BG International Limited Starfish Project

Fluor was awarded the FEED phase of the project in 2011.

The project involves the exploitation of the Starfish and North West Dolphin Gas Fields, located adjacent to the existing Dolphin “A”' Platform and Dolphin Deep subsea production facilities, approximately 84 kilometers offshore from the Beachfield Gas Terminal on the island of Trinidad. The water depth at the existing Dolphin Field facilities varies from approximately 360 feet (110 meters) to 600 feet (200 meters).

The intent of the project was to provide facilities for exploitation of the reservoirs, as well as the provision of additional compression facilities for the existing and planned gas developments. BG envisaged several possible development options, which were subsequently screened down to three.

These three schemes were developed with the intent of selecting the preferred option that would be carried through to FEED and subsequently, project implementation. The result is a subsea tieback from wells to the existing Dolphin “A” Platform, where modifications would be made to incorporate future production for the subsea development.

After the successful completion of the FEED phase, Fluor was awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction management services phase in August 2012.

Client's Challenge

BG has a number of challenges to meet the first gas milestone in mid-2014.

Challenges include the POBs (personnel on board) limitation during shutdowns, late arrival of equipment and/or material, interfaces between Fluor and subsea contractors, in addition to local fabrication concerns.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor worked with BG to use PPMOF (pre-fabrication, pre-assembly, modularization and offsite fabrication) to reduce both onshore and offshore work hours by over 68 percent, and to have the ability to pre-commission packages prior to installation offshore, and reduce POBs required during shutdowns.

Fluor engaged an interface specialist to manage interfaces with subsea contractors. Fluor supported BG to use pressurized habitats, thus enabling hot work that was planned during the shutdowns to be performed while the platform is in operation.

Conclusion

Starfish is a ground-breaking project that would allow BG and Fluor to introduce the most effective combination of fabrication and construction activities to perform work onshore, offshore, during shutdowns and off shutdowns.

The project is staffed with Fluor resources that have an average experience of more than 35 years on offshore projects. Fluor is fully committed to the success of the Starfish Project and to enforce its long-term strategic alliance with BG.

Today, Fluor is completing the detailed engineering and procurement of the project. Fluor will support BG in all construction management activities. The project is set for first gas in mid-2014.