2008 Award Winners
ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Awards
| Enhancing Sustainable Construction through Innovative Prefabrication Solution – The Spiral Connector System – Housing Development Board |
| Keppel FELS’s purpose-built Semi-submersible Drilling Tender (SSDT) has established a proven track record for strong operational performance over the past 15 years, particularly in South East Asia. The first KFELS SSDT, West Pelaut, was designed and built by Keppel FELS in 1994, and was conferred the highly coveted Shell Platform Rig of the Year award in 2004 and 2006. In recent years, this use of this trend setting drilling tender has gained momentum in the international market, and was successfully deployed in the deepwater region of West Africa by Seadrill. Its outstanding performance in West Africa attests to the design’s resilience and suitability to operate in a variety of challenging offshore environments across the world including Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. Conventional drilling tenders can only be deployed next to fixed platforms, most of which are located in shallow waters. The purpose-built KFELS SSDT has revolutionalised the way in which drilling tenders operate, allowing them to be deployed next to deepwater floating platforms for the first time. With this technology breakthrough, the KFELS SSDT became the first drilling tender in the world to operate in deep waters of about 1,000 metres in the West Seno field, offshore Indonesia in 2003, and to be deployed against a Spar platform in the Kikeh Deepwater Field, offshore Malaysia in 2008. Most traditional production platforms carry a set of permanently installed drilling equipment. The KFELS SSDT provides mobile drilling facilities for wellhead platforms – the vessel has a crane, which facilitates the transfer of mobile drilling equipment onto the wellhead platform in less than 12 hours. The deployment of mobile drilling facilities, vis-a-vis the fixed platform with permanent drilling equipment, results in several important benefits, namely: 1. Optimisation of equipment lifespan Drilling equipment is often operated for short duration. Once the lifespan of the oilfield is over, the drilling equipment on the standard fixed platform will need to be decommissioned and scrapped, using substantial resources in the process. However, the KFELS SSDT’s innovative design allows the repeated use of just one set of drilling equipment over multiple well head platforms, thereby maximising their useful lifespan and minimising disposals and environmental impact. 2. Reduction of environmental footprint The operating weight of the self-erecting tender is only one quarter that of a platform rig while the size of the deck required for the derrick equipment set is also significantly smaller since mud systems, power, pipe deck, accommodation and so on, are contained on the tender. This reduces the footprint on the seabed, hence minimal disruption to the underwater eco-system. 3. Prevention of pollution The KFELS SSDT is a zero discharge vessel. As part of a stringent drilling waste management system, drilling cuttings which contain hydrocarbon contents are separated by the solid control equipment and stored in containers on the KFELS SSDT’s large deck. This system eliminates the dumping of solid waste into the ocean and reduces the need for frequent supply boat trips to offload the waste. More importantly, it minimises the risk of an accidental spillage, which will endanger marine life and the environment. All the main generators onboard meet the stringent Engine International Air Pollution Prevention (EIAPP) requirement. R417, a non-ozone depleting refrigerant, is also used for the air-conditioning units instead of the usual R22. The KFELS SSDT has made it possible for two massive floating platforms to work in close proximity of each other without the risk of a major collision. The KFELS SSDT’s superior hull form provides excellent motion characteristics needed for it to work alongside another floating platform. As opposed to the traditional tender barges, the KFELS SSDT also features superior mooring capabilities and reliable station keeping for better control. In addition, the KFELS SSDT-assisted drilling concept operates on a “safety by distance” principle, offering high levels of safety to operators, especially during a well control or fire incident. Only 5 to 6 people are required to run the KFELS SSDT at a time; this significantly reduces the scale and impact of risks and incidents associated with drilling operations. Should an emergency situation occur, the KFELS SSDT is able to quickly dislodge from the other platform and enter into a safe standby position. The KFELS SSDT is an outstanding application of engineering and technological advancement, which it has contributed significantly to environmental protection, as well as the safety and well-being of operators involved with offshore platform development drilling. Its ability to greatly reduce the harmful effects of drilling operations on the environment through alternative methods, makes the KFELS SSDT a vessel of choice for discerning operators. |