The

Lion

ROARS
proudly

True to its name gold lion in Vietnamese the Su Tu Vang project

epitomizes courage, strength, resilience and unwavering focus.

ocated in Mekong Basin, in 170 feet of water, the massive

Su Tu Vang Central Processing Platform (CPP) is slated to
become Vietnams largest source of crude oil over the next
three years with the capacity to process 100,000 barrels of
oil and 160 million cubic feet of gas per day.
It is also an excellent example of J. Rays strong project management and execution expertise. As a fully integrated EPCI project
from FEED and preliminary engineering to installation, hook-up
and commissioning it is comprised of a 4,400-ton, eight-leg jacket;
17,000-ton float-over topsides; 66-person, 1,323-ton living quarters
module; pipelines; umbilicals and PLEMs.
The project clearly demonstrates in-house capabilities to take on
large, challenging projects, and established a benchmark in the
industry for a project of this size and complexity.
Awarded to J. Ray in March 2006, the Su Tu Vang first steel-cutting ceremony took place at the Batam Island, Indonesia, facility on
September 28. Twenty-four months later, the project enabled First
Oil producing at an initial rate of 10,000 barrels per day ahead of
schedule. Another benefit to the customer related to the projects
EPCI status and single contractor was elimination of interface issues
and a smaller customer team required to oversee all aspects of work
at a central location.
Most importantly, the Su Tu Vang project is viewed as a major success by the customer, said Scott Cummins, J. Ray Vice President and
General Manager of Asia Pacific operations. We are proud of this
achievement and recognition of the value added through our EPCI
capabilities and project execution focus. We are also honored and
delighted that this is our second and most challenging project for
CuuLong Joint Operating Company (CLJOC) since the start of our
relationship in 2001.

22 J. Ray NEWS

Major achievements
Within just 22.5 months, the deck fabrication was completed, ready
to sail, 100 percent mechanically complete, commissioned onshore
and with no carry-over work. In addition, the Su Tu Vang project distinguished itself for a number of other achievements reflective of its
lion-like qualities.
It took courage, for instance, to agree to the customers request to
assemble a detailed engineering team in Singapore in just one month,
expanding a core team from J. Rays Jakarta office. And with more
than 80 percent of the engineering, procurement, project control and

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Su Tu Vang
Project Experience
Jacket load-out and installation
4,000 tons, 8 legs
4 conventional jacket roll ups
Unique design for vertical launch
Deck jack-up and load-out
17,000 tons
Jack-up to insert load-out support frame
4 strand jacks, 992-ton capacity each
Deck height gain: 26 feet
Distance pulled to quayside: 98 feet
Break-out friction: 4.5%
Pull distance to final position: 656 feet
42 portable submerged ballast pumps (capacity
of each: 35,315 ft3/hr) continually pumped
water to maintain constant level for 20 hours
Level within 1 inch despite a tidal
range of 10 feet
Float-over installation
I-650 vessel used; second largest
launch barge in the world
Rapid ballasting system triggered: 20
minutes for 100 percent topsides load

project management personnel being new hires, building teamwork

was a courageous endeavor.
Each new hire received an orientation package with details about
the project, schedule, targets and other information, explained
Anwar Ali, Su Tu Vang Senior Project Director. A break-down of the
project scope was provided to each discipline level and then to the
individual level. Team members were virtually integrated with the
customer at all levels and a seamless open-door policy was established to facilitate the ability to make decisions in the best interest of
the project and to guide, encourage and motivate team members.
Another bold move was adding construction of a 66-person, fourstorey, living quarters module to the work scope half-way through
the project.
We had to take this on, or jeopardize the whole project, as the
original subcontractor was falling behind schedule, Anwar added.
The strength of J. Rays project management and execution abilities
made other achievements possible. A project-centric focus allowed
the team to establish priorities and resource allocation, facilitating
construction and achieving 100 percent onshore commissioning.
Involvement of fabrication and operations personnel in constructability reviews during FEED, preliminary engineering and detailed
design resulted in a platform design that is optimum, well laid out,
and construction- and maintenance-friendly.
A post-award vendor management task force comprised of package engineers, quality engineers and expediting commissioning
personnel, ensured timely delivery of a majority of the packages
with minimum punch-list items. During the procurement stage, a
structured scope definition led to simplified site assembly of large
packages and minimized interface issues.
Key personnel from in-house marine and hook-up groups
were involved throughout the various phases of the project to
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transfer; 30 minutes to clear barge

10-point mooring system supplemented
with soft mating lines

J. Ray NEWS 23

Rain, rain,
go away!
Following local tradition, the
Batam Island, Indonesia facility
uses the services of a rain stopper on important occasions.
Efforts to stop, delay or divert
unwelcome rainfall represent
one of the oldest traditions in
Indonesian cultural practices. It
is the only natural occurrence
that such intervention is applied.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods,
strong winds and thunder are
considered predestined through
Mother Nature and unable to be
predicted, stopped or diverted.
The rain can be controlled,
however, by a unique ritual called Pawang Hujan.
Performed at a rain-free spot
where a function or activity
is being held, the ceremony
involves burning incense and a
plate of fire to produce smoke
that on rising is believed to push
clouds away and make the rain
fall elsewhere or to actually stop
until after the rain-stopping ritual ends.
A recent example at Batam
Island was on the 2 p.m. scheduled celebration of the Su Tu
Vang sail away. Torrential rain at
10 a.m. that day prompted the
services of a rain stopper, who
announced at noon that the rain
would stop at 1:30 p.m. It did,
and then started again at 4 p.m.
Ive seen it happen like that
many times, said Anwar Ali, Su
Tu Vang Senior Project Director.

