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Sustainable gas production platform for Tulip Oil

Situation

Dutch oil and gas exploration company Tulip Oil focuses on smaller virgin oil and gas fields. Thanks to innovative technologies and entrepreneurial spirit, Tulip Oil makes fields that are less profitable for other oil and gas companies exploitable. Tulip Oil was looking for companies that could engineer, build and install an unmanned gas platform on a gas field in the North Sea. Tulip Oil was looking for a platform that could power itself by means of solar panels and wind turbines, making it ideally suited to realise the ambition of offshore exploitation. Another Tulip Oil requirement was that the platform should have a lifespan of at least 35 years. Finally, the company investigated the possibility of upgrading the extracted gas directly to marketable gas and bringing it ashore via a new pipeline. The expansion was not carried out and the gas is now treated offshore and transported through an existing pipeline network.

Solution

At an early stage, Tulip Oil asked KH Engineering to produce a concept of an unmanned and sustainable platform. KH Engineering had previously designed a similar platform for another company. Tulip Oil started with a limited FEED and Basic Engineering phase and was therefore soon able to go to the market for supplier selection. By making a number of components not only of the highest quality but also with redundancy, KH Engineering limited future maintenance. This also ensured that the desired lifespan of the platform could be achieved.

Tulip Oil was looking for a total solution, including installation at sea. This solution initiated the collaboration with Heerema Fabrication Group. They realised the platform via an EPIC Contract. KH Engineering worked on the detail design and fabrication as part of an integrated project team with Heerema Fabrication Group.

In addition, instead of a pipeline to land, through the dunes and to a new installation yet to be built, Tulip Oil successfully installed a pipeline to a nearby existing gas production platform at sea (P15-D). This is where fellow company Taqa efficiently and economically brings the extracted gas up to marketable quality. This solution contributes to the reuse of platforms at sea; a solution that the government advocates from the perspective of sustainability.

Benefits to the client

KH Engineering contributed experience through a team that had previously worked on a similar project, meaning that a minimum turnaround time was required for the various engineering phases. Our expertise also meant that very few adjustments were required during the construction phase. We achieved this by undertaking the assignment as an integrated project team at Heerema Fabrication Group’s construction site. The partnership with a reputable party such as Heerema Fabrication Group was a great experience and the platform is now fully operational, barely a year after the investment decision was made.

KH Engineering activities

KH Engineering carried out the following work for the topside, as part of an integrated project team with Heerema.

FEED, Basic & Detailed engineering;
Procurement Services (on behalf of Heerema) for the E&I and manual valves packages;
Inspection support for Mechanical and E&I equipment;
Construction-support (on-site) engineering during construction;
(Pre-)Commissioning (Mechanical and E&I) support during the purchase.

Projectleader: Marcel van Neck