In February 2014, Nautec was appointed by Dry Docks World Dubai to undertake the planning, preparation and pumping of NaX® UHPC grout into 10 towing point elbow joints. These elbow joints were later mounted onto a large subsea oil storage facility, destined for Premier Oil’s Solan Field Development in the UK.

The Client

Nautec was appointed by Dry Docks World Dubai to undertake the planning, preparation and grouting works for Premier Oil’s Solan Field Development in the UK. The Solan field is located in the British North Sea, West of the Shetland Islands (block 205/26a), at a water depth of approximately 135 meters. Premier Oil is the developer of the Solan Field.

The Scope

Premier Oil’s subsea oil storage facility has approximate dimensions of 45 x 45 x 25 meters and was constructed at Drydocks World Facility. In order to provide the structure with the necessary stiffness Nautec provided Infill grouting services for 10 towing point elbow joints, which were later mounted onto the oil storage facility.

The Challenges

Providing the said structure with sufficient stiffness through engineering and grouting works using NaX® Q140, which is a DNV certified ultra-high strength grout, specially designed for offshore structural usage and developed and manufactured by Nautec.

The Services

10 elbow joints were delivered to Nautec’s designated yard in Sharjah, Dubai and put in racks in preparation for the onshore anchor point grouting. All the elbows were arranged and secured in vertical position for the grouting purposes. 2” male Cam locks were installed onto the inlet holes of each of the elbow joints and the grout hoses were connected and secured onto these prior to the grouting operation. The grouting of the 10 elbow joints was successfully completed within 2 days and UHPC test cubes were cast and shipped to Singapore, where they underwent thorough compression tests in an accredited third party lab.

Client Benefit

Atkins, the engineering consultants, advised that the 10 towing point elbow joints should be infill grouted with NaX® Q140, which is a DNV certified ultra-high strength grout, specially designed for offshore structural usage and developed and manufactured by Nautec. This would provide the structure with the necessary stiffness. The team successfully infilled NaX® Q140 grout materials into all elbow joints.

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