Unique Seaflex, provider of air lift bags as well as a water-filled test weights, has carried out an underwater project for Lundin Petroleum at Oudna oilfield offshore Tunisia
The company carried out the lift for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel ‘Ikdam’.
According to the Unique Maritime Group company, the field was abandoned in the mid-80s as relatively small discoveries in deep water were unviable due to lack of pipeline infrastructure.
However, the production at Oudna field was reactivated a decade ago and serviced until recently by the FPSO Ikdam. The field is currently producing 2,000 bpd.
At end of the field’s viable lifecycle, Unique Seaflex commissioned a combination of 41 different-sized parachute-style air lift bags (ALBs) up to 50 tonnes to be installed on the FPSO’s moorings to reduce tension to a manageable level and pull out the vessel.
Along with the fleet of ALBs, Unique Seaflex also supplied all the heavy duty shackles and lifting slings as well as an air inflation/deflation system and a topside technician to oversee the operation and ensure the safest and most efficient use of the package of equipment.
Graham Brading, MD of Unique Seaflex, said, “Unique Seaflex is always dedicated to bring out world-class solutions when clients describe their operational challenges and ask us to work with them to develop methods which will deliver them the best possible technical, operational and commercial outcome.”
The Oudna oilfield is located in the Gulf of Hammamet, 80km off the northern eastern coast of Tunisia. It lies at a water depth of 75 metres.
