MDL Extends FPSO Working Life by 10 Years
MDL has concluded a complete overhaul of a number of lifting equipment on board a North Sea FPSO, in the facility’s 20th year in operation.
The Marine Services project, which reinstated a 25-tonne riser pull-in winch and three 200-tonne anchor chain winches, is estimated to have contributed to extending the working life of the FPSO by a further 10 years.
The initial scope of work carried out by MDL’s Project and Engineering team was to survey the lifting equipment on board the North Sea facility, to assess condition and plan 5-year maintenance and testing, following a period of no operation.
Following the survey, the MDL Marine and Engineering teams prepared a work pack to execute the refurbishment on board the FPSO without taking the equipment ashore, which included method statements, lift plans, structural design and detailed drawings.
The on-board equipment overhaul included complete winch strip down, service, reassembly and load testing. MDL offshore expertise also came into play for winch wire respooling, carried out in-situ under tension by experienced MDL technicians.
To complete the work scope, MDL also serviced and re-certified a dual-pump ATEX-rated HPU (Zone 1) to DNV-GL code.
Steve Morrison, MDL Project Engineering Manager, said:
“This mission is an embodiment of the complete package of services that customers have access to with MDL.
“From project expertise to pre-engineer and oversee the execution of a project, through our complete in-house services to carry out comprehensive repairs, modifications and maintenance of marine equipment, to then having MDL offshore personnel on board to safely operate the equipment during critical path of the client’s shutdown campaign.
Over 1400 MDL man hours have gone into this project across all MDL disciplines to deliver a solution that was fit for purpose and added value by extending the assets’ producing life, without costly repair works onshore.
The MDL team are proud to have been involved in this project and are excited to assist future clients with our project engineering, marine operations, mechanical handling and offshore lifting equipment expertise.”
