Aquaterra to build Trinidad’s second conductor supported platform

Aquaterra Energy, an offshore engineering solutions provider, has been awarded a front end engineering and design (FEED) contract by DeNovo Energy for a second Sea Swift platform to be located in the Zandolie field off Trinidad and Tobago.

Aquaterra said on Monday that the award follows on from a successful design, construction, and installation of its Sea Swift conductor supported platform (CSP) for DeNovo Energy’s first west-coast field development, Iguana, in 2018.

That platform was designed and delivered in 10 months.

Since then, the Iguana structure has safely produced an average of 80 mmscf of natural gas. According to the company, it recorded an uptime of 100 per cent in 2020 so far.

The latest project will see Aquaterra Energy apply modifications to the existing Iguana platform, conduct a review of the pipeline infrastructure and design a new single well CSP in 20 meters of water depth destined for Zandolie.

The work for DeNovo Energy is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020.

This platform is expected to be lighter and smaller than the Iguana structure and will be engineered for drilling and installation via a jack-up rig.

Stewart Maxwell, technical director at Aquaterra, said: “Similar to the Iguana platform, we will seek to provide a design and development solution that will enable DeNovo Energy to maximise fabrication opportunities in-country. We’re thrilled to be partnering with DeNovo on this FEED for a second Sea Swift CSP solution.

“We are ready to take that experience and apply it to the Zandolie project to deliver a lighter, smaller platform designed with the environment in mind.

“It’s extremely encouraging to still see projects such as this moving ahead in the current, low oil price climate. If an operator is considering a new platform installation, now is the time to progress. Even with this market uncertainty, overall project costs have been reduced, which should be a factor in any decision”.

It is worth mentioning that Sea Swift is a minimum-facility offshore platform, that utilises new structural configurations to reduce the overall footprint of the facility, whilst ensuring platform integrity.

Aquaterra stated that the simplified design, reduced steel requirement, and focus on using available infrastructure and fabrication facilities could keep initial expenditure low, and mitigate risks of escalating project costs.

“The platform offers a low-risk, low-cost route to reduce time to first oil or gas production resulting in lower capital investment – without a compromise on the overall safety of the structure,” the company concluded.