OREANDA-NEWS. July 06, 2012. Essar Projects Limited today announced the completion and handing over of the Rs 1,064-crore D1 development project, 200 kms off Mumbai,to ONGC, facilitating the scaling up of the D1 field production to 35,000 BOPD (barrels of oil per day).

The largest offshore project executed by Essar Projects Limited envisaged the installation of three offshore platforms, the layingof subsea pipelines to connect the three platforms to the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) through a Pipeline End Manifold (PLEM). All new platforms, the PLEM and the existing D1 Platform will be connected with a network of subsea rigid and flexible pipelines and composite cables totaling about 30 kms.

Essar Projects Limited completed the project, awarded in May 2010 to the Essar Offshore Subsea Limited-led consortium, on a fast-track basis within 24 months. The scope of the work included Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation & Commissioning of the three unmanned four-legged fixed Jacket SMART Platforms – D1B, D1C & D1D in water depths of approximately 90 meters.

Setting a benchmark in its safety standards and impressive HSE record, Essar Projects Limited did not experiencea single LTI though a cumulative man-hour in excess of 5.2 million was registered.

Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Alwyn Bowden, President & CEO of Essar Projects said:“Executing the prestigious ONGC project on schedule was a strategic objective for Essar Projects Limited. The company has demonstrated its ability to conclude such a challenging project on time and is poised to execute projects of similar kinds worldwide.

ONGC’s D1 project represents the confirmation of meeting one of Essar Projects’ strategic objectives: acceding into the first league of offshore integrated oil and gas services providers worldwide. The management of all the subsea pipeline installation and adjoining works for ONGC speaks about our growth rate, the achieved performance levels in the turnkey project management and the successful delivery of major projects.”

The D1B platform will receive the 35,000 BOPD of crude produced by the D1, D1C and D1D platforms and this will then be transferred for processing to the D1 field FPSO via the PLEM.

Each platform has two main parts – the jacket and the deck. The jackets for each of the three platforms were fabricated at the CUEL Yard in LaemChabang, Thailand. The three decks were fabricated at the Profab yard in Batam, Indonesia.

The Projects team split the fabrication scope at two yards to meet the fast-track project completion deadline.

The Platforms in the D1 Project region are heavier than their counterparts in the Indian offshore. This is because the water depth in the field being deeper by about 90 metres.

Mr. PCB Nair, CEO & MD, Essar Offshore & Subsea, Limited, a strategic Business unit of Essar Projects Limited, said “We value our partnership with ONGC. The Offshore & Subsea Long-term business partnerships are key to our performance.Having completed this project it showcases our ability to deliver and our ambition in furthering our lead in the Oil and Gas market space.  By completing this a large offshore project, Essar sends the signal that it is our intent to develop long-term collaboration with major Indian and global oil and gas market players”.

Some of the technological achievements of the project included transporting nearly 17,000 tonnes of steel for fabrication of jackets and decks across 2,000 nautical miles to reach Bombay High.The jackets are driven into the sea bed at a depth of over 100metres and the decks are installed on the jacket to complete the platform. All the jackets, decks and the associated pipelines, bridges and PLEM have been successfully installed and handed over to ONGC.