuring “robust” jackets with integrated boat landings and topsides.

Marine Masters has chartered the Conquest MB1, a heavy-lift barge boasting a lifting capacity of approximately 1,400 tons and equipped with two mobile cranes, with lifting capacities of 180 tons and 500 tons respectively.

This barge will handle the Dutch firm’s job, ensuring all phases of the project are executed “safely and efficiently.” The tender to hire a contractor was disclosed last year for services related to the transportation and installation (T&I) of smart wellhead platforms in the Bhaskar-III field, Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat.

Henk Smith, Co-founder and Partner at Marine Masters, commented: “We are honored to support Sun Petro, ACE Pipeline, and CSS in this challenging, high-profile project. The deployment of the Conquest MB1 exemplifies our commitment to leveraging advanced marine technology and operational expertise to execute complex offshore installations safely and efficiently. The crane barge will remain in the region and is available for other challenging salvage, decommissioning, or transport & installation projects.”

The Conquest MB1, currently in transit to Mumbai, is scheduled to arrive on March 7, 2025. Once it obtains the necessary inward clearance and completes all mobilization activities, the vessel will proceed to the offshore location in the Gulf of Kutch, 110 nautical miles south of Kandla, India, with an expected arrival on March 20, 2025.

The installation work is anticipated to be completed by May 15, 2025. Bhaskar-III is a field in shallow water 50 kilometers west of Okha city in Gujarat in the Kutch basin, having clusters of multiple small discoveries in Tertiary and Mesozoic reservoirs.

This is perceived as a category II basin, which has not yet started commercial hydrocarbon production. The asset is expected to be the first to produce commercial hydrocarbons and will also upgrade the basin to a category-I basin. The field is spread over an area of about 1,456 square kilometers.

SunPetro got the field award under the DSF-III bid round with 100% participating interest in 2022. The contract area is a single area with eleven Tertiary discoveries and three Mesozoic discoveries, with the major part of the field area covered with 2D and 3D seismic data.