Project Description

THE CHALLENGE OF COMPLEXITY

Evidence of engineering excellence, the FPSO Maersk Ngujima-Yin proves the viability of the APMM Project Management model

Maersk’s biggest Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel ever will operate off the West Australian coast and bear the name of an ancient aboriginal expression meaning “to dream”. But today it’s very much an operating “reality”. As Director of Maersk FPSOs and project manager of the Vincent Project, Christian Eilersen says: “If people are into major projects, they don’t come more complex than this one. The secret of success for us is Project Management – if the systems are good and the people are right, then you can manage a project of almost any size. Maersk Ngujima-Yin, valued at nearly USD 700 million, was the biggest single investment by A.P. Moller - Maersk to date.”





The project
On 29 May 2006 Maersk FPSOs (at that time called Maersk Contractors) signed a service contract with Woodside Energy Ltd, the largest oil and gas producing company in Australia, for provision of a stand-alone FPSO to develop the Vincent field 35 kms off the coast near the small town of Exmouth, Western Australia. The seven year contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning, and seven years of operation with an option to extend.


The vessel
The 308 DWT VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) Ellen Mærsk was selected for the FPSO. Ellen Mærsk was built by Hyundai in Korea in 2000 and in March 2007 it was taken out of trade to be modified into an FPSO. Nearing completion in 2008 the new FPSO received the aboriginal name ‘Ngujima-Yin’, which means to dream in Tanlanyji language.


Capacity and flexibility
Operating at a depth of 350 metres it handles a daily production capacity up to 120,000 barrels of oil and 100 million standard cubic feet of gas. Its storage capacity is 1.2 million barrels of oil.

The new vessel’s facilities incorporate a nameplate capacity of 120,000 barrels per day of oil and 250,000 barrels per day of fluids. She has a double hull and disconnectable mooring and has provision for additional risers and turret swivels to accommodate future development.

The Vincent field is in a tropical cyclonic area so the vessel is equipped with a mooring system which allows for shutdown and temporary disconnect during cyclone passage.


Maersk FPSOs’ overall project management and operation
“Maersk FPSOs is all about Project Management and Engineering supervision. It is the key to the whole project,” explains Director and Head of Engineering, Per Aae Staunstrup. “We design, own and operate the project and it’s our job to convert the client’s wishes into actual working units.”

He stresses that Project Management is a complete competence of its own. In his view it is not engineering, it is not consulting and it is not operations. “Fortunately APMM and Maersk FPSOs have a new two-year training programme on Project Management. It is based on global standards which have been specially adapted for us which unify the best thinking on Project Management. The Control System for one FPSO is more complex than Air Traffic Control at a major airport,” adds Per Aae Staunstrup. “You have to be a generalist in this business, to enjoy seeing the big picture, and to enjoy coordination and interrelation with suppliers and stakeholders of all kinds.”

Contractors and scope
A project starts with a draft proposal. Once approved – in this case by Woodside - the FEED begins (Front End Engineering and Design) which includes all the details leading to the signing of the contract. Staunstrup continues: “Then come the purchasing and the detailed engineering, all of which is subcontracted out to consultant engineering companies, etc. In this case the conversion process went to several major international contractors.”

Maersk FPSOs has the managerial role, and the complexity is enormous. “The Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) is probably the most complex we have – it is the intelligence of the FPSO. It is easy enough to get one or two large pieces of equipment to communicate with each other, but in this case you have literally millions,” he says. “It requires great skill and expertise to link all the processes on board. There are over 1,000 automated valves controlling flow streams, power consumers, generators, etc. These integrate everything and all need accurate control.”





Managing the interface between subcontractors
Carsten Lundstrøm is a young chemical engineer who graduated in 2005. His responsibility was the interfaces between equipment and building – ensuring collaboration between subcontractors and that the design connections were made, functioned and upheld the design specifications.

“This was my first FPSO project and initially I felt totally in over my head with this. It takes at least six months to understand all the various components, how they interact. My trick was to keep asking questions, probably irritatingly so. I had to back-track constantly, and make sure there was a paper trail for every meeting and every decision.”

“The overall Project Management strategy was in place, but the challenge was to make it all work together. If one tiny change was necessary, it often had a domino effect throughout the entire project. It was a process of constant adjustment and realignment, as the design evolved,” tells Lundstrøm.

