Living on the edge

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The helideck was fabricated from aluminium in order to keep weight down to a minimum without comprimising on strength.

Accommodation quarters for the offshore oil and gas industry are in peak demand. Oil & Gas Middle East sees the latest offering from Specialist Services head out from Abu Dhabi.

From the generic aerial photographs of the vast offshore rigs and installations that work in all the world's oceans, it is easy to forget that each and every one is teeming with dozens, sometimes hundreds of workers onboard who keep production flowing.

The living quarters attached, or on stilts nearby, are vital and integral parts of the infrastructure, and when housing workers in such close proximity to hydrocarbon production facilities, safety is paramount.

With new offshore field developments springing up all over the world, drilling rigs and platforms are in record demand, and with it the associated accommodation units. Specialist Services is a UAE-based company dedicated to providing such housing and control room facilities for the oil and gas industry.

With operations split between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the company has been able to capitalise on its location, serving not only the region's booming offshore sector, but by also straddling strategic global shipping routes, enabling efficient export to key hydrocarbon markets.

For over 25 years the firm has grown from a core team of five employees, to number over 1,500 in 2008, and a client list that is as rich in Middle Eastern customers as with those from other regions.

Project focus

The company hit the headlines recently with the load out of a 700 tonne accommodation module for ConocoPhillips, destined for Indonesia's North Belut oil field. "The accommodation unit was fabricated in the Mussafah industrial park in Abu Dhabi in just 16 months and we are proud of the fact we loaded out in May on schedule, on budget and within strict weight guidelines," says Colin Forster, project director for Specialist Services.

The 58 man offshore living quarters project included the full engineering, procurement and construction phases for a unit that will eventually dock with the North Belut Central Processing Platform (CPP), under construction by J. Ray McDermott.

The North Belut CPP Platform is a complex integrated deck, weighing in at approximately 13,000 metric tonnes, and is being built at J. Ray's construction facility on Batam Island, Indonesia.

"Because the unit is being loaded directly onto a processing platform, stringent fire, weight, and safety standards were paramount for the accommodation structure and interior," explains Forster.

The external bulkheads of the unit had to be jet fire and hydrocarbon rated with blast doors and windows, to provide a protective barrier for those living and working within the module.

In order to keep the weight down a stressed skin structural design was implemented, and a combination of lightweight materials such as GRP bathroom modules, lightweight furniture, and an aluminium helideck.

The unit began its 5,000 mile journey to Batam at the end of May.

Industry watch

Living quarters on board offshore installations vary hugely in size, and in their internal environments.

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