(LAFAYETTE, LA) February 28, 2011 -- Frank’s Casing Crew & Rental Tools,
Inc. has been awarded a contract by Shell Exploration & Production Company
to fabricate tendons for the Olympus (Mars B) Tension Leg Platform project in
the Gulf of Mexico.
The Olympus Tension Leg Platform will
be Shell’s newest deepwater platform, located at Mississippi Canyon Block 807
in approximately 3,000 ft. of water 95 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The tendons fabricated by Frank’s will be critical components, holding the TLP
in place by connecting its hull to piles driven on the bottom of the sea floor.
These tendons, at 290 ft. long and 170,000 lbs. each, will be among the largest
tendons built by any company. The Olympus TLP has sixteen tendons total – four
at each corner of the platform.
The scope of the contract awarded to Frank’s includes fabrication of 184
individual tendon segments. Qualification of welding procedures and fatigue
testing is also in Frank’s scope of work.
The Deepwater Fabrication Department at
Frank’s will manage this project.
Fabrication of tendons will take place at Frank’s New Iberia deepwater
fabrication facility, which, among other capabilities, has a hex joint rack
capable of fabricating pipes from 8 5/8” to 48” in diameter up to 300 ft. in
length. This facility also has a
450 ft. long bulkhead designed for heavy lifts of long pipe sections directly
onto barges after fabrication. Qualification of procedures on this project is
expected to begin in Q2 of 2011.
Frank’s
Casing Crew & Rental Tools, Inc. is a leading provider of equipment and
personnel for installing, threading, welding, driving and distributing oilfield
tubulars. Established in 1938 by
Mr. Frank Mosing as a one-crew casing company, Frank’s now employs over 1,000
people and remains family-owned to this day.
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