 Conoco develops the
The solution developed by Conoco for use
in Indonesia's Block B fields is the MOgPU (movable offshore
gas production unit). The MOgPU was created after Conoco led negotiations to bring about the first export sale of pipelined gas from Indonesia to another country -- in this case Singapore. Last January, workers began laying a new, 300-mile subsea pipeline to Singapore, which when completed will be the longest natural gas supply and delivery system in Asia Pacific. Installation of traditional offshore production platforms requires heavy construction equipment with large barges and cranes. Extensive hook-up and commissioning efforts are also involved. "The biggest advantage of the MOgPU is mobility," says John Hopkins, Conoco VP for exploration production technology. "Basically, we can pick it up off the seabed and quite easily move it to another location and ultimately it can be abandoned with minimal effort and cost." "The MOgPU can be built onshore where labor and other costs are cheaper than assembling it in water. Then it can be towed offshore and is almost immediately ready to go. In fact, the same vessels that tow it out can be used to position and install the platform," Hopkins adds. Once this new steel gravity platform reaches its destination, it will be floated off its transportation vessel to essentially become a barge capable of floating on its own buoyancy. To lock it in place, the MOgPU utilizes a set of very simple cable strand jacks that lower the base structure and pull the platform up on the legs. The jack-up system can be rented, then returned, providing significant cost savings over traditional heavy construction equipment and barges. Another advantage of the MOgPU is the elimination of motion problems usually associated with comparable floating facilities. "Barges are subject to waves and movement, and traditional floating platforms need expensive flexible risers," Hopkins explains "Since the MOgPU is a fixed platform, we eliminate both motion and the need to employ expensive risers and mooring systems." Along with that stability comes another advantage: when the unit is installed, it can continue normal operations in 100-year storms with waves of up to 30-feet high. posted 05/09/00
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Conoco will be able to relocate the unit at a relatively
small cost as older reserves are depleted and new fields are
brought onstream. Construction on the MOgPU began in Korea earlier
this year and production will begin in mid-2001.