BJ Services Company has completed a major contract to provide a range of precommissioning services for Helix Energy Solutions Group. The services were carried out on an 18-well subsea production system on the KG-D6 field in the Krishna Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal, offshore the east coast of India.
BJ Services was awarded a contract by Helix ESG to supply a range of precommissioning services during construction of the subsea production system, which is installed in water depths of up to 3,937 ft (1200 m). Hydraulic and electrical testing of the dynamic and infield umbilicals was carried out during the pre-installation, installation and post-installation phases of the operation. The 99 miles (160 km) of steel tube umbilicals were monitored throughout the entire construction process.
In spite of the deep water depths and dynamic work environment, the operation was completed on schedule in just 13 months. "Adjusting our service schedule in response to the shifting nature of the construction process meant that our team had to be extremely flexible," said Lindsay Link, general manager, BJ Services Company, process and pipeline services. "BJ's KG-D6 team was in constant communication with the Helix ESG deepwater contracting group about developments on the construction front. As a result, they were able to anticipate how these changes would affect the testing and monitoring activities, enabling them to take immediate action to accommodate changes that could otherwise have caused costly delays," he added.
All related services were conducted by BJ Services from the Helix ESG vessel, the Express. The company drew upon equipment, staff and resources from its bases in India and Dubai.
The KG-D6 network gathers gas from the Krishna Godavari Basin for export onshore to India. The system is extensive, involving a complicated network of subsea production systems, flowlines and umbilicals. The gas from the KG-D6 development will be transported through pipelines to an onshore gas terminal located approximately 19 miles (30 km) south of Kakinada, on India's east coast. At peak production, the KG-D6 facility is expected to produce more than 550,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
BJ Services recently completed pipeline precommissioning operations on the MA-D6 oilfield development off the eastern coast of India.