Tideland Signal has supplied an automatic identification system, the Tideland AIS AtoN, for RAK Petroleum’s West Bukha platform, which is located at a busy international crossroads in the Straits of Hormuz where very few aids to navigation are deployed.
The platform’s operators wanted a straightforward and cost-effective system that could
be implemented quickly and easily. The solution was Tideland’s Informer V-03 Type 1
AIS AtoN, which is designed for installation on offshore structures and buoys, beacons,
light ships and lighthouses. The information it broadcasts, including its name, type,
MMSI number and virtual target flag, can be received by all AIS-fitted vessels and will be
displayed either visually or alpha-numerically and in real time on any AIS-enabled
electronic chart or radar screen.
Tideland has also supplied a receive-only base station for West Bukha, which will detect
all AIS-equipped vessels in the area and display the data on a screen. In addition, there
is a Tideland Smart Display system (TSD) located in the operator’s onshore control room,
which provides a clear image of shipping in the vicinity of the platform.
The Informer V-03 Type 1 AIS AtoN can be
fully integrated into Tideland’s NavLink
remote monitoring and control system
or a Tideland AIS coastal or port
network. The unit is also capable of
remote monitoring and uses less than 2Ah/day when broadcasting at the IALA-recommended
rate, making it highly
suitable for solar-powered aids to
navigation. In addition to identifying
offshore structures and aids to
navigation, the system can be used for
marking tracks, routes, areas and limits,
including traffic separation schemes. It
can also provide data on weather, tides
and sea states when integrated to
suitable sensors.
West Bukha lies in Oman’s Block 8, 25km from the Musandam Peninsular. First
discovered in 1976, the field exports 10,000bpd of oil and 30 million cubic feet of gas through a recently installed six-slot unmanned platform. Production is tied through a subsea multi-phase flow line to the nearby Bukha production platform. Combined
output from the two fields is then transported through a 33km flow line for processing
onshore at RAK Petroleum’s Khor Khwair plant.
RAK Petroleum PCL is registered in the Free Trade Zone of the Emirate of Ras Al
Khaimah and is operator of eight other blocks located in the Sultanate of Oman and in
the United Arab Emirates, of which six are in the exploration phase and two are
undergoing appraisal for possible redevelopment. The company’s subsidiary, RAK
Petroleum Oman, is the operator of Block 8 with a 40% participating
interest, with LG International Corporation of Korea holding a 50% participating interest
and UK-listed Heritage Oil holding the remaining 10%.
Approved to ISO 9001:2008, Tideland Signal is a British-based member of the
Tideland group of companies, which specialises in the design and manufacture of aids to
marine navigation. The Tideland group is independently owned and has its
headquarters in Houston, Texas.