Mooring installation works have started at Ichthys field in the Browse basin with the first 49 foundation piles deployed and driven into the seabed in 250 m of water.
Each pile is 66 m long and weighs more than 450 tonnes.
The mooring work is being carried out in preparation for the arrival of the central processing facility and the floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (OGJ Online, Apr. 24, 2015).
The mooring installation is being led by Heerema Marine Contractors under subcontract to the lead contractor McDermott using the DCV Aegir deepwater construction vessel. The work is being carried out in noncontinuous phases, with piles driven first and mooring chains to be laid out later.
As part of the offshore installation work, project operator Inpex is overseeing the installation of more than 30,000 tonnes of subsea infrastructure and equipment across Ichthys field.
So far, 47 km of flowlines have been laid down along with more than 30 flowline sleeper structures and a 6,500-tonne riser support structure.
