Member Info for adoubleuk

SG2,

" The (more) difficult bit is ensuring good hp seals in those rotate-able bits, when shovelling hydrocarbons at ten bar or so through them...."

Wrong order of magnitude. Add a zero. Then some. That'll be 5000 psi kit, ABSOLUTE minimum. Maybe ten.

Wellwell,

".it was me who identified an error/omission in the post by Steve [ADVFN] about the turret and riser connections through research and some basic understanding that something didn't fit. ADuk got that wrong."

It had to happen! Ten out of ten, Wellwell for being that man.

There's a 'test mating of the buoy' picture on the company's picture gallery, and ages ago (like about a year) I took it to be just for 'locking'. But it ain't. And just now having got off some 'hopeless gambling and alcoholism' (having come in 3rd in an occasional quick online tournament and won 350 euros, though to my terrible shame, which I hope Klepto will forgive me for, still have a can of beer in front of me, went back to that picture, and some more of the buoy.

And those 'locking dogs' serve a dual purpose, in that they carry the flowline connections as well. So maybe I was halfway wrong. Because the flowline connections are ABOVE the dogs, and I still refuse to believe they're 'Graylocks'. Summat different, which I'm not familiar with.

That deck is still where the buoy gets 'locked', though, and the way in which it is wasn't so simple as I thought. And I'm still sure that flowline tie-in to those riser connections will take manual intervention after hookup, even if it 'only' involves installation of permanent 'quick-release' things, possibly even remotely-operated, which would make sense.

So mea culpa, I'll admit to halfway wrongless, maybe. But like you admit to not being a 'drilling person', I'm not an 'FPSO person'. And the two I transited through served terrible food and were just production things, so I didn't want to know the details. (Though I knew the mooring-pattern because we had to figure out how to get the rig in up close).

However your post then diverges to things about Nigwit and Nanoco, at which point I switch off. I used to hold NANO. Past tense.

johnpwh,

" if it proved to be a single accumulation would HUR eventually just use a single fixed rig for 'full' production? "

I don't think so, and for a simple reason. The distances are too great. It's 35 km between Lancaster and Halifax. That having been said, a large central installation is likely: remember the 'Hurricane Hub' idea?

Apache,

" Dr Trice said one option would be to insert gauges in one of the Halifax holes - this , in my understanding anyway - was so that changes in pressure in Halifax could be compared with known activity on Lancaster and that would indicate or otherwise if they were linked."

Myself too, I don't have the time to go trawling for the reference, but I have a suspicion it was said before the final Halifax result was known. Either that or maybe later, when a Halifax re-entry was being possibly mooted.

Whatever, we know that the well was compromised, due to the 'sludge' buildup which prevented a successful DST. This essentially formed a 'pressure barrier', so although guages in Halifax diring initial stages of EPS could have given invaluable data and clues as to a connection, this would only apply if the well were 'clean', which it isn't, right now.

And from the new rig-usage timeline published subsequent to the Spirit deal, there's no sign of any activity until 2020 (other than on GWA) and even then we don't know if that'll be on Halifax or just further appraisal / development on Lancaster. Technically, I do (opinion only) think it would be possible for a Halifax re-entry to be done by an 'intervention vessel' (rather than a full-sized rig) in an attempt to clean the well up, and if successful, gauges to be installed, but that would probably all depend on some of the physical means used to suspend the well, and there's no guarantee that a cleanup actually would be successful.

And also, to date, the company has given no hints that such an operation is planned for the near future (ie a year).

Frankly (again, opinion only), I see no way the connection hypothesis can be further enhanced using just data which will be gathered from the two wells on Lancaster which form the initial EPS.

Cpel1,

Is this a personal sighting, or do you have the subscription-only satellite option on 'marinetraffic', or what? My free version is showing last position from 12 hours ago! (ie quite a few miles offshore between Stonehaven and Montrose.) Even though that shows her underway and the route plan for Inverness. And why Inverness, anyway? Maybe the destination will change.

If the boat goes to Nigg, I think it's not impossible that it could be to pick up some extra stuff from Technip's yard there.

