Intecsea is supporting VAALCO Energy in the operations and maintenance phase of their ETAME facilities in the shallow waters off the coast of Gabon. We are managing a subsea repair campaign for the corrosion protection system, have carried out risk-based integrity assessment, developed a pipeline integrity management system (PIMS), and are engineering an overall field development plan to ensure continued production from this project for the foreseeable future.
The challenge
VAALCO’s facilities are showing significant signs of ageing and need attention. However, the client’s engineering team is quite small, so they have reached out to Intecsea to help them maintain a safe and profitable operation. The ETAME complex is VAALCO’s sole asset, further increasing the importance of integrity management and minimizing production downtime.
Our approach
Intecsea utilized our extensive offshore construction management experience to develop the most effective and cost-conscious subsea repair campaign. In addition, we have carried out risk-based integrity assessments for rigid and flexible pipeline networks, reviewed and analysed ROV and ILI data to allow fitness for purpose assessment to be carried out that considers corrosion degradation and free-span assessment. We have developed a PIMS methodology to improve operational performance, increase health, safety and environmental performance, and maximize the economic return from the facility by optimizing the production availability and limiting unplanned outages. The plan defines specific roles and responsibilities, competency requirements of people, and effective emergency response requirements. It also defines the integrity management process that shall be implemented to perform effective hazard identification and risk assessment, establish the physical condition of the pipelines, and implement the required mitigation and repair activities to achieve safe and efficient pipeline operations.
With respect to the overall field development plan, Intecsea is taking a very structured and multi-disciplinary approach, working directly with VAALCO to identify and evaluate potential development scenarios and recommend a way forward to maximize value for all stakeholders, including VAALCO’s partners and the government and people of Gabon.
