Oil, gas & petrochemical

Hazardous area equipment for offshore platforms near Trinidad

A multi-national oil and gas company selected R&M as its supplier of hazardous and harsh area equipment for a major safety upgrade that took place across five of its offshore oil and gas platforms near Trinidad.

Hazardous and harsh area electrical products (both flame-proof and explosion-proof) are areas that we specialise in. For this upgrade, we supplied marine and offshore cable, glands, and LED light fittings, all suitable for this type of environment.

Alongside this, we prepared detailed technical documentation for each product, together with evidence of ATEX certification.

This upgrade significantly enhanced safety on the platforms and provided the client with a long-term cost-effective lighting solution, which improved their output efficiencies.

MRO contract for offshore FPSOs in Angola

Angola is one of the largest oil and gas producers in Africa. We manage the electrical maintenance, repairs, and operations (MRO) procurement for an international energy company’s fleet of offshore FPSOs, which source much of their oil and gas from the Platina oil field in Angola. FPSO stands for Floating Production Storage and Offloading. These structures store and process crude oil and gas at sea. The oil is then transported directly to the tanker, and the gas is used as fuel for the FPSO's gas turbine power plant or transferred onshore through a pipeline.

An MRO contract simplifies the supply chain process. This client was able to work with fewer vendors, choose pre-agreed fast-moving products from a fixed price catalogue, and receive their products quickly given that they could forgo the tender process for individual items).

This client currently has 800 products in our MRO catalogue and this number is growing every year. Product categories range from electrical and mechanical to instrumentation and personal protective equipment (PPE). The speed of delivery is even more critical for offshore sites. Any delays can result in significant costs to the client. Therefore, they put strict KPIs in place to ensure that 80% of deliveries are made on time. We are delighted to say that we are currently tracking at over 90%.

Working directly with the client requires strict compliance with their various quality-assurance standards. This isn’t a problem at R&M as we are ISO certified across a range of markets, and we are pleased to say that we have passed all client audits with flying colours.

Construction of two offshore gas platforms in The Netherlands

An offshore gas field operator in the Southern North Sea had plans to add yet another gas platform to its portfolio. The platform was built at a shipyard in The Netherlands and then shipped, pre-assembled, and installed offshore.

We secured an order from the contractor to deliver the complete lighting solution for the platform. Working alongside a specialist lighting design agency, we engaged early on with the contractor’s engineering team to get a detailed and thorough understanding of their requirements. Our solution comprised both a design schedule and a supply of approved ATEX-certified indoor and outdoor LED light fittings (suitable for hazardous and harsh areas) complete with the relevant certification documentation.

Following the successful completion of this project, we secured another order with this contractor. We delivered the required scope of electrical materials for a gas platform located on the border of the Dutch and German North Sea. This was a slightly wider remit in terms of product range. We supplied an ATEX-certified lighting solution, complete with ATEX-certified glands, and 350 kilometres of offshore cables (instrumentation and power).

Electrical products for both projects were procured and delivered to the shipyard, within set delivery timescales, and to budget. The relationships that we have built up with the contractor and the yard have resulted in yet further opportunities for us in this space.

Liquified natural gas project in Australia

One of the world’s largest liquified natural gas (LNG) projects is located on Barrow Island - a Class A Nature Reserve - in Australia. The project has a predicted lifespan of 40 years, and comprises a wide portfolio of developments, one of which was the construction of a new liquefaction facility. The type of facility is used to process, purify, and convert the natural gas (extracted 4,000 metres below the seabed) to LNG, before it is transported to the mainland by pipeline.

We were invited, as part of a consortium, to supply a high-voltage cable package (16 kilometres), an instrumentation cable package (23 kilometres of cable), and an electrical bulks package consisting of Lighting, Cable Management, Junction Boxes and a host of cable accessories. In addition, we were asked to design and supply turtle-friendly light fixtures for the site. Supply was provided to the Australian project site as well as three  fabrication yards across Asia.

Procurement, expediting, co-ordination of quality processes, and the creation of documentation packages (e.g. certifications, technical drawings, and data, as well as maintenance/operation manuals) all formed part of our supply chain service to the client.

This project required yet a further level of rigour. Australia has strict biosecurity protocols for all imported items. These prevention measures are in place to protect the agricultural environment from contamination by foreign organisms. Barrow Island has yet another layer of regulation, given that it is a nature reserve. As a result, we used a higher grade of treated timber for product packaging. We also undertook an advanced inspection of the goods and carried out full fumigation treatments.

Oil & gas development projects in Azerbaijan

We have worked with a multinational oil and gas company in Azerbaijan for more than 20 years, supplying electrical products for 10 projects. These ranged from new offshore platforms and upgrades, to onshore terminal upgrades, and pipeline construction and upgrades.

We put together a series of packages for these projects, which included:

• Power, instrumentation, and fibre cables complete with accessories. For one platform build alone we supplied 1,021,682 metres of cable
• Electrical bulks covering everything from lighting, and electrical junction boxes, to helipad netting (not technically electrical but we like to go above and beyond for our clients!)
• Instrumentation junction boxes and fire and gas (such as gas and heat detectors).

The client also received a complete supply chain management service. This encompassed overall project management, procurement, expediting, cable cutting and drumming, coordination of quality processes, documentation packages (e.g. certifications, technical drawings and data, and maintenance/operation manuals), shipping, and onsite technical support.

The majority of these projects are now complete, with future projects on the horizon. Thanks to our strong relationship with the client, and track record of competitive pricing and on-time deliveries, we were awarded a maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) contract, which we are delivering in country.

Wellhead pressure management project in Kazakhstan

A project was undertaken to expand and modernise an onshore oil and gas facility at an oil field in Kazakhstan. The aim was to increase total daily crude oil production via enhanced wellhead pressure management.

We were engaged by the contractor to provide a range of electrical supply services and products.

• Procurement, expediting, co-ordination of quality processes, and documentation packages (e.g. certifications, technical drawings and data, and maintenance/operation manuals).
• Customised solutions to enhance safety measures on site: A customised illuminated windsock solution (lighting columns, cable, cable glands, junction boxes, and illuminated windsocks).
• A solution aimed at preventing lighting poles from continuously vibrating in the wind (using vibration dampeners).
• An electrical bulks package for industrial as well as hazardous and harsh area purposes. Examples include lighting, sockets, plugs, switchgear, earthing, junction boxes, and distribution boards.
• Bespoke RFID tagging system to aid asset and inventory management on site.

We were awarded the contract in 2016 and we are still supplying the oil field today. Our remit has since expanded to include a maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) contract within country.