Cutting Underwater Technologies to cut down Frigg for removal
Saipem UK (Sonsub Division) are part of the consortium, headed by Aker Offshore Partner, and including Aker Stord, Aker Marine Contractors (AMC), and Shetland Decommissioning Co. (SDC) that are carrying out the Frigg Cessation project on behalf of the operator Total E&P Norge AS.
The 10,000 tonne, 8 legged DP1 Jacket was damaged during installation and stands on the seabed, designated a wreck.
CUT’s innovative Diamond Wire Cutting Machines will be used to sever various jacket members, trusses and jacket legs prior to them being lifted to the surface for recycling onshore. Standard diamond wire cutting machines with capabilities of 36, 50, 64 and 74 inches, will be utilised along with the unique Launch Runner Cutting Tool, specially designed and built in-house by Tecnospamec.
The DWCM’s will be configured to cut in the horizontal and vertical planes and, where required perform angled cuts that will ensure that the severed sections will not “bind” when they are lifted by the support vessel’s crane.
Commented CUT’s Sales and Marketing Manager, Duncan Griffiths, “The versatility of the Tecnospamec design, and their in-house engineering expertise, allows CUT to offer exact solutions to any particular requirement that the client may have. This allows specialist contractors, such as Saipem to develop innovative solutions to their decommissioning strategies that save both time and money whilst minimising any environmental impact that the removal operation may incur.”
CUT’s expertise will be utilised during both of the planned 2008 campaigns with mobilisations in June and September
Prior to award CUT carried out a number of trial cuts on mock-up of a launch runner arrangement onshore. The trial demonstrated the Diamond Wire Cutting Machine’s capability as well as its ability to cut through hardwood blocks, rectangular steel section and the circular section which represented the actual jacket leg.
The cut was completed in one, uninterrupted, operation utilising the same diamond wire to cut all the different materials and sections
CUT’s General manager, Dino Vallarino made the observation that, “Not only did this test validate the effectiveness of our Diamond Wire Cutting Technology it reinforced the fact that Diamond Wire Cutting offers the reassurance that once the wire has passed through the target there can be no doubt that the piece has indeed been severed. This is especially important when cut sections are to be removed by crane to ensure that no excess loads are placed on the hoist components during lifting operations.”
Launch Runner Trial Cutting
The award reinforces the acceptance of CUT’s Diamond Wire Cutting Technology in the decommissioning of the larger jacket structures normally found in the Northern Sector of the North Sea.
CUT Ltd. is a specialist Diamond Wire Cutting Company headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland with operational bases in the United States, Norway, Brazil and Singapore. With over 375 completed projects and some 2000+ cuts carried out in water depths up to 2,434m Cutting Underwater Technologies Ltd., with the support of TS Tecnospamec, are at the forefront of Diamond Wire Technology for the global oil and gas markets.
