BJ Services Completes Major Pipeline Precommissioning Gig Offshore India

BJ Services Company has completed a major contract to provide precommissioning services for Technip on the MA-D6 oilfield development offshore India. The oil field is located in the Krishna Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal South East offshore Kakinada.

BJ Services was awarded a contract by Technip in January 2008 to supply a range of precommissioning services. The scope of the project required the company to plan and manage several different phases, including initial engineering and project management services designed to complete the work within a tight timeframe. Hydraulic and electrical testing of both dynamic and infield umbilicals was carried out during pre-installation, installation, overboarding and post-installation phases of the operation.

BJ's pipeline precommissioning specialists carried out cleaning, flooding and pressure testing of the 8-in. production infield flowlines. In addition, the 6-in. gas injection riser was cleaned, flooded, pressure-tested and treated with mono ethylene glycol (MEG). The fast-track operation was carried out efficiently and completed on schedule.

Flowline Extends to Water Depths of 1,200 M

The MA-D6 is part of the larger KG-D6 oil and gas field that is situated in water depths of up to 1,200 m (3,937 ft.). The pipeline network gathers oil and gas from the Krishna Godavari Basin for export onshore to India. The system is extensive, involving a complicated network of gas and oil export pipelines and flowlines.

BJ Services personnel carried out related services on the MA-D6 project for Technip. All aspects of this intricate precommissioning program were carried out by BJ without extensive use of subcontractors. "The MA-D6 project was challenging for a number of reasons, including the fast-track timeframe and the water depths in which we were working," said Lindsay Link, general manager, BJ Services, Process and Pipeline Services. "A great deal of detailed engineering and planning was required to ensure that we would be able to complete all phases of the project on schedule. If you consider that the work was performed with zero downtime, it wasn't easy. Given that the operation was carried out smoothly, it is an impressive achievement," he added.

During recent years, BJ Services has carried out pipeline precommissioning operations in Tapti Field, and on various onshore and offshore pipeline developments in the region.