Heerema installs Yaxche platform offshore Mexico for Pemex

Dutch Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has installed the Yaxche-C jacket and topside for oil company Pemex offshore Mexico.

Heerema said on Friday that the Yaxche-C jacket and topside was installed using the deepwater construction vessel (DCV) Balder.

According to the company, the project – Heerema’s first for Cotemar – was executed safely with no incidents and on schedule.

Balder arrived at the Bay of Campeche and started installation of Yaxche-C on 8 August, and completed the Yaxche-C jacket and topside installation on August 15.

It is worth noting that Pemex is the operator of the Yaxche field. It awarded the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract for the platform to a consortium made up of Cotemar, Hoc Offshore, and Construcciones Mecanicas Monclova in July 2019.

Apart from the Yaxche-C facility, the deal involved a facility named Onel-D. Both fields are located in shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico – Yaxche-C off the coast of Tabasco and Onel-B off the coast of Campeche. The cost of the tender is $20.7 million and $131.5 million.

The jacket and platform were fabricated in Tampico, Mexico, by Cotemar. All components left the fabrication yard on a barge to be stored at Dos Bocas before being taken to the Bay of Campeche for installation.

Heerema added that the jacket weighed 700 tonnes, the four skirt piles 125 tonnes each, and the topside 850 tonnes.

As for the vessel used for installation, Balder has been operating for forty-two years now, making it Heerema’s most experienced vessel. The multi-functional DCV will remain in the Gulf of Mexico for more upcoming installation work.