DCD Marine Cape Town, an oil and gas upstream service provider in South Africa, is ‘on a roll’ with a number of projects already underway this year for the oil and gas sector.
With the start of three large projects towards the latter part of 2013, intense planning and execution has seen the company’s operations at their fullest capacity in years.
“The oil and gas industry tends to be very volatile and cyclical, and so we have built up a capacity for flexibility as things can change quickly,” says Gerry Klos, General Manager of DCD Marine Cape Town. “The solid relationships we have built up with clients such as Transocean and Saipem also enable us to provide a reliable service even in challenging circumstances.”
DCD Marine Cape Town has invested heavily in the A-Berth facility in an effort to create a dedicated berth for oil and gas projects and has also recently built a new 600m² blasting and coating booth which is now fully operational.
Projects currently underway at DCD Marine Cape Town include maintenance and upgrade works on two semi-submersible drilling rigs, the Transocean Marianas, which arrived in October 2013 at Repair Quay, and Saipem’s Scarabeo 7, which arrived at A-Berth during December 2013. The Transocean Marianas project has involved 373 035 man-hours to date.
The scope of work for the Marianas includes the replacement of approximately 25 tons of steel, extensive pipework in various areas on the rig, mechanical work and hydraulic work. For Scarabeo 7, the project includes the renewal of approximately 245 tons of steel, repairs to the thrusters and the fabrication, installation and outfitting of a new accommodation module. Up to 4.5km of pipework has been replaced on the vessel. The Scarabeo 7 project has entailed of 565 476 man-hours to date, with a total of 3 620 people being inducted into the project.
Another project underway is the Western Trident, which is currently undergoing repairs in the Sturrock Dry Dock. The scope of work for the seismic vessel includes repairs to the tailshafts and rudders, upgrade of the lifeboat davits, the installation of a new transom as well as blasting and coating in various areas of the vessel.
In Saldanha Bay, the company has just completed the special periodic survey on the semi-submersible drilling rig, the Transocean Sedco 702. The scope of work, with 2 504 inductions and 376 398 man-hours, includes upgrades to the lifeboats, davits and winches, steel replacement, tank cleaning and the UWILD (underwater inspection in-lieu of dry docking) survey of the vessel.
“We look forward to the successful completion of all these projects and another busy year of servicing the upstream oil and gas sector,” says Klos.
“A key part of our plan for the year is to further our mission to up skill and develop our workforce. Our people are our greatest asset, and the rigorous training and skills development programme we have in place will ensure ongoing excellence in service delivery, not matter how busy we are,” he concludes.
[mappress]
February 20, 2014