The objective of Technip’s Research and Development activities is to anticipate future client needs and to improve the Group’s competitiveness. The Group draws up development and engineering programs in advanced technical domains related to oil and gas production and transformation, in particular deep offshore activities.
 

The TPG 500 is a proprietary technology for a self-installing fixed platform. It is constructed, equipped and tested onshore and then towed to site. Once on site, the platform’s legs are jacked down to the seabed up to 500 feet below the surface (suitable for many North Sea fields) and the hull is subsequently raised into its final position. Although the TPG 500 is a fixed and not floating structure, the installation can be reversed and the platform re-installed at a new site.

 
 

Spar platforms
The Spar is a drilling and production platform suitable for deepwater environments.
In May 2005, Technip and Kerr-McGee received the prestigious Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) award in Houston. The Distinguished Achievement Award rewards the partnership developed between Technip and Kerr-McGee for the development of three generations of Spar platforms for the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

EDP : a semi-submersible floating unit
The EDP (Extendable Draft Platform) is a new concept in easily installed, high capacity, deep-draft, semi-submersible platforms designed for deep waters or the harsh environments of the North Sea. Wellheads can be placed on the surface. The seabed-to-surface liaisons developed for the Spar platform are directly applicable to this concept. This type of platform is designed for use in West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, in the North Sea, in the Asia Pacific region or in Brazil. This new technology allows the onshore construction, assembly and preliminary commissioning of the platform and deck, thus minimizing the use of a crane barge at sea.

 
 
Thanks to the vast technological expertise of its engineers and highly skilled technicians, Technip develops its own technologies, designs and builds its own products and associated equipment for shallow or deepwater applications.

  • With the Unideck® technology engineered for the installation of topsides by floatover and hydraulic jacking, platform decks are completely assembled and tested onshore, thus reducing hook-up and commissioning operations at sea. The Unideck® technology is entirely reversible during installation and is particularly well suited to the African long swell.
  • In November 2006, Technip successfully completed the world’s first open sea catamaran floatover topsides installation on the first-ever Spar outside the Gulf of Mexico, in the deepwater field of Kikeh, offshore Malaysia. The catamaran concept is based on 2 barges, with the topsides resting on top. The catamaran is centered above the submerged Spar hull which is anchored at its final production site. The Spar hull is ballasted, then deballasted as fast as possible. The hull can lift the deck up and separate the topsides from the catamaran barges.
    Advantages of this installation method are several. It allows a high proportion of the hook-up and pre-commissioning work to be completed onshore prior to load-out, significantly reducing both the duration and cost of the offshore commissioning phase. The significance of Technip’s success of this world first operation is that the technique can also be used for future large deck integrations well beyond lifting contractors’ capacities.
  • The Floatover High Air Gap (FOHAG) concept is derived from the Unideck® and TPG 500 technologies. It allows deck floatover installation where a higher air gap is required, ie. when platforms are exposed to large wave amplitudes (Canada, Sakhalin island) or cyclonic conditions like in South East Asia. During installation, the deck is elevated well above the air gap, it is positioned above the jacket and lowered down in place.