Suction Pile Founded One Piece Installed Platform
By SPT OffshoreIn the Dutch L6 sector of the North Sea, a minimum facility platform has been installed for the development of a marginal gas field. A primary objective of this project was to transport and install a minimum facility platform in one complete piece.
This would realise three crucial advantages; 1) the fabrication could be completed onshore, 2) minimising the risks associated with offshore installation and 3) a substantial reduction in the installation cost compared with more conventional offshore transportation and construction methods. Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors was selected to perform the transport and installation using its twin crane heavy lift vessel 'Rambiz'. The arrangement with the cranes enabled Rambiz to carry the entire structure to the offshore location and seamlessly place the structure in position.
In turn, Scaldis subcontracted SPT Offshore to perform the suction caisson installation. The foundation of the asymmetrical support structure consisted of three suction caissons. The water depth was about 34m LAT and the sea bed generally constitutes fine medium to dense sand. SPT Offshore designed and successfully installed the suction caissons offshore. This paper firstly introduces the L6-B project characteristics, and secondly addresses the one-piece installation.
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