Also someone here pointed out that the 'stop' was made just outside the 12-mile limit. I reckon the actual location (although not the 'outside 12 miles bit) was a function of timings to receive the chopper and whoever was onboard. I've been unable to follow all the movements yeaterday, so don't know when the whirlybird left. However I have a strong suspicion that the thing wasn't necessarily a crewchange, but instead a visit by Customs, maybe OGA to check that all the onboard paperwork (especially insurance and certification documents), etc.

However, we're all guessing now. The FPSO is now getting pretty 'close to home', and it's very gratifying to see the SP moving accordingly, though that might just be coincidence as some have pointed out.

A Happy Hogmanay to all!

laser,

"sipp Grampian sovereign also"

Yeah.... 'sailing to the aid of' our FPSO, at currently (Grampian Sovereign) 0.6 knots. Must be some terrible disaster at sea, requiring urgent help.

Interesting, nonethless.

Maybe they're planning some 'Spithead Review' sort of thing just off Aberdeen, before the onward journey?

SotB,

"Clearly there are issues with the AM"

I suggest you take some Immodium.

scoredagainsteps,

"Did you win Adoubleuk or evens?"

What? Poker last night 'til early hours this morning?

Neither. Lost 80 euros. But that's nothing, considering how much money (a few thousand) was floating around, that I saw some people I haven't seen for ages, and so on. Any poker-player who believes he can win session after session is a delusional dimwit. I had an enjoyable time in good companyl, and really, that's what counts.

SotB,

"Why cancel a chopper?

Why not? Only takes a phone call or an email and a couple hundred quid 'cancellation charge'. What's the big deal?

"Canna see the AM on Lancaster next week"

So what? She'll be there in the not too-distant future. Of course, we have to hope that the giant squid hasn't eaten the buoy in the meantime, that pirates haven't arrived in the dead of night to steal the Xmas Trees to sell for scrap-metal, or that Nigwit's buddies haven't set up a huge offshore windfarm WoS which might prevent any boats accessing the place.

yuyus,

I know this is a bit OT, following on from the 'chopper debate'. But you say

"Heck my last trip Offshore we did via a Frog ( Personnel crane system ). Bizarre how you were just allowed to hang onto the Billy Pugh 100 ft or so."

It may 'seem bizarre' in this HSE-dominated age,but it wasn't back then. On the basis that people working on rigs were assumed to be fit enough to wrap their arms through the netting of a 'personnel basket' (aka Billy Pugh) and remain standing during the 'ride'. And of course (sometimes, usually) one was wearing at least a (minimal) work-vest 'lifevest' flotation device, so could 'bail out' if necessary. I used to enjoy riding the things, though of course it could be a bit hair-raising if 'landing' on the deck of a supply-boat and the seas were up. Had to get out of the way of the crane's 'headache ball' pronto.

And maybe the wildest ride I ever experienced was a lot more than 100 ft. Being taken off a platform in the Adriatic by Saipem's 'Castoro II' laybarge main crane. And although it was quite unnecessary to do so, but at popular request, the crane operator took us as high as possible before letting us down at breakneck speed onto the barge's deck. It was great fun, but wouldn't be allowed now.

I had the misfortune to ride a 'frog' a few times. more recently. And hated the thing. Semi-enclosed, strapped in, and so on. Not the same sort of experience at all.

By the way, as I'm writing at 04:00 from my hotel room (more or less as promised), having returned from seven hours at the poker table, a little message for Wellwell, who wrote

"AK no I won’t be quoting one or making references either for this is not information in the public domain as it really doesn’t matter. "

For exactly the same reason, after some slight inner debate on the matter, I decided not to reference the name of the rig involved with the scary 'near-miss' helicopter takoff I related earlier, nor in which particular country's waters it happened, nor the chopper company's name. Because it's not 'public domain' information.

Also, one for 'Rangers':

" I've been on a rig move (semi) on several occasions when Choppers have landed and why I suggested this could happen"

Absolutely not disagreeing with you there. But our FPSO is not on a 'rigmove'. She can (figuratively speaking) 'stop on a sixpence' and hold station for aircraft landing and takeoff. So why not do it?

Finally 'snaggletooth':

"RT... will arrive by Harrier"

No he won't. The helideck's not certificated for Harriers...

Wellwell,

" I know of many instances where is a vessel can move from its worksite they can get in limits whereas stationary on DP the lights were red."

