Delivering the equipment - and the knowledge - needed to tackle an offshore challenge

A premier multinational EPC (engineering, procurement and construction company) for the oil & gas industry, McDermott was hired to rebuild and repair the Abkatun Alfa oil rig after an April 2015 explosion left it badly damaged and out of comission. Owned by Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, the rig is located far off the Mexican coast in the Gulf of Mexico, creating significant logistical and financial hurdles to liquid N2 delivery. Not only were the costs of getting liquid N2 to the rig very high, but severe weather could halt deliveries altogether — creating the potential for work interruptions until storms passed and deliveries could be made.

When Carlos Mezza, Atlas Copco Rental Mexico’s South Region Sales Manager, offered McDermott a solution that would allow for on-site nitrogen generation on the rig, the initial answer was no. While the proposed solution — the NGM 1100 nitrogen generator — could meet the 1,000 PSI pressure and the 1,000 CFM flow requirements needed for the work being done on the rig, the client had been using 99.9% pure nitrogen for the repair/rebuild work on board, and wanted to maintain this extremely high level of purity. Because the NGM1100 produces nitrogen at approximately 95% purity, the client didn’t think it would fit the bill.

To facilitate the desired on-site nitrogen generation on the Abkatun Alfa, we delivered the proposed NGM 1100, along with a pair of

To facilitate the desired on-site nitrogen generation on the Abkatun Alfa, we delivered the proposed NGM 1100, along with a pair of

To facilitate the desired on-site nitrogen generation on the Abkatun Alfa, we delivered the proposed NGM 1100, along with a pair of

To facilitate the desired on-site nitrogen generation on the Abkatun Alfa, we delivered the proposed NGM 1100, along with a pair of PNS 1250 oil-free, diesel-driven air compressors and a B7-41 booster. Further, an on-site operator was made available 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that things ran smoothly. The results, after McDermott employed the proposed solution to produce on-site nitrogen on the rig for 10 months:

• Saved client money by eliminating the high costs of delivering liquid N2 to the rig
• Avoided the risk of interruptions in N2 availability due to severe weather — and the subsequent risk of work stoppages

When the client needed high-quality equipment and experience-derived know-how to tackle a tough job, we delivered big to the rig — on both counts.