Monday, May 25, 2009

OFFSHORE FIELD ENGINEER

Roles of an offshore field engineer

The main work of planning, engineering and execution of the transportation and offshore installation of platforms and pipelines falls within the scope of Offshore Field Engineering. Major support services required to accomplish the work includes project management, design engineering and drafting, project scheduling, document control, and marine spread logistics.
Figure 1 Installation and engineering procedures

an offshore field engineer (FE) has the following responsibilities:

• Prepare installation procedures


For the installation of a platform, a FE will perform engineering analyses such as rigging analysis to select appropriate riggings and to check the adequacy of lifting points such as padeyes, trunnions and spreader bars for the planned heavy lift. With the assistance of a draftsperson, a FE will prepare lift charts to ensure the lift is within the crane capacity and having adequate clearances. Design engineers will provide supporting analyses such as transportation studies, jacket launch and upend studies, jacket on-bottom stability studies, pile and conductor driveabilities and conductor hang-off studies. Extracting from these reports, a FE will prepare the installation procedure accordingly. The FE will also be required to prepare barge set-up drawings with the help of a draftsperson. The anchor cable catenaries must be checked by the FE. The layout of the platform components on the material barge for transportation are prepared by the FE. For pipeline installation, the FE will prepare the initial sequence of pipelaying for the design engineers to analyze. The FE engineer will then extract from the design engineers’ reports to prepare the installation procedure. The FE will also prepare miscellaneous calculations for the procedure preparation, such as start-up and laydown head design, barge set-up and anchor patterns and pre-commissioning test data.

Figure 2 Field engineers at work


• Organize and procure project materials

As the installation procedures are being prepared, the FE must plan and coordinate the procurement and mobilization of the required project materials to the onshore or offshore locations. It is very crucial that the FE ensures every project material be sent to the correct location as any smallest shortfall of material can cause the whole offshore spread to be on standby. The FE is responsible to ensure the project materials are procured on time, adequate quantity and of correct specifications. The FE is also responsible to advise the marine department of the required vessels and marine spread to accomplish the offshore work.


• Onshore coordination of loadout operations

The FE is responsible to coordinate with the client and fabrication yard on the loadout of the pipelines and platform components. With the assistance of draftspersons, the FE will prepare component layout plans on the respective transport barges. Tie-down drawings are prepared by design engineers and draftspersons with input from FEs. These are given to the client and fabrication yard for their preparation of loadout procedures. The FE must ensure all pre-installed installation aids are correctly installed at loadout site before sail out.

Figure 3 Offshore field supervision


• Offshore supervision for the installation of platforms and pipelines

Offshore on the construction barge, the FE is responsible to advise the Offshore Construction Superintendent (OCS) on the scope and procedures for all the offshore work according to the procedures prepared earlier. Where necessary, the FE will make engineering decisions for any change in procedures caused by site changes. If necessary, the FE will consult with the onshore based design engineers for advice. The FE must make a proper record of all the offshore construction work to ensure the project is well documented for later use.


• Project close-out

When the offshore installation is complete, the FE is responsible to compile the project close-out report and as-built documentation.

Figure 4 Sea Survival Training


source : OFFSHORE FIELD LEARNING MODULES (SapuraCrest Petroleum)