Operator GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd (38.75%) and partners Centrica (48.75%) and Bayerngas (12.5%) were on site to witness the Alpha wellhead platform begin its 123 nautical mile journey to site. It is the first of four platforms for Cygnus, the largest gas discovery in the Southern North Sea in the last 25 years.
The topsides weigh 1,640 tonnes, and at 23 x 23 x 10 metres in size, have taken approximately 16 months to build from the first steel cutting ceremony held in December 2012. In August 2012, GDF SUEZ E&P UK placed a frame contract with Heerema Fabrication Group’s Hartlepool yard for the construction of three topsides, a compression module, two bridges and a flare tower for the four offshore platforms for the Cygnus field.
The compression module as well as the 4,000 tonne process and utilities topside for the Alpha platform are also currently under construction at Heerema, as well as the 3,500 tonne wellhead topsides for the Bravo platform, both with scheduled delivery of April 2015.
Vantrunk as a sub-supplier to MacLean Electrical were awarded a major contract to supply their world renowned Speedway Cable Ladder system to the GDF SUEZ E&P UK operated Cygnus Gas Project.