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  4. First Shah Deniz 2 platform topsides unit sails away

First Shah Deniz 2 platform topsides unit sails away

Release date:
1 June 2017
The Shah Deniz consortium are pleased to announce the sail away of the first topsides unit built for the Shah Deniz Stage 2 platforms. The official sail away ceremony, held in Baku today, was attended by H.E. President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan

 

The Quarters and Utilities (QU) platform topsides, which was completed ahead of schedule, will sail away to the Shah Deniz contract area in the Caspian Sea from the Azfen fabrication yard in Bibi-Heybat.

 

The topsides unit was jacked up onto the loading frame at the quayside of the fabrication yard on 8 May 2017 in preparation for transfer onto the STB-1 transportation barge.

 

The topsides transportation, float-over and installation activities have been carefully planned and are expected to take around 5 days to complete. The unit will be installed on top of the QU jacket which is already at its offshore location in a water depth of 94 metres.

 

The QU topsides unit weighs about 12,400 tonnes and is 100 metres long by 60 metres wide. It contains 100-person living quarters, four main power generators totalling 60MW, 10 direct electrical heating modules and a range of subsea production equipment.

 

The topsides unit was jacked up onto the loading frame at the quayside of the fabrication yard on 8 May 2017 in preparation for transfer onto the STB-1 transportation barge. using local infrastructure and facilities. Over 5,000 people, including sub-contractors and specialist vendors, were involved in the construction works. More than 90% of these were Azerbaijani citizens.

 

Gary Jones, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, said: “The first platform topsides sail away is an important milestone and we are pleased to have achieved it ahead of schedule as we move towards successful completion of the giant Shah Deniz 2 project safely, below the planned budget and on schedule. The project is making good progress towards completion of the remaining areas. I would like to thank the Government of Azerbaijan, SOCAR and our partners for their support and cooperation in moving this complex project forward. My thanks are also to all people representing BP, contractors and subcontractors whose hard work has made it possible to achieve this milestone with excellent safety results. I would like to specifically thank the AMEC-Tekfen-Azfen consortium for their firm commitment to BP’s safety standards throughout the 3-year construction period. “The topsides unit, which is one of the biggest and state-of-the-art facilities in the Caspian, was delivered with exceptional safety results. This really is a great achievement and I am confident that the offshore installation of this unit, as well as the second topsides will be delivered with the same level of commitment to safety and quality”.

 

Photos available

 

Further information

contact Tamam Bayatly in BP's Press Office in Azerbaijan

Telephone: (+994 12) 599 45 57