Greater Stella Area Development Update
Monday 15 August 2016
The FPF-1 modifications programme, which has been undertaken by Petrofac in the Remontowa shipyard in Poland, was completed in July 2016. Importantly, all the onshore scope and testing work scheduled for completion in the yard has been completed as planned, avoiding costly carry over of unfinished work offshore. The vessel has been materially upgraded to accommodate the requirements of the GSA hub. Additional buoyancy and enhancements to the marine systems have been undertaken to extend the operational life of the vessel and entirely new topside oil and gas processing facilities have been installed.
Following the completion of deep water marine system trials, the FPF-1 commenced its tow to the Stella field location in early August 2016. It is anticipated that the period from sailaway to first hydrocarbons is approximately three months. Following the tow the FPF-1 will be moored on location using twelve pre-installed anchor chains. The dynamic risers and umbilicals that connect the subsea infrastructure to the vessel will then be installed. Thereafter, commissioning of the various processing and utility systems that can only be undertaken on location with hydrocarbons from the field will be completed.