Swift service by hydraulic specialists working with WA engineering company AME has helped make possible the rapid fabrication and testing of a versatile tilt table for the Pyrenees off-shore oil and gas project.
Enerpac territory manager — Western Australia Andrew Marsh worked with AME to facilitate the rapid delivery of nine 9-tonne double-acting hydraulic cylinders ordered through Enerpac distributor Cooper Fluid Systems.
AME was required to work to a tight deadline to design, fabricate, test and supply the Cameron Vertical Connector (CVC) tilt table for seabed-to-surface contractor Acergy.
Just 10 days were available for provision of the cylinders and associated componentry, drawing on both Enerpac’s Australian resources and complementary equipment that had to be sourced from the United States.
AME beat the deadline and the CVC tilt table was successfully function-tested at the company’s Perth workshop prior to sea trialling aboard Acergy’s construction vessel Toisa Proteus working on the Pyrenees project.
The CVC tilt table is an installation facility that positions the CVC gooseneck to fit with the umbilical or riser coming from the sea bed. Hydraulic lifting is used because it allows fine, precise adjustments of the gooseneck along the three dimensions of port-starboard, forward-aft and up-down.
“The workshop testing, witnessed by our client Acergy, went well,” said AME project engineer, Gus Pugliese.
“Enerpac gave us very good service. Their WA Territory Manager Andrew Marsh was in my office by that afternoon, because we needed the cylinders and componentry to a tight deadline, which Enerpac were able to meet. Having Andrew’s direct involvement at the beginning made all the difference.”
Andrew Marsh said his company was delighted to assist AME and Cooper Fluid Systems by mobilising Enerpac’s local and global resources to get the technology delivered.
“We are always there to support our distributor and their customer, because that’s how you build relationships — performing when the pressure is on,” he said.
The Enerpac 9-ton RD-910 double-acting hydraulic cylinders that were used to activate the CVC tilt table have a capacity of 80 kN @ 700 bar, a 257 mm stroke, a collapsed height of 452 mm and weight of 7.3 kg.
The cylinders were powered by an Enerpac ZU4408ME hydraulic electric pump that runs off the 240 volt mains with an operating pressure of 700 bar.
Various flow components were also provided, including couplers, valves, manifolds, hoses and gauges.
High-strength alloy steel cylinders are part of Enerpac’s extensive range of safety-oriented, energy saving and labour-saving technologies, including lifting, pumping, fastening and maintenance tools.
The company has a solution for virtually any application in most industrial and commercial work environments. It offers hundreds of different configuration of cylinders and lifting systems, plus products ranging from jacks and lifting bags, for portability and tight fits, to engineered systems for precise control over multiple lift points.
Pyrenees is a joint venture between BHP Billiton and United States oil producer Apache Corporation that is expected to produce about 96,000 barrels of oil per day over a 25 year period.
Enerpac is a local supplier of high-pressure (700 bar) hydraulic equipment for industry, including mining and energy, infrastructure construction, manufacturing, pipelines, mobile machinery, tracked and heavy vehicles, cranage and fixed plant.