ACE topsides sailing to Caspian Sea installation site

Fossil Energy – ACE Platform Baku

The topsides unit of the Azeri-Central-East (ACE) platform loaded onto the STB-1 barge has been sailed away from the Bayil fabrication yard in Baku where it was built.

According to BP, the unit of the ACE platform weighs 19,600 tons and stands 36 meters tall.

Last year, the STB-1 barge underwent the necessary upgrades for use in the ACE project.

Prior to sail away, the topsides were mostly commissioned and had been operationally tested onshore to minimize activities needed for offshore installation and startup.

On May 30, the transportation barge STB-1 arrived at the Bibi-Heybat yard, and preparations for load-out activities commenced. On July 2, the topsides unit was transferred onto the STB-1 barge, sea-fastened, and prepared to sail away to the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field.

The topside transportation, float-over, and installation activities have been carefully planned and are expected to take around four days to complete. The unit will be installed on top of the ACE platform jacket, which has been at its offshore location since March this year, at a water depth of 137 meters.

The construction of the 19,600-ton topsides unit started in 2019 and was completed with outstanding safety achievements of over 21 million hours worked injury-free.

The ACE topsides unit consists of oil and gas processing facilities, an integrated drilling rig, a gas compressor, and living quarters.

The ACE platform and facilities are designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to produce up to 300 million barrels over its lifetime.

At its peak, over 8,500 people were involved in the ACE project’s construction work in Azerbaijan.

Original Source: https://ocean-energyresources.com/2023/08/08/ace-topsides-sailing-to-caspian-sea-installation-site/