Ichthys

In 2021, Heerema Marine Contractors was awarded the contract by INPEX for the transport and installation of the 4,500 metric ton Booster Compression Module (BCM), a vital component of the Ichthys LNG Phase 2 development. This upgrade was designed to extend the production plateau of the Ichthys Field, located in the Browse Basin, approximately 200 kilometers offshore Western Australia.

Transferring the BCM to Australia

Fast forward to mid-February 2025, following four years of meticulous preparation, the 4,529mT BCM, fabricated at the PTMI yard on Batam Island, Indonesia, was loaded onto the EOS4002 barge and towed to a transfer location in Malaysia. There, in mid-February 2025, the module was lifted onto the deck of our semi-submersible crane vessel, Sleipnir. During the transit to Australia, our teams closely monitored weather forecasts and wave buoy data to determine the optimal installation window, ensuring safe operations and minimizing downtime for the producing facility.

Executing offshore installation from one floating structure to another

Lifting a massive module onto a floating structure like the Central Processing Facility (CPF) is no ordinary task. The operation demanded pinpoint precision: the BCM had to be installed within a space offering only minimal clearances, requiring flawless alignment. Adding to the complexity, the CPF itself is a floating production facility, introducing dynamic variables that had to be carefully managed. Once the Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) confirmed CPF readiness, Sleipnir moved into position and executed the lift with millimeter-level accuracy. Thanks to Sleipnir’s impressive lifting capacity, the BCM was installed in a single lift, an approach that significantly reduced offshore hook-up time, limited platform shutdown duration, and lowered overall project risk.

Integrated project success

This achievement was made possible by the extensive preparation and simulation work carried out in Heerema’s in-house Simulation Center. The successful execution of such a complex lift on a floating facility, while keeping production downtime to an absolute minimum, underscores Heerema’s commitment to delivering safe, efficient, and forward-thinking offshore solutions.

About the Ichthys field

The Ichthys field is a natural gas field located in the Timor Sea, off the northwestern coast of Australia (water depth approximately 250 meters). The field consists of a central processing platform (CPF), floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility and a number of satellite drilling centers tied back to the CPF. The floating CPF is a permanently moored, semi-submersible offshore processing facility.