Authors:

Ted Moon, PhD - JPT Online Technology Editor

Publication / Presented:
Originally posted to Society of Petroleum Engineers website (www.spe.org)
Date:
January 13, 2008
FLOATOVER INSTALLATIONS
ON THE RISE

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2008 Society of Petroleum Engineers. All Rights Reserved.

Floatover installations on the rise
By Ted Moon, PhD, J PT Online Technology Editor
Posted to www.spe.org on 13 J anuary 2008
An offshore installation method that is nearly 30 years old is generating renewed interest from
many operators who are challenged with designing heavy-lift crane installations. According to
global engineering company KBR, the floatover installation method is experiencing a steady
surge in new contracts, particularly for platforms in remote locations with very heavy topsides.
KBR is one of the pioneers of the floatover installation method, initiating research as far back as
1977 for the North Sea market. The company envisioned developing floatovers as a cheaper
and more flexible alternative to heavy-lift installations.
In general, a platform's installation option is ultimately dictated by its end design. But in water
depths ranging from 10 to 200 m (the ideal range for a floatover installation), there are distinct
advantages to doing a floatover when you can, according to Lindsay Woodhead, vice president-
Offshore Operations for KBR.
"While the big lift tends to be the norm, the floatover is done when you can't get the big lift
vessels, or when the big lift will be prohibitively expensive," Woodhead said. "Floatover installs
are quite convenient to perform in areas where it is difficult to get the heavy-lift crane vessels.
You also avoid the problems of high day rates and, given the high demand for cranes, the very
narrow installation window."
If a deck is not completely finished and operational on the date that a heavy-lift vessel is
scheduled to lift it offshore, then the deck may have to be towed out unfinished. The operator
will be forced to carry over its onshore work to the offshore location, after the crane has
delivered the deck. This adds time, logistics challenges, and costs to the installation.
North Sea installations differed from original plan
"Back in the late 1970s, we initially referred to floatover technologies as a HIDECK concept,"
said Woodhead. "Our original concept was to build the complete deck structures, including all
facilities, such that they could be jacked up, skidded onto a transportation barge, floated over a
preinstalled offshore jacket, and be totally operational very quickly. Our scope was always to
design the platforms and develop the mating concept between the deck and the jacket. Then,
we'd hand the installation off to a specialist installation contractor."
Despite its potential, KBR's vision for floatover technologies in the North Sea did not go
according to plan. It took KBR nearly 6 years to get from initial concept to first installation, and
the first two projects slated for the North Sea deviated slightly from the original concept. "The
first HIDECK was installed in 1983 for the Maureen platform. Instead of sliding the deck into
position between the legs of a preinstalled jacket, the floating jacket was used to lift the deck
from the transportation barge. Then the deck and jacket were installed together at the offshore
location," said Woodhead.

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2008 Society of Petroleum Engineers. All Rights Reserved.

The second installation was performed for the Hutton tension-leg platform (TLP), and it took a
similar approach to Maureen. "This was the first-ever TLP, and we designed an 18,000-ton deck
for it. The deck was fully operational before it left the construction yard. You could even cook in
the accommodation module before it left land," Woodhead said. "Again, this deck was picked up
off a barge by the floating hull."
These two platforms have since been decommissioned, but their successful installation, though
slightly different from the original plan, proved parts of the floatover concept. However, they
were not followed by further projects in the North Sea, and Woodhead pointed to two major
reasons for this.
"Around this time, the early 1980s, the very big crane vessels started receiving a great deal of
attention from the operators, because the vessels were able to lift such large decks. Plus, the
metocean criteria in the North Sea called for pretty heavy wave events and harsh operating
climates. There was a reluctance to risk a floatover installation. To this day, no one has ever
done a true floatover onto a previously installed platform in the North Sea."
This is not to say that the initial work in the North Sea did not lead to more floatover work for
KBR. Greater interest in floatover installations came from operators in other parts of the world,
most notably in the Far East. "It really took until the mid 90s before floatover started getting
serious attention, but it took off with a flourish after that," said Woodhead.
True floatovers get offshore Asia debut
The flourish began with the back-to-back installations of the M1 and M3 platforms for Shell,
offshore Malaysia, in 1995. These projects, which were the first true floatover installations KBR
designed, called for each deck to be completed on land and placed onto a barge at the same
elevation they would be installed offshore. "Neither of these platforms was terribly high, which
was good, because the higher you get, the less stable the barge is during transportation,"
Woodhead confirmed.
The decks, weighing in at 6,045 and 7,550 tons
respectively, were then towed out to their jackets,
which were already fixed to the seafloor, and
floated between the jacket legs until the mating
points between the deck and the jacket were
aligned. This process of moving the deck into
position over the jacket is a painstakingly slow
one, often taking hours to accomplish.
The actual floatover moves so slowly because
there is very little margin for error. The spacing
between the deck and the jacket legs is kept
intentionally as small as possible, typically on the
order of 0.5 m on each side, to avoid striking the
deck against the legs. "In addition, the decks have
a rather large overhang on the barge and they are
not on their final support point, so moving slowly minimizes wave-induced rocking," Woodhead
said.

