Oilfield Logistics Kazakhstan
Operations manager - Oilfield Logistics
The client was a major oil producer with a dead line. The Caspian is frozen over from September and often too shallow for boats during the short summer months so to ensure dead lines were met hovercraft were the solution to logistics during the construction phase.
"Manta" works with a helicopter on the north east shore ( Atyrau & Tengiz)
This hovercraft was converted to carry oil spill quipment, a 20ft container or mobile diesel tank to the drilling platforms. With the top & seats refitted ( 30 minutes work ) "Manta" became a crew change vessel rotating rig workers every 12 hours
"Manta"delivering diesel over a thawing Caspian sea.
The 2nd hovercraft "Idun Viking" was enabled for crew changes and / or evacuation response in the event of an emergency. Above shows "Courier" in September snow. Later than September it was too cold to snow with regualr temperatures of -30 but we did record -40 offshore and that creates problems of diesel and propeller blades icing up. Many modifications were made in preparation for this sub zero project.
On shore at 5am with the sun rising over an oil field at Tengiz Kazkhstan
The preparation of the two hovercraft was done in Belgium where I headed a team of engineers refurbishing and making modifications to suit the sub zero conditions. "Manta" had a demountable crane fitted to deploy oil spill equipment and quickly convetted back into a passenger carrier.
Daily field logistics were mostly to plan but to be fully effective for emergency response we located one hovercraft on a converted barge part way between the two drilling platforms and the crews did 12 hour standby shifts from the barge 25 miles offshore. The barge ( floating landing platform ) was equipped with routine maintenace facilities, shift facilities for the crew, fresh and waste water tanks, statelite communications and and 220v power.
Tengiz oil field 7AM
"Idun Viking " gliding over a frozen sea at speed
Engineer taking a nap on board Manta.
The roof and seats are fitted ready for for crew changes but the crane is also ready for deploying oil spill response equipment or loading cargo. It takes a 30 minutesto remove the roof ready for a container to be loaded.
