Rig Repowered At Houston Ship Repair

In a joint effort between Wartsila NSD and Houston Ship Repair, an innovative rig was repowered in the U.S. Gulf comprised of the installation of new gensets on Transocean Sedco Forex's semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Amirante. The upgraded semi, which is now equipped with more than 8 MW generation capacity — is poised to meet future offshore challenges.

The joint-venture, which was spawned in 1998, was designed to meet the specific needs of the owner.

Work entailed schedule flexibility, as well as the possibility of quayside or offshore installation. The project began with a joint onboard survey, followed by meetings with Transocean, Wartsila NSD and HSR to determine responsibilities and detailed planning for a successful project.

The vessel's existing units were replaced with four Wartsila 12V200 generator sets, rated at 2,100 bKW at 1,200-rpm. "We find these units are extremely popular due to the excellent load response, low capital cost and capability of working within the footprint of most all existing rig power systems, thereby minimizing the expense for repower," says Bob Kimmons, regional manager for Wartsila NSD.

Performing the majority of the yard work at Mobile, Ala., Houston Ship Repair also completed all necessary engineering as well as mechanical and electrical engineering of auxiliary systems.

So that rig downtime was kept to a minimum, installation was completed in three phases, the first two consisting of the change out of exhaust pipes and silencers, in addition to the upgrading of electrical componenents, specifically transformers. Consisting of five weeks, the third phase that began during late 1999 involved removing the old units; redundant piping and equipment; performing suitable foundation modifications; installing new common bases engines and alternators; and installing new equipment and piping. New power cables were also implemented, as were control cables, AVRs, control systems, digital governors and rewiring of some existing electrical and controls systems.

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Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 41, Apr 2000

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