VESSEL REFIT | Recai Yi – Chinese oil testing jackup rebuilt for steam injection work
China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai) has completed conversion work on an offshore testing and production platform operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to enable it to be operated as a steam injection vessel in support of heavy oil extraction.
Haiyang Shiyou 162 (“Offshore Oil 162”) has now been rebuilt and will sail under the name Recai Yi (热采一号; “Thermal Recovery No 1”), thus reflecting its new role. The platform will be used to inject steam to be used in the extraction of heavy oil from offshore sites.
As heavy oil is a relatively viscous and therefore poorly liquidated form of crude oil, its extraction from offshore oil wells requires the use of specialised equipment that can discharge a significant volume of steam at high pressure and high temperatures. In the case of Recai Yi, it was rebuilt to be able to quickly inject high-pressure steam with a temperature of more than 350 degrees Celsius into six oil wells at the same time. The viscosity of heavy oil is reduced, thus turning it into a "thinner” oil with the ideal fluidity to make it easier to extract.
Designed for operating even in harsh environments
The vessel has an LOA of 82 metres (270 feet), a beam of 42 metres (140 feet), a maximum displacement of 10,000 tonnes, and a two-story deck with a total area of 3,000 square metres (32,000 square feet). The original equipment for oil testing, treatment, separation and storage have been removed and replaced by three boilers that will be used to generate the high-pressure steam needed for heavy oil extraction.
The platform is non-self-propelled and therefore relies on tugs to facilitate transport to and from offshore areas. It can be operated in water depths of as much as 35 metres (110 feet) even under typhoon conditions, as it has retained its four original 73-metre (240-foot) piling legs that will allow the platform’s height to be adjusted as necessary. Other newly incorporated features include a seawater treatment plant and a nitrogen production system.
Retaining the vessel's earlier proven systems
The platform has also retained its original lifting system as well as both main and emergency generators. The existing 46 crew cabins have meanwhile been upgraded, and the upper deck and the main stern deck were rebuilt to enhance structural integrity.
The conversion work on Recai Yi was completed in compliance with China Classification Society rules. The platform will be deployed primarily in the Bohai Sea, which contains a significant portion of China’s offshore deposits of heavy oil.
