Heerema installs first Qatar-made topside

PRESS RELEASE – Heerema’s Aegir vessel has completed the installation of the 4,000-tonne jacket and topside for Qatargas’ North Field Bravo Living Quarters Expansion project.

“The project itself was a historic milestone for Qatar, with the fabrication for the offshore living quarter expansion being done locally – a first for the nation”, Heerema states.

The Aegir firstly mobilized to Qatar’s Ras Laffan Port where both structures were constructed by our client Rosetti Marino at the N-Kom yard. On February 14, the Aegir picked up the jacket horizontally from the quayside. The 1,000-tonne  structure was then sailed to the offshore site, upended, and positioned in a process that was first tested in Heerema’s simulation centre to ensure the safest and most efficient methods were used.

In the subsequent days the main piles, consisting of a lead section and two add-ons, were installed and driven to target penetration. Before the Aegir returned to the N-Kom yard to pick up the Qatar-made topside on February 22, lifting the 3,000-tonne structure from the quayside and setting it onto the Aegir deck. The next morning the Aegir set sail to the construction site, where the deck was successfully installed around midday. With both mobilizations being completed within 18 hours this was a significant and notable achievement for Heerema.

The project was finalized on February 25.