In 2010, Hess decided to expand their activities on the South Arne field with two additional wellhead platforms as part of the Phase III Development. Hess, Semco Maritime and Rambøll formed an EPC to carry out brownfield work related to the project.
A strong multidisciplinary team for Phase III modification projects
The Alliance group allocated 25 full-time employee equivalents from all partners of the project. They covered disciplines such as process, mechanical, piping, structural, safety, planning, installation, procurement, E&I and Telecom ensuring a broad palette of competencies of the project. The SOW for the tie-in concerned three primary parts:
- Tie-in to two new wellhead platforms
- Upgrade of existing equipment and process system
- Studies and reports (design reports, SRS report, structural, flare relief, firewater etc.)
Close coordination created cost-reducing synergies
As the Alliance partners were already holding contracts for on-going projects at South Arne, when the Phase III Development project began, Hess was able to reap the benefits of synergies between the Phase III Brownfield work and the other on-going modification projects. The Alliance ensured that all brownfield work was designed and implemented in order to take advantage of these synergies, e.g. combining work packs and minimizing offshore scope. This in turn meant that Hess could reduce overall duration and cost.
Continued cooperation in the hook-up and commissioning phase
Following the Phase III modification works, Hess awarded the Alliance partners the 'Hook-up and Commissioning' (HUC) project, which covered planning and execution of hook-up and commissioning activities for the two new wellhead platforms.
The overriding priority was to plan and conduct the work in a safe manner. Beyond that, the priority was to plan HUC/Carry over work to be achieved in a minimum amount of time in order to commence drilling and achieve hydrocarbon live status as soon as possible. The multidiscipline profile of the Alliance proved a major strength as it enabled the Alliance to handle day-to-day engineering requests and minimize delays.
