The Alba B3 compression platform has left from Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG) in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, for its final destination in Equatorial Guinea.
The Alba project is managed by HFG as main contractor and the EPC scope was jointly executed with Iv-Oil & Gas (Iv). In addition to the EPC, HFG was also awarded the contract for the installation, commissioning and hook-up.
Alba B3 Platform
In March 2014 the construction of the Alba B3 platform for operator Marathon E.G. Production Limited (MEGPL) started and was executed at multiple sites across the world. Iv carried out the engineering work at Iv’s head office in Papendrecht, the Netherlands, as well as in Houston, USA.
The 5800-tonne topside, built at HFG’s Zwijndrecht yard, will compress the gas from the existing Alba field to the processing facilities on Bioko Island. The topside measures 40 x 40 metres and 35 metres in height. The jacket was constructed in Vlissingen, weighing 2600 tonnes and with a height of 91 metres. The 33-metre-long bridge to connect the Alba B3 platform to the existing Alba B2 platform, and the 73-metre-tall flare were built by the local subcontractor ECG in Malabo.
The barge carrying the Alba B3 topside, jacket and pile sleeves will meet Heerema Marine Contractors’ crane vessel Thialf early next year at its final offshore destination in the Gulf of Guinea.
Alba Field
The Alba B3 compression platform is destined for the Alba gas and condensate field. This is located approximately 32 kilometres offshore from the capital Malabo, located on the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea. MEGPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation operates the Alba Field on behalf of itself and working interest partners Samedan of North Africa, LLC a wholly owned subsidiary of Noble Energy, Inc. and Compania Nacional de Petroleos de Guinea Ecuatorial.
Picture: Sail away of the Alba B3 topside and jacket from Heerema Vlissingen.