24 J. Ray NEWS

expeditiously address interface issues. Similarly,

commissioning and customer operations personnel were integrated into the project team. Their
continuous involvement in vendor data review and
participation in factory acceptance testing (FAT)
eliminated bottlenecks during system hand-over,
onshore commissioning and testing prior to load
out of the deck.
As a result, the project experience strengthened
J. Rays relationship with the customer and its reputation in the wider market.
Resilience also came into play on a number of
occasions. The unique geometry of the Su Tu Vang
jacket large, almost cuboid combined with a
water depth of 170 feet at the proposed installation
site posed a host of design, fabrication and installation challenges.
First, the planned dimensions of the jacket, dictated by the float-over methodology, topsides
layout requirements and water depth at installation
site, precluded the traditional horizontal load out
and launch.
Secondly, as the jacket was to be installed over
an existing 12-slot conductor template, it was
preferable that it self-upend and float with sufficient clearance from the seabed. A vertical launch
was developed, but with constraints on the jacket
weight and launch barge geometry.
While many smaller jackets have been built vertically at Batam Island in previous years, the sheer
size and complexity of the Su Tu Vang CPP was
uniquely challenging.
Build height of the topsides took into account
the height and space requirement for the installation of the jacking assembly, eliminating the need
for any late modification to the framing facilities
prior to jack up. The sub-cellar deck framing was
designed in a way that allowed jacking columns
to be inserted without any interference. This minimized installation work subsequent to the jacking
operation and enabled the complete sub-cellar
deck assembly to be inserted prior to jacking.

Lessons learned
As prescribed in the project life cycle, Su Tu Vang
included a comprehensive review and implementation of lessons learned from the 2007 Arthit
project, which was the first use of Intermac 650
(I-650) for float-over installation, to carry out the
operation smoothly and efficiently.

From these lessons learned, I-650 was further

modified to adapt the barge for float-over operations. The layout was improved to optimize the use
of space on the barges deck, coiled polyrope mats
were added to prevent paint damage to the jacket
legs, and a new tank-gauging system and display
were installed at control rooms. Another major
change was a more robust mooring system that
allowed crews to essentially walk I-650 to the Su
Tu Vang jacket for float over.
As a result of incorporating Arthits lessons
learned, the Su Tu Vang float over was picture perfect, according to Anwar.
Thus taming the golden lion, these achievements
highlight the team work, dedication and ingenuity required to ensure a successful, safe and speedy
completion of a major project. They also illustrate
and validate the significant synergies that are possible with early planning, design inputs and proper
coordination among all parties.

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Integrated services, worldwide

Morgan City, Louisiana
Houston, Texas

New Orleans, Louisiana

As an EPCI company, we not only provide

comprehensive services from concept

to commissioning but offer the resource
commitment, contracting strategy and mature
project management systems to execute on
the most complex, fastest track projects.

Map Key
Engineering
Procurement
Construction
Installation

Arthit/Gulf of Thailand
This major project included the largest topsides 18,700 tons ever built in Asia Pacific; 5,400-ton,
90-inch diameter, eight-leg jacket and associated infrastructure; and innovative engineering of transport and rapid-ballast float-over installation hardware. Despite a demanding schedule and conditions,
seamless integration of J. Rays worldwide capabilities ensured schedule certainty.
Engineering: Houston/New Orleans/Singapore Float-over engineering design, testing and
conversion of Intermac 650 transport and float-over installation barge Batam Island Indonesia
Construction engineering for topsides Dubai, UAE Installation engineering support
Procurement: Asia Pacific region
Construction: Batam Island, Indonesia Topsides and jacket
Installation: Asia Pacific fleet Jacket Intermac 650 Topsides float over

Poinsettia/Northwest Coast of Trinidad

J. Ray undertook this fast-track EPCI field development project from FEED to installation under a consortium with Fluor. Facilities include a 9,100-ton jacket, 4,658 tons of piles and a 4,267-ton topsides.
Engineering: Houston, Texas FEED and detailed design of jacket
Procurement: Houston, Texas Jacket and piles
Construction: Morgan City, Louisiana Jacket and piles
Installation: Gulf of Mexico fleet jacket and topsides

26 J. Ray NEWS

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e resources

Dubai, UAE
Singapore
Jakarta, Indonesia

Batam, Indonesia

Reliance/Offshore India
J. Ray completed this fast-track EPCI project in 18 months, mobilizing worldwide resources to meet
the challenging deadline on a 19,842-ton control and riser platform.
Engineering: Houston, Texas Major engineering services Dubai, UAE Construction and installation engineering support
Procurement: Houston, Texas Dubai, UAE Morgan City, Louisiana
Construction: Morgan City, Louisiana Jacket Dubai, UAE Topsides, living quarters modules,
piles and boat landing
Installation: Asia Pacific fleets DB101 construction vessel

Su Tu Vang/Mekong Basin, Vietnam

J. Rays regional Asia Pacific resources completed this challenging EPCI project, setting an industry
benchmark for the 17,000-ton float-over deck from FEED to First Oil.
Engineering: Jakarta, Indonesia FEED and preliminary engineering Singapore Design and
detailed engineering for topsides and jacket Dubai, UAE Installation engineering support
Houston, Texas Float-over engineering and model testing
Procurement: Asia Pacific region
Construction: Batam Island, Indonesia Topsides and jacket
Installation: Asia Pacific fleet Pipelines, cables, PLEMs and jacket Intermac 650 Topsides float over

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J. Ray NEWS 27