ALE complete over 26,000t load-outs in Baku

ALE completed the ballasting load-outs of two jackets for the Shah Deniz 2 project in Baku, Azerbaijan in July 2016 and in February 2017.

ALE was contracted by the jacket constructor BOS Shelf for the load-out ballasting of the Production and Riser (PR) and the Living Quarters and Utilities (QU) platform jackets. This is part of the much larger Shah Deniz project, where ALE has been contracted by different clients to perform the lifting (using their innovative Mega Jack system), weighing, strand jack skidding load-out, Load-out ballasting and load-out mooring for two topsides, as well as the offshore floatovers of the topsides for a different client.  

ALE started the load-out phase of the project in July 2016, providing the full external ballast system and engineering, as well as the ballast system design and calculations. The jackets weighed 12,369t – 13,977t respectively.

The jackets were loaded-out onto the same STB-1 launch barge, measuring 153m x 45m x 12m alongside the client’s push/pull skidding system. ALE utilised their barge level monitoring and control system for close control and monitoring of the barge and the environment during the load-out.

“We are delighted to have successfully completed the load-out phase of the project. Our scope of work is extremely complex, using multiple services, techniques and equipment at every stage,” explained Project Engineer Matthew Hodgson.

“For the load-out specifically, we utilised our offshore expertise to design and fabricate bespoke piping in order to adapt the ballast system to existing ballast piping on-board the barge. We are now preparing for the next phase, which will involve the load-out and floatover operations of the topsides.”