Gina Krog largest launch jacket built by HFG sets sail
With the sail away on 19 June 2015 Gina Krog, the largest launch jacket ever built by Vlissingen yard of Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG), is ready for installation. The over 17,000t jacket for client Statoil & Partners started its journey for final destination, the Gina Krog field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
After a successful FEED study of HFG’s in-house engineering, Heerema Vlissingen was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract of the Gina Krog launch jacket and pre-drilling wellhead module in February 2013. Throughout the various FEED phases, incorporating the design development of the topside, HFG developed a mature launch jacket concept providing a firm basis for the EPC contract.
Within 17 months after construction the record breaking launch jacket was skidded onto the barge late March 2015 and has now set sail for installation at the Gina Krog field in the central part of the North Sea. The Gina Krog launch jacket weighs over 17,000t, has a footprint of 60 x 50mand at the top 40 x 30m. The height of the jacket is 142m. The pre-drilling wellhead module, which sails out after jacket installation, makes it possible to drill wells before the topside is in place and weighs 265t.
“The completion of this giant Gina Krog jacket and pre-drilling wellhead module highlights an important milestone at HFG’s Vlissingen yard”, says Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven, CEO Heerema Fabrication Group. “For this largest launch jacket ever built by HFG, we engineered and constructed a state of the art new flow measuring system which optimises the upending capabilities of the jacket during installation. Due to its heavy weight we built skid beams on the Vlissingen yard, especially for this project, which enabled us to execute the load-out of the Gina Krog jacket from our yard onto the barge safe and with high quality. Successful delivery of this heavily built and immense launch jacket is the result of great teamwork and commitment to high performance and safety of Statoil & Partners as well as HFG. We have completed this project safely without any Last Time Incidents as a consequence of our efforts to achieve a safe and incident free working environment.”
The Gina Krog field development is a gas, condensate and oil field, located in the central part of the North Sea, about 30 kilometers northwest of the Sleipner field. The Gina Krog field will be developed with a fixed platform in a water depth of 116 meters and will be tied into the Sleipner facilities for gas export with oil being transported by tankers.