Good bye to Deep Panuke

 The topsides structure of the Deep Panuke gas installation left Halifax today on the BOA Barge 34 towed by the tug Atlantic Kestrel, assisted by Atlantic Kingfisher and Atlantic Larch. The destination is indeed Sheet Harbour, NS, where the structure will be demolished.

I mistakenly stated in a prior post that the topside structure was lifted off by the crane barge Thialf. In fact the topside, which is  equipped with jack-up legs, was lowered onto the barge. Presumably when it reaches Sheet Harbour a reverse process will occur and the barge will be "slid out" from under.

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Encana and SBM gearing up

1. Through the fence at pier 31, Talisman has a deck extension and some guards installed on her starboard side to restrain a deck load, which will be floated on.

Encana, operators of the Deep Panuke gas field off Nova Scotia have been very quiet of late, and so have their main contractors SBM (Single Buoy Moorings). However activity is gearing up with a plethorta of vessels arriving in the very short term to install the MODU (Mobile Offshore Production Unit)

Essentially a four legged platform, it will recover gas from up to eight wells, process it and send it ashore via pipeline. It will house workers, and be fitted with cranes and other gear.

Since most of the components for the MODU have been built overseas, they will be arriving on barges and semi-submersible ships and some will likely use the Strait of Canso as their base of operations. Other activities will occur completely at sea, so we may not such much in Halifax.

However today's arrival of the semi-submersible heavy lift ship Talisman is an indication of what may be coming. Built in 1993 as the tanker Comor, renamed in 1999 Front Comor, it was rebuilt in 2008 to its present configuration. (It also looks like it hasn't been painted since then either.) As a semi-submersible ship, it can carry large components, and can submerge (if needed) to float the componentns off and on. It has been especially prepared for this project, and will be off to the Mulgrave area soon.

Among the other equipment scheduled to arrive for the MODU installation is the barge Boabarge 36, which will transport the Field Production Centre (FPC) from Halifax to Deep Panuke. It will be accompanied by four large tugs, Maersk Challenger and Maersk Chignecto, and two yet to be named foreign tugs, which will tow and standby the barge throughout the operation. But that is only one component of the project, and other vessels are expected too.

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Deep Cygnus for Deep Panuke

The multi-purpose offshore vessel Deep Cygnus made a very brief visit to Halifax this morning. Built in 2009 and measuring 9632 gross tons, this large vessel is owned in Norway by Volstad Maritime AS, and available on spot charter.

She has been contracted by Canyon Offshore Ltd to do sea bottom trenching work for the Deep Panuke gas project, between the dates of August 8 and November 30. Because she is a foreign vessel she had to apply for a coasting license from the Canadian Transportation Agency.

The ship is fitted with a huge deck crane and a helicopter platform on the foredeck. Her main deck is laid out for various forms of cargo or "tools" loaded aboard in containers.

RG III departs (finally)

The drilling rig Rowan Gorilla III finally got underway this morning after several false starts over the past few weeks. Bound for the Deep Panuke gas field off Sable Island, the rig will be working for 200 and some days for Encana.

Tugs Hebron Sea, Maersk Challenger and Ryan Leet will take 36 hours to tow the rig to position. Harbour tugs Point Chebucto, Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Spruce helped to turn the rig around and keep it on track as they sailed out of the harbour.