Aquatic upgrades powered-reel drive capacity to 500 tonnes to meet customer demand

17/08/2010

Aquatic, an Acteon company and a leading independent operator of powered-reel and tensioner systems for the global oil and gas industry, has developed a new 500-tonne powered-reel drive system to meet market demand. Designed, developed and built at Aquatic’s Peterhead, UK, facility, the AQPR-02G-500 powered-reel drive was specifically introduced to support customer projects.

“For this challenging project, Aquatic has demonstrated that it can fully support its customers through the application of expertise to solve specific project needs," said Chris Bonetti, lead engineer for Technip Norge AS. "We required a solution that went beyond the existing industry benchmark and Aquatic was able to provide a comprehensive service that enabled us to install our flexible products in more challenging subsea environments.”

The 500-te reel drive system is based on existing, proven 400-te drive units but with substantial structural upgrades to handle the extra capacity. As with most of Aquatic’s fleet, this powered-reel system has been designed to be fully road transportable or capable of being shipped in a series of open-topped containers to give greater efficiency, in terms of cost and time, in mobilisation and demobilisation for customers, wherever in the world they are operating.

The project highlighted how the entire team at Aquatic can provide a fully engineered solution for customers. The design engineering team worked closely with the projects and operations teams, from the design stage right through to manufacturing and testing of the equipment, to ensure that the operational and technical elements were optimised: for example, the size of the central axles of the machine had to be increased, and specialist steels were brought in to ensure the right safety levels were obtained. Apart from developing the 500-te reel drive itself, this particular job also provided other challenges for the engineering team to overcome, not least the fact that the reel being fitted to the system was 12.3 m in diameter.

Aquatic not only provides the equipment and the people to perform pipe lay operations, its team of engineers can also provide technical solutions for each different installation operation and the ability to design specific equipment, such as installation reels, tensioners and powered sheaves, for installation projects. This engineering function is an integral part of Aquatic’s plan for expansion and development, and provides it with the ability to support diversification into green energy markets and to react quickly to the requirements of long-established customers.

This latest tower drive system is compatible with a wide range of Aquatic’s current list of equipment, such as the existing, AQPRTS-01 and AQPRTS-03 powered-reel track systems. A level winder, stern chutes and a selection of storage reels to suit the AQPR-02G-500 are also available for hire to provide all the equipment required for a typical installation spread.

Chris Brooks, president of Aquatic, said, “We continually invest in new equipment and technology to fulfil market demand. In addition to this powered-reel drive, we have embarked on building a four-track 50-te tensioner. Customers felt that, although Aquatic’s fleet of four-track 40-te tensioners has established a strong market presence, greater capacity was required to meet deeper water and larger product requirements. As a result, our latest addition, the AQTT-10C-50 50Te unit, will be ready for service midway through the third quarter of 2010.” This unit, coupled with the new AQPR02G-500, takes Aquatic’s capabilities further and deeper.

For more information, please contact:
Deborah Bartlett
Head of Marketing and Communications
Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd
Tern Place House, Tern Place
Bridge of Don, Aberdeen
AB23 8JX, UK
T: +44 1224 452300
M: +44 7711 220886

Aquatic, an Acteon company, has a global reputation for its ability to lay flexible and semi-rigid product on the seabed. For more information visit www.aquatic.co.uk

Acteon is a group of specialist engineering companies serving the global offshore oil and gas industry. Acteon is taking a concerted approach to the challenges of linking subsea services and has created a portfolio that spans the entire life of a field.