Subsea rig interface engineering formed the core of a significant scope Woodside awarded ICON Engineering for the Greater Enfield oil development, covering subsea rig interfaces on Ensco’s DPS1 semi-submersible drilling rig.
The work spanned detailed design and fabrication across ICON’s Perth and Singapore operations, followed by shipyard installation and offshore commissioning of the interfaces.
Subsea rig interface engineering work like this sits at the boundary between a temporary drilling asset and permanent subsea infrastructure — getting it right reduces interface risk between the rig and the field’s subsea tie-back systems, and keeps the fabrication, installation and commissioning schedule aligned with the drilling campaign.
Inside the Greater Enfield development
Greater Enfield is a joint venture between Woodside (Operator, 60%) and Mitsui E&P Australia (40%), located in Commonwealth waters around 60 km off Exmouth, Western Australia. The project developed the Laverda Canyon, Norton over Laverda and Cimatti oil accumulations, tied back via a 31 km subsea pipeline to the Ngujima-Yin floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. At the time of the original award, Ngujima-Yin was producing solely from the neighbouring Vincent field; the vessel was subsequently modified in Singapore and, from 2019, also began processing Greater Enfield production alongside Vincent.
The Greater Enfield is located offshore Western Australia
A 20-year Woodside partnership
ICON Engineering Managing Director David Field marked the contract as a milestone for a long-standing relationship: “Woodside has been a client of ICON’s for 20 years. It’s fitting that in our 20th year, we’re able to continue support for Woodside with the development of the Greater Enfield oilfield, and other projects.”
2017 marked the 20th anniversary of ICON’s founding. “ICON could not have achieved this 20 year milestone without the support of its valued clients, and the dedication of the many brilliant staff who have worked with us over this time. Our staff are our primary assets,” Field said.
Over that 20-year history, ICON patented a number of drilling equipment and small-field development designs, including small-field wellhead platforms, monopods and minnowpods. The company’s range of Advanced Riser Tension Protector compensated tension lift frames (CTLF) has been adopted by safety-conscious operators conducting deepwater drilling, with deployments from Africa through to the Australasia region. ICON has also signed joint-venture arrangements with international partners to offer cost-effective development options for marginal and small oilfields.
The Greater Enfield subsea development will be produced into the Ngujima-Yin floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, which is currently located over the Vincent oil field.
ICON’s broader subsea rig interface engineering capability
ICON has installed more offshore platforms with jackup drilling rigs than any other company worldwide, and is expert in minimal facilities installation techniques such as Minnowpods, Monopods and Annex wellhead platforms. The company’s work won a British Government engineering award for its innovative North Sea design and installation method on Shell’s Skiff oilfield, and ICON installed the first fixed wellhead platform in the Timor Sea.
ICON has also carried out the deepest and lowest-cost deployment of flexible flowlines from a semi-submersible drilling rig in Australia, and pioneered mini-floatover technology for topsides up to 1,200 tonnes. The company is a world leader in conductor tensioning systems for jackup drilling rigs, from the Gippsland Basin to the Gulf of Mexico, and is known for completing difficult rig upgrades outside shipyards in remote offshore locations.
ICON’s equipment division sells and rents equipment internationally, with a focus on niche equipment for construction and drilling operations, and the company designs and manufactures heave-compensated systems for drilling locked-to-bottom well test conditions.
Subsea rig interface engineering across ICON’s service range
This Greater Enfield scope sits alongside ICON’s ongoing work in Interface Engineering & Management and Subsea Installation Engineering, disciplines the company applies to rig modification and subsea tie-back projects worldwide.
Need subsea rig interface engineering for your next semi-submersible or jackup campaign? Get in touch with ICON’s team.
