Technip has awarded Conductor Installation Services Ltd. (CIS), an Acteon company that provides hammer services to install conductors and drive piles, a contract to drive piles to stabilize two subsea structures and to initiate three rigid pipelines that Technip is installing. CIS will use its new CIS Subsea Piling System on the job is scheduled for mid-2014.

The contract requires CIS to drive three 30-in. initiation anchor piles, four 30-in. manifold anchor piles, and four 24-in. pipe line end manifold (PLEM) anchor piles on the Bøyla Development project in Norwegian waters.  Unveiled in November 2013, the remotely operated Subsea Piling System allows CIS to drive piles as large as 36 in. in diameter, in water depths to 300 m.

The new Subsea Piling System features self-tensioning hydraulic winches to lower and raise the hydraulic hoses and electrical cables connected to the hammer. While conventional systems rely on manual winches, the constant-tensioning capability of this new system means that winches automatically heave and lower according to sea conditions.  

The entire piling process for Technip in Norway will be carried out by an engineer from a control unit and a monitoring system located onboard a vessel. A hydraulic hammer, connected via an electronic umbilical cable to the control system, will be lowered into the water and placed directly over the subsea pile. Once it is positioned, the pile will be driven into the seabed by the hammer until it reaches its target depth.