Tullow Oil  has  contracted offshore installation giant, Sea Trucks Groups,  to provide accommodation and heavy-lift services to the turret-moored FPSO Kwame Nkrumah, which operates in the Jubilee Fields of Ghana.

The move by the lead operator of the Jubilee Field is to provide the best long-term solution to the operations of the FPSO kwame Nkrumah which is expected to be shut down early next year.

The  Jascon 28, a DP-3 hookup vessel to provided by  Sea Trucks  Groups is to provide accommodation for up to 120 company pax, and also includes the heavy lift of two 50 Ton fair lead chain stopper foundation block structures, a 34 Ton mooring pull-in winch and other smaller lifts.

"Speaking about the contract, Managing Director of  Sea Trucks Group’s Graeme Pennycook, said : We are delighted that, in the present difficult market, Sea Trucks has been awarded this significant contract.

"This award demonstrates our ability to offer clients a tailored project solution based around the clients requirement and the unique multi-purpose utilisation of our DP3 assets.

This is our first contract award from Tullow; we look forward to demonstrating our strong project management and operational capabilities with them in what we hope will be the start of a long working relationship between the two companies.”

Offshore activities are expected to start during the current quarter and last two months, with options to extend by up to 30 days.

download-1

The JASCON 28 is currently on its way to Takoradi for work to begin.

In March 2016,  Tullow confirmed the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah’s Turret Bearing was damaged, and was shut down on March 20, 2016 for a two-week planned routine maintenance but production was stalled as a result of damage to the turret bearing of the vessel.

Due to the damage to the main bearings that anchor the FPSO and help it to rotate, two tug boats have since been used to hold the vessel in control to ensure continuous oil production.
The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah MV21 ,which is installed in approximately 1,100 meters water depth on the Jubilee Field, will be shut down again for between 8 to 12 weeks from February 2017 to allow repair works to be carried on  the defected turret.

By Fiifi Abdul-Malik/ghanaguardian.com