Total Gabon has awarded Bourbon’s Subsea Services division an EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction and installation) contract to lay 25 km of 6” rigid pipeline as part of the Hylia Water Injection Project. The aim is to boost output by piping water to the offshore platform then injecting it into the wells at high pressure. “We set up the division in 2004 with just two boats. Today, our fleet of 20 subsea workboats generates annual revenues of €217 million,” says Patrick Belenfant, Senior VP Subsea Services.
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With oil prices still low, industry majors are committing to very few new drilling projects. To meet continuing demand at minimum cost, many are turning to well stimulation. “We’ve already worked in this area, particularly on deep wells,” says Patrick. “Here, the challenge was to come up with a solution combining minimum costs and risk. This is, indeed, precisely what motivated us to bid for an EPCI prime contract for the first time.”
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Drawing on experience acquired as a subcontractor in Gabon in 2014, when Bourbon teams helped to lay a 170-km pipeline, the division put its bid together with established partners, including Woodgroup for project engineering, Cortez for its Zap-Lok technology and Bourbon Gabon. “The Subsea Service division will, for its part, handle pipeline integration and project management. Putting these skills together resulted in an innovative solution that will enable us to lay the pipeline using a relatively small ship.”
The project will use one of Bourbon multipurpose Evolution 800 vessels. “With their extensive onboard resources, including remotely operated vehicles and active heave compensation cranes, these boats are the offshore industry’s Swiss army knives.” For the Hylia project, Bourbon will also provide ROV services and a platform supply vessel, or PSV, to support survey and diving operations to install spools and risers.
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“We are very proud of the trust that Total has placed in us for this first EPCI contract. Such a comprehensive project gives Bourbon and its Gabonese partners an opportunity to demonstrate their capacity to offer clients top quality integrated services and cost-effective solutions”, says Patrick Belenfant. As a leading service provider to the offshore oil & gas industry and an established support fleet operator, Bourbon has been hit hard by the uncertainty in offshore oil & gas. The group’s extensive efforts to diversify into turnkey solutions and high added-value services are part of a broad response to these challenges.
Translated and adapted by Steve Dyson
