Ocean Specialists completes rapid submarine fiber installation in Gulf of Mexico

Ocean Specialists Inc. (OSI) has completed a turnkey submarine cable installation for a major oil and gas operator in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ocean Specialists, Inc (OSI) was contracted to assist their team in the design, procurement and construction of a submarine fiber link between two strategically important deep gas platforms in the South Marsh Island area offshore Louisiana. Due to the requirement for a rapid, reliable response, OSI was contracted to specify and source the fiber cable, provide full route design, engineering and permitting, termination and platform landing design, and finally to assemble the cable installation and burial spread. OSI then managed the installation, including full system burial and numerous pipeline crossings.

"We're grateful for the confidence that our customer placed in the OSI team to provide a fast-track project, from system design, through to procurement, permitting, installation and final acceptance," stated Jim Byous, president of OSI.

OSI's sister company, CSA International, Inc. (CSA) played a key role in achieving the full system seabed permitting within 30 days. "CSA's intimate knowledge and experience of the oil & gas sector, not just in the GoM, but worldwide, greatly accelerated the process in an aspect where many cable projects typically encounter long lead times or lengthy delays due to permitting," said Byous.

To respond to the delivery requirements, the cable was sourced through Nexans, and was delivered within 6 weeks of order from its cable factory near Oslo, Norway. "Nexans understood our requirements and did an outstanding job to work with us to deliver the cable on time," said Anne Smith, OSI's commercial manager.