In a global first for this client, ICON completed the transportation and installation of a Rig Installed Conductor Supported Platform (CSP), its topsides, and a connector bridge to the host platform — all using a jack-up rig in place of a heavy lift vessel.
Why a Jack-Up Rig Instead of a Heavy Lift Vessel
ICON was engaged by a supermajor and National Oil Company (NOC) joint venture to handle the marine transportation and installation of the CSP, which sits as an annex structure alongside a larger Central Processing Platform. Using the joint venture’s own onsite drilling jack-up rig for the installation — rather than mobilising a heavy lift vessel from the North Sea — delivered substantial cost savings, and this was the first platform the operator and NOC had installed this way. This kind of approach sits within ICON’s broader Rig Installed Platforms capability.
The Engineering Behind the Installation
ICON developed a custom template suspension and levelling system to hold the CSP template in the correct orientation and elevation while the jack-up ran, drove, and cemented its four conductor piles. The rig then installed the template and continued its well drilling programme until the topsides and bridge were ready to go in. The topsides were installed using the “over-reach” technique, while the connector bridge installation was engineered to make use of the jack-up’s transverse skidding capability, alongside a fully static, precisely controlled lifting system — the kind of detailed sequencing covered under ICON’s Installation & Execution capability.
Project Data
The CSP was installed in 25 metres of water, with topsides weighing 325 tonnes and a jacket weighing 100 tonnes, excluding piles.
Contact ICON for more information about its transportation and installation approach to wellhead platforms.