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2008 Society of Petroleum Engineers. All Rights Reserved.

As the deck moves over the jacket, it is aligned with special catch points on the jacket where the
pieces will mate. There is a slight clearance between the deck and the jacket at these mating
points. Once the deck and jacket's mating points are aligned, the transportation barge is
ballasted with water, which lowers the deck onto the jacket.
To complete the deck/jacket link, mating joints are designed to transfer the final load rapidly
from the barge to the jacket and create a gap between deck and the transportation steel. The
deck weight is quickly transferred to the jacket. "This final step may take less than a minute to
complete, but it takes hours to get to that minute," Woodhead said.
With M1 and M3 successfully behind them, KBR quickly moved onto the Wandoo project,
offshore Australia, and Shell's Malampaya project in the South China Sea. Both were concrete
gravity bases, as opposed to steel jackets. The Wandoo deck's floatover weight was
comparable to those of M1 and M3, but Malampaya was nearly double the weight, at 11,600
tons.
KBR's initial floatover successes in Asia Pacific opened the door for this installation method in
other regions, most notably the Caspian. "We have recently completed the design of the ACG
complex for AIOC, which consists of seven platforms," said Woodhead. Six of the seven
platforms have large floatover decks installed over fixed jackets.
In 1999, KBR initiated a design program for this project wherein the company would use the
same barge, Saipem's stb-1, to install each platform. The barge would make separate trips to
each offshore site to deliver first the jacket and then the deck. These installations occurred year
after year between 2004 and 2007 until they were all completed. They also used the same
spacer frame between the deck and the barge.
"Each platform's deck and jacket weighed between 13,000 and 15,000 tons apiece, which was
among the largest platforms we had designed to be installed via floatover," said Woodhead.
KBR balances floatover demand with common industry challenges
While KBR is enjoying a steady stream of floatover installation projects over the next several
years, the company is not immune to the challenges facing other segments of the industry. "I
would say shortage of manpower and high global demand for steel and equipment are the major
delay drivers for us," said Woodhead.
"I think in the next few years, it could go either way as to whether this demand will increase or
decrease. It is really tied to the economies of certain countries, like China and India," he
continued. "In addition, the technologies we have developed for offshore are now being used in
other areas such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Demand for LNG projects is driving much of
this competition for resources. If the big LNG projects ramp up, particularly in Australia, that will
really impact things. Modularization of LNG plants is also affecting the capacity of fabricators in
the Far East. "
For now, however, floatover demand does not appear to be waning, and larger installation
projects are on the horizon.

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2008 Society of Petroleum Engineers. All Rights Reserved.

Bigger, heavier decks on the horizon
According to Woodhead, the architecture of a floatover has not changed much from the original
design nearly 30 years ago. "The steelwork is pretty much the same, as are the jackets. The
only thing that has really changed is the size of the platforms that you are building and floating
over."
One of the larger floatover installations is the Arthit platform (17,000 tons), installed 24
December 2007 in the Gulf of Thailand. KBR plans to follow Arthit with the CPOC project in the
South China Sea in 2009. The CPOC platform is still in its design phase, with fabrication set to
start in 2008. It will have a planned floatover weight of nearly 18,000 tons. Both Arthit and
CPOC will be installed in what are considered benign climates (minimal impact from wind and
waves) and at water depths of 60 to 80 m.
In terms of weight and
weather, Woodhead
envisions Woodside's
North Rankin 2 platform as
being the next big floatover
challenge. "The North
Rankin will be the biggest
floatover deck we've have
designed, with a weight of
23,000 tons. In addition, its
height will be an interesting
challenge for us. The
elevation of the underside
of the deck will be 28 to 29
m (approximately 90 ft)
above sea level once
installed. That's about the
equivalent of a 9-story
building."

The North Rankin 2 is being designed by the EOS joint venture of KBR and WorleyParsons.
EOS will have to factor in this height during the design phase, particularly in terms of how to
most efficiently tow the deck offshore. "A major consideration has to be the motions of the barge
during towing. Weight control and center of gravity are absolutely critical," Woodhead confirmed.
The North Rankin 2 deck will be built in the next 3 to 4 years in the Far East, where a busy
cyclone season could narrow the towing window. "If we build in Korea, we'll be transporting from
the northern hemisphere (winter season) to the southern hemisphere (summer season)," said
Woodhead. "Ideally we'll aim to get it in just before the cyclone season, or find a gap between
cyclone events, where you tend to get the calmest weather."
To learn more about floatover installation options and KBR's upcoming installation projects,
contact KBR at offshore@kbr.com.