Turnkey transpooling package for PRIO

MDL has supported an independent Brazilian operator PRIO (formerly PetroRio) with preparing their flexible product for offshore deployment.

The two 141mm OD umbilicals - required as part of an imminent field redevelopment project offshore Brazil - had been located in Peterhead, Scotland on their original storage reel. Due to the passing of time, the client required a survey of the product reel to determine its condition.

MDL Asset Maintenance & Engineering (AME) team performed the inspection, which identified that the structure of the reel and pallets were compromised and unsuitable for offshore use. The survey also identified the product had slackened on the reel over time, reinforcing the requirement for transpooling under tension to ensure the product was ready for installation.

The follow-on scope was a turnkey Project Management & Engineering (PM&E) package to relocate the umbilicals onto an installation reel which would be suitable for offshore deployment.

The location of the reel in Peterhead meant that MDL could cost-efficiently assemble a complete transpooling spread within its own quayside facility. This included an under-roller for handling the original reel; a level winder to guide the product into the MDL TTS-2/35 Series Tensioner which fed the product under tension onto an MDL 9.2m installation reel handled by a Generation 3 Reel Drive System.

Besides the provision of equipment and experienced personnel, the complete PM&E package included front- end engineering with development of a project execution schedule and transpooling procedure; site layout; load-in and load-out plans; lift plans; creation of packing arrangements on installation reel; followed by provision of all quayside services, risk assessments, HAZID and certification package.

Following the transpooling operation, MDL handled the transport of the fully-loaded reel to the quayside for collection by a cargo vessel as well as arranging the disposal of the old reel – relieving the client of the ongoing storage costs.

Andrew Blaquiere, MDL Managing Director, said:

“Despite the client and their operations being located on the other side of the Atlantic, MDL was perfectly placed to assist with this scope, since the product was being stored in Peterhead, at our quayside facility.

“Besides that, over the last few years we have built up an enviable track record of transpooling projects, each MDL solution tailored individually to the client and challenge at hand.

“The portability of our equipment means that we are able to efficiently build up a handling spread at virtually any location in the world, including around the product reels themselves, which is so important when those reels are in any way compromised.

“The fleet complements our PM&E expertise developed through these projects, and through other challenging flex and rigid pipe handling scopes over the years.

“Our mission has always been to solve our customers’ challenges, and our comprehensive in-house offering allows us to do that for clients globally, in the energy sector and beyond.”