Probably the greatest challenge Lundstrøm recalls was the combination of disciplines required on the Vincent project. All engineering disciplines are combined – Electrical, Naval Architecture, Process, Structural, ICSS and Instrumentation. “My role was also to ensure good liaison between each of the subcontractors and internally in the project team. I was able to instigate monthly co-ordination meetings with all the sub-contractors where they each reported progress. They stayed on track! And I travelled a lot to South East Asia and to Norway – that is always exciting.”

“To find myself working in a very small team of only 10 – 15 people was an amazing opportunity and really awe-inspiring. Fortunately most were highly-experienced engineers from whom I learnt a lot. I feel proud that such a small team managed the interfacing of this vast project on our own,” says Lundstrøm enthusiastically.


What is so attractive about this kind of engineering?
“You have to be a ‘big projects’ man says Per Aae Staunstrup. “Essentially the job is to make sure we get a proper result, on time and on budget. Part of the preparation is getting to understand and being able to read the client’s way of thinking. Trouble-shooting happens every single day so we simply have to make the best decision. The Operations people on board the Maersk Ngujima-Yin need to have a unit that runs smoothly, and will continue to do so for the next 15 to 30 years.”

“The exciting thing is that no project is ever the same. They all involve problem solving; perpetual adjustment: flexible thinking; alignment of expectations from all sides, and customer buy-in; good on-going relations with the client and subcontractors throughout the project’s life.”


What did we do well?
A vital factor and ever-present challenge was time. Time is money, of course, but time is critical – even more so with penalties drawn into the contracts. “We are quite proud that we were able to deliver the project almost on time. The market is heated and the oil prices were high, so we were under pressure. This was probably one of the tightest schedules we’ve ever had,” said Staunstrup. “We also had to manage sensitive environmental aspects.”


Why is the environment at the Vincent field so important?
The waters around the Northern Cape contain Western Australia’s main marine park – Ningaloo - nominated a world heritage site because of its pristine habitat. It is a mating ground for humpbacked whales and whale sharks, and provides nesting beaches for the sea grass turtle.


Exmouth and community credibility
This remote, regional community has a population of 2,300. Local businesses are based on marine and maritime industries, nature-based tourism, commercial and recreational fishing, aquaculture and scientific research. But the region, and the Vincent offshore exploration area, also has a 40,000 year old Aboriginal heritage. Maersk FPSOs and Woodside are committed to maintaining their long-standing and positive relationship with the North West Cape Exmouth Aboriginal Corporation and with the wider community. Their local objectives include a proactive approach to community programmes and protection of the environment, social and cultural values.


Strict monitoring systems in place
Niels Holger Olesen is Head of Mechanical Engineering with responsibility for Mechanical and Techincal Safety. He ensured that state-of-the-art technology and systems were purchased, and identified sub-contractors with the best competences. Technical and staff safety is vital, alongside compliance with international and Australian technical and environmental standards.

“The Ningaloo is an environmentally highly sensitive area and we knew from the outset what was required, so there were no surprises. We made numerous studies in order to calculate and control the amount of emission during production,” says Olesen.

He explains that emissions such as flaring, venting, use of ozone depleting substances and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur are closely monitored and controlled, as are discharges of produced formation water, spills, fluids and additives risk damage to the environment. Also, resource consumption of fuel, waste, chemicals and fresh water is carefully controlled. “We re-inject gas and produced water back into the reservoir below the ocean floor using high pressure pumps andwe keep CO₂ emission from flaring at a minimum,” says Olesen.

“Another interesting consideration is light and sound in the ocean. Light attracts the sea-turtles to the FPSO, so we have redirected all floodlighting of the vessel away from the sea. Noise assessments show an effect on ocean life, so from the outset we have made real efforts to purchase low-noise technology, to lag noise equipment, and to control human noise.”



“I have had 20 years working on offshore units but Maersk Ngujima-Yin was by far the biggest and I am pleased that we succeeded - nearly on time. Working through all phases of the project, from FEED to commissioning, provides a valuable overview of the entire process. It is a wonderful experience for young engineers, but you have to like big projects and have good project management competences.”


Commissioning and commencement
On 31 May 2007, after one month of deepwater trials and commissioning in Singapore, Maersk Ngujima-Yin departed for the Vincent field.

Now successfully in operation, Maersk Ngujima-Yin requires two offshore crews of 25 people and 12 onshore staff to operate. The FPSO can accommodate 80 people. She is today the largest FPSO in the Maersk fleet.