FSUE “Rosmorport” provides towing of the topside of the ice-resistant stationary platform for the Grayfer oil field
The FSUE “Rosmorport” services have provided towing of a large facility — the topside structure of the ice-resistant stationary platform for the V.I. Grayfer oil field. This is the largest facility among all similar facilities used in the construction of ice-resistant platforms at oil fields in the Northern Caspian that has ever been towed. The length of the topside structure of the ice-resistant stationary platform exceeds 78 m, the height is almost 80 m, and the weight exceeds 9 thousand tons.
The towage began on July 15, 2022 and was successfully completed on July 18. At the moment, the facility keeps moving towards the oil field. The platform was towed along the Volga-Caspian Seaway Canal through the water area of the seaports of Astrakhan and Olya, the total route length amounted 184 km.
7 tugboats and the transport assembly barge Yury Kuvykin were involved in towage of the facility. The navigation support during the operation was provided by the buoy vessels Lev Tretyakov and MZ-102, whereas the hydrographic support was provided by the survey motorboat Pyotr Bakanyov. Pilots of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Astrakhan Branch in cooperation with the Vessel Traffic System Astrakhan operators provided safe pilotage of the tow.
To provide towage, specialists of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Astrakhan Branch had previously carried out additional dredging operations at 136-137 km, 143-144 km, 155-160 km of the Volgo-Caspian Seaway Canal along the route of the towing caravan.
For reference:
The facilities for the development of the V.I. Grayfer oil field are located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. A complex of offshore ice-resistant stationary platforms, consisting of two platforms connected by a crossway connection, is located at the field.
The ice-resistant stationary platform consists of two structural elements: the thrust bearing and the topside structure. The platform is designed to carry out drilling operations and use the drilled wells at one time, including year-round production, collection and transportation of well products.
