Torpedo anchors as oil gets deeper
Rolls-Royce has secured a £ 38 million contract to supply a newly developed anchor handling system that will enable floating oil platforms to be secured to the seabed in the extreme depths off the coast of Brazil.
The system has been developed in response to the increase in deep water oil exploration and will be fitted to two vessels serving platforms owned by Brazilian oil company Petrobas.
The vessels are currently under construction by STX Brasil Offshore and each one will carry more than 1,000 tons of Rolls-Royce equipment, including winches specially designed for the manoeuvre and installation of torpedo anchors.
Weighing in at 130 tons each, the torpedo anchors have been developed by Petrobras. By penetrating the seabed, they give a secure fixing for the heavy duty cables used to keep oil platforms in position.
The powerful Rolls-Royce winches are each capable of handling anchors down to depths of 3,000m equivalent to more than four times the height of Rio’s Corcovado mountain.
Ottar Antonsen, Rolls-Royce sales manager for deck machinery said, ‘We have been part of the Brazilian offshore market for over 25 years, and this latest contract demonstrates customer confidence in the capabilities of our equipment. As oil and gas exploration focuses on more extreme locations around the world, we’ve responded by leading the technological developments that will enable oil companies to extract oil in the most challenging of seabed conditions.
When complete, each vessel will feature a deck machinery package and equipment designed to enhance safety of operations at sea. In addition to winches, Rolls-Royce will supply anchor handling cranes, stern rollers, towing and stopping pins, and a pennant winder and spooling sheave. Rolls-Royce also supplies Petrobas with power generation and compressor systems.
