Aberdeen-based Vertec Engineering Limited, (Vertec) has completed a prestigious £1.2 million ($2million) contract with Houston-based FMC Technologies Inc.
Vertec – which specialises in the design and build of service cabins and control rooms for the oil and gas industry – successfully completed the project to design, manufacture and deliver a 170 tonne variable speed drive (VSD) module for Brazilian oil producer Petrobas' Cascade and Chinook project, within the tight schedule of 40 weeks.
The Cascade and Chinook fields are located approximately 180 miles south of the Louisiana coast, in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), and the VSD module will be installed on BW Offshore's FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) vessel, the BW Pioneer – the first FPSO to be approved for use in the GoM.
The high-specification module, designed to meet the requirements of A60 Zone 2, provides a fire-protected, air-conditioned environment to house four high voltage VSDs and associated client equipment. These VSDs supply power down-hole for two horizontal, electric submersible pumping control systems, while the module is also equipped with a fully integrated state-of-the-art fire suppression system.
Vertec Group Operations Director Stuart Heggie said he was delighted the project had been such a success to date.
He said: “We are pleased to have successfully completed – on schedule and within budget – the major stages of this project, which was awarded to us after a very stringent tendering process, by FMC, who themselves have been contracted by Petrobas to ensure the fast track subsea development of the Cascade and Chinook fields.
“Our proven track record as a global supplier of VSDs – both single lift and modular – ensured we were able to deliver this project within the required 40-week window, with our experience in providing tried and tested module designs straight out of the can, enabling us to respond quickly and reduce the delivery time.
“As a company we pride ourselves on our flexibility and commitment to providing solutions to our global clients and the module, which was designed, manufactured and loaded out in Aberdeen is now well into the installation, integration and commissioning phase. We are currently working in cooperation with the topside integration team at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore, where several key Vertec personnel are overseeing this final aspect of the contract.”
For more than 20 years, Vertec Engineering has been an international market leader in the design and manufacture of specialist offshore cabins and control rooms which house equipment and operatives in optimum conditions of safety, efficiency, quality and comfort.
For more information on the products and services provided by Vertec, please contact (01224) 215 500 or visit www.vertec-eng.co.uk