Will you please quote one? References.

SotB,

I reckon you've misunderstood Rangers' post. Obviously it will be up to him to reply further, but I don't think he was suggesting that some 'alternative transport' (maybe one of NigWit's electric things) would be used. Instead, and quite simply, just because a chopper has been booked for a particular hour on a particular day, it doesn't mean that flight will actually happen, and to schedule.

yuyus,

" I always thought that a helicopter can land easier on a moving vessel if it has a head wind , slight alteration of course , won’t be at full gallop"

Yes, quite correct. And in the instance I cited, a jackup under tow, one has to maintain a slight (if slow) forward momentum, otherwise the tow bridle and line can get into a muddle, and so on. But the AM's not being towed.

Wellwell,

'More utter *******s. Choppers routinely land on moving vessels."

Bovine excrement to you too. military ones, yes. Civilian ones landing on semisubs undergoing heave, yaw, pitch and roll, yes. Sometimes on ships underway or things like oilrigs under tow. But that ceases to become 'routine'. But the point is, something like the AM can come to a full stop and remain stationary facing in the right direction on DP for landing and takeoff, without losing significant time, ie money.

Want a bet?

Let's watch both the chopper and the vessel through our usual computer means in a few days' time! My wager is that the vessel will be stationary, which given accuracy and in AIS terms, means anything less than 1 knot.

dusterinmong,

"you must have very boring life's be overinvested or a combo of both."

Wrong in both. Or at least in my case. In three hours' time I'll be on the road driving 50 miles at high speed in my Rangerover to a seaside town where I'll be spending the weekend. To play poker tonight in the casino, and running the risk of encountering an ex-girlfriend with whom a score still remains to be settled.

That's not boring.

Nor will it be boring firing up my laptop computer in my hotel room at around four tomorrow morning to see where the FPSO has got to.

Yes, I give a xxxx.... And I'm not 'overleveraged', because there's no 'leverage' involved. Just hard cash, earned by hears of hard work. Same stuff as I'll be buying my poker-chips, diesel, and supper with, shortly.

Rangers,

Excellent post, and thanks for doing some thinking on my behalf! And despite your humourous opening comment about me being old and unfortunately out to pasture (I paraphrase), I'm not ready for the knacker's waggon yet, and haven't forgotten that one skill of good management is knowing how to delegate. Which becomes easier if a volunteer emerges before a show of hands is requested.

I too will be Budgie-watching.

But strongly believe the boat will have to be at 'full stop' before receiving a chopper. It's anecdotal, I know, so boring reading for some, but one of the scariest moments of my life was watching a chopper take off from a jackup on tow, and we'd done a course-change and slowed to about 1 kt to accommodate it. In calm seas, perfect viz, off W.Africa. The pilot took it into the low hover, and was evidently doing a quick instrument-check before moving forwards, and must have forgotten that the 'platform' was still moving, albeit very slowly. I and others watching dived for cover. The tail-rotor came within inches of the for'ard leg, and the helicopter was no longer over the helideck centre before the pilot woke up to what was happening. And scarpered at high speed, but in doing so the skids (Bell 212) came within inches of the outer 'netting'.

All rather frightening. No, VERY frightening.

I doubt that Bristows Aberdeen has many 'cowboy' ex-military (some ex-Vietnam) pilots like in days of yore, and also HSE rules these days. So no reason to take the risk of doing things while the boat's on the move. Money spent by coming to a stop is infinitesimal compared to the potential costs if something went wrong.

Lady (if one can call you that) Sonia,

"Is Aberdeen the destination due to refuelling, or just a waypoint?"

Who knows? Suddenly the whole thing's become something of a mystery-story for the 'shipwatchers ' to keep up with, hasn't it?

And the appearance of our FPSO around New Year just off Aberdeen, within sight of a webcam, before heading Shetlandwards, could be a HUGE bit of PR. Just to rub BP's nose in it, etc..

I've no 'inside info' on this, but hope to hell it happens.

Albi1,(and of course Amaja)

" as you say, time to celebrate as the AM heads to Scotland at long last!"

And no personal misunderstandings on this BB, I hope!

The boat's on her way, godspeed and safety to all board, and we can now forget about sailing times, 'cos it's happened!