The consortium, comprising Technip and Heerema Marine Contractors (Heerema), was awarded a major lump-sum contract by Total E&P Angola for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation (EPCI) and pre-commissioning for the SURF (subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines) part of the Kaombo project, located in Block 32 offshore Angola in water depths up to 2,000 meters. The contract is valued at approximately USD 3.5 billion with a Technip share of around 55% and a Heerema share of around 45%.

This project falls within the Technip Heerema strategic alliance formed 15 months ago that offers comprehensive subsea solutions through a unique combination of complementary assets, technologies and capabilities. It provides the industry with a strong and experienced contractor to address the ultra-deepwater market.

The project’s scope of work consists of the engineering, procurement, fabrication, transport and installation of:- 18 rigid risers, of the Single Top Tension Riser (STTR) type, including large buoyancy tanks (~40m high, ~6m diameter), flexible top riser jumpers and riser base spools,- approximately 300 kilometers (km) of rigid pipe-in-pipe production and single pipe injection pipelines,- a large number of subsea structures, piles and steel jumpers.Besides, it covers the transport and installation of approximately 115km of client-supplied umbilicals, manifolds, well jumpers and flying leads.

The partners will leverage the complementarity of their respective field-proven technologies, thus optimizing the project execution:- Heerema’s scope will cover the riser systems, as well as the deeper and heavier pipe-in-pipe (18”/12”) production pipelines,- Technip’s scope will include flowlines, flexible pipe manufacturing and installation, umbilical installation, hook-up and pre-commissioning activities. The engineering work will start immediately in the Paris (France), Leiden (the Netherlands) and Luanda (Angola) centers with most of the offshore installation activities being scheduled for 2016 and 2017.

National content is of strategic importance to Technip and Heerema and their Angolan subsidiaries will bring their competencies and expertise to the project. Technip Angola Engenharia will provide engineering and project management services, while Angoflex will fabricate pipeline stalks and execute spooling services to the installation vessel. Heerema Porto Amboim will provide fabrication services for the subsea structures as well as double jointing of line pipe sections that later will be installed by the Deep Water Construction vessel Balder.

The flexible pipes will be manufactured at Technip's FlexiFrance facility in Le Trait (France). The fabrication of the rigid flowlines for reel lay will take place at Angoflex’s spoolbase in Barra do Dande (Angola).
Heerema intends to mobilize its Deep Water Construction vessel, the Balder, to install all STTRs and the pipe-in-pipe (18”/12”) production pipelines. Technip’s vessel, the Deep Blue, will install all the remaining pipelines. Other vessels from Technip's fleet will install the flexibles and umbilicals and provide construction work support. The project is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2018.

Thierry Pilenko, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Technip, declared: "This project is the largest subsea contract ever awarded to Technip and strengthens our position in the ultra-deepwater market. This award further reflects the confidence of major industry players, such as Total, in the Technip Heerema Alliance to address the significant challenges of ultra-deepwater projects. We are proud to bring an unrivaled complementarity of capabilities, while leveraging leading-edge technologies, R&D and assets. Furthermore, we are delighted to see that this award validates both companies’ commitment to developing facilities and workforce locally for the benefit of the Angolan energy infrastructure.”

Pieter Heerema, Chairman and Owner of Heerema Marine Contractors, declared: “To be awarded the largest SURF project in the industry to date as the first project for the Technip Heerema Alliance is a fantastic success. This award is a recognition that our clients appreciate the value of the Alliance in delivering safe, robust, competitive and unrivalled solutions for large and complex ultra-deepwater projects. Building on our reputations, we are convinced that we will bring this prestigious project to a successful end. Finally, we are very pleased that the award of the Kaombