The first deep-water jacket in Asia, "Haiji 2", has been installed and put into place at sea
On March 26, the first deepwater jacket in Asia, "Haiji No. 2", contracted by Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd., was successfully launched and accurately positioned in the waters of the the Pearl River Mouth Basin, breaking a number of Asian records in terms of operating depth, height, weight, etc., marking that China's key technology and installation capacity of deepwater super large jackets have reached the world-class level, which is of great strategic significance in promoting the increase of offshore oil and gas reserves and production, and ensuring national energy security.
The jacket platform is the most widely used offshore oil and gas production facility in the world, equivalent to a "foundation", used to support the massive body and tonnage of offshore oil and gas platforms. The total height of the "Haiji No.2" conduit is 338.5 meters, exceeding the height of the main building of Beijing International Trade Phase III, with a total weight of nearly 37000 tons. The amount of steel used is close to that of the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium, making it the tallest and heaviest conduit in Asia.
Due to the huge tonnage of "Haiji 2" exceeding the lifting capacity of the world's largest crane vessel, the offshore installation was carried out using sliding launching method.
This method utilizes the gravity of the jacket itself and is assisted by hydraulic jacks to smoothly slide the jacket into the sea from the barge. Then, through a combination of jacket water injection and crane assistance, it achieves accurate positioning and bottoming.
The offshore installation of ultra large deep-water jackets involves world-class engineering challenges such as complex design calculations, equipment technical capabilities, and construction under harsh sea conditions. The installation site of "Haiji 2" is located in the Liuhua Oilfield area, about 240 kilometers southeast of Shenzhen, with an applied water depth of about 324 meters. It is the first time in China that a fixed jacket has been installed in a sea area with a water depth exceeding 300 meters. The sea area is frequently affected by typhoons, strong winds, waves, and internal waves, and the installation technology is extremely difficult and the operation risk is extremely high.
To this end, the project team deployed the largest launch barge in Asia, "Offshore Oil 229", and the largest offshore oil and gas engineering lifting vessel in China, "Blue Whale 7500", to comprehensively enhance the ship's transportation and installation capabilities.
During the construction process, advanced positioning systems and precise positioning systems are used to continuously adjust the position and posture of the jacket, enabling precise positioning of the "Haiji 2" crossing 324 meters of seawater, and achieving international advanced installation accuracy.
In recent years, China has implemented nearly 50 large-scale jacket sliding launching operations, with a cumulative installation weight of 750000 tons. The construction scale, maximum weight, and total tonnage are all among the top in the world. Large construction equipment represented by "Offshore Oil 229" has been built, forming a complete set of installation technology systems from design calculation, simulation simulation, loading and transportation, sliding launching, to precise positioning, providing technical support for accelerating the development of deepwater oil and gas resources in China.
According to the homework plan, "Haiji No.2" will continue to carry out underwater pile driving and upper module installation. After completing offshore installation, it will be applied to China's first deep-water oilfield, "Liuhua 11-1/4-1-1 Oilfield," promoting the revitalization of the billion ton old oilfield.
It is understood that compared to the development mode of the entire underwater production system, the development and construction cost of fixed offshore platforms is lower. The successful launch of "Haiji 2" marks an important breakthrough in the construction capacity of China's ultra large fixed offshore platforms in deep water. In the development of deep-sea oil and gas resources at a depth of over 300 meters, it has the ability to choose different development modes according to actual situations.
