Fixed offshore structures has predominantly been installed via the conventional crane barge, no matter whether it is small or a big structure. Utilization of a crane barge has resulted in a significant installation costs as the mobilization cost and the Daily Charter Rates (DCR) for the vessel is very high. Supporting the innovation agenda in an effort to better control project costs, the rig-installed platform concept is one of the option chosen to install small lightweight structure due to the cheaper cost of Jack-up Rig (JUR) day rates compared to a conventional crane barge.

The savings in material, schedule and mobilization could be realized as the jack-up rig can proceed with the drilling of the wells (which are also the main piles of the structure) directly after the structure installation. As JUR is primarily used to drill oil/gas wells, some minor modification may be required to the JUR before it can be utilized to install small and lightweight offshore structures, both jacket and topsides, with some degree of limitations due to the drilling envelope and derrick lifting capacity.

This ‘know-how’ has been around for quite some time in the industry by niche service providers, but was not regularly exploited in this part of the world as it has been a norm for the field development team to manage an installation contractor whilst the wells team manage a drilling contractor. This paper shares the learnings of a wellhead platform for a marginal field that was successfully engineered, fabricated and offshore installed using a JUR and eventually achieved 1st Oil within 9 months of contract award at an installed cost below USD 29 Million. This paper will mainly discuss on the pre-requisites of JUR installed platforms, case for change, concept select and potential value creation to the overall project.

The project referenced above has exemplified to the industry that JUR installed platform is a feasible option in this part of the world, with significant cost savings, contributing to a better economics for a marginal field project.

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