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After
21 months of construction, China's Deep-Water No.1 semi-submersible production
and storage platform is finally on its way to where it'll serve the country's
first deep water gas field in the South China Sea.
The
gas field, which is called the Lingshui 17-2, is 150 kilometers away from the
city of Sanya in Hainan Province and lies at a depth of 1500 meters. Both these
facts pose new challenges and uncertainties.
General
Director of the project You Xuegang said special designs have been used to help
the platform better adapt to the environment.
YOU
XUEGANG General Director, Lingshui 17-2 Project "These four pillars as you
can see are used for oil storage. This is the first of its kind in the world.
It can store a maximum of 20-thousand cubic meters of oil for 10 days, allowing
extra time for delivery vessel to carry the oil back on land 1500 km
away."
The
platform is also designed to resist oxidation and the toughest typhoon, and
should be able to work in the field for at least 30 years without needing to
return to dry dock.
CAO
BING Yantai, Shandong Province "This platform weighs in at an impressive
50-thousand tonnes. So building it was obviously not an easy task, especially
given the challenges such as a severe cold snap, limited time and the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic. But none of those were allowed to get in the way of
completing the project and meeting all important quality standards."
LI
JUN Project Manager, China Classification Society "The China
Classification Society carried out a strict quality checking process for the
project. Let's take this weld for example, it is a full 600 km in length, and
we checked all of it centimeter by centimeter and it's all very well done. Only
in this way can we achieve smooth operation of the project."
It'll
take a month long voyage for the platform to arrive in Hainan. It's expected to
begin operation in June, to provide 3 billion cubic meters of gas for
households in South Hainan Province and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater
Bay Area.
YOU
XUEGANG General Director, Lingshui 17-2 Project "This project is a test
for our design level, our shipbuilding level, as well as deep water project
management."
You
says despite difficulties and challenges ahead, there is no doubt that China
has taken a solid first step towards deep-water oil exploration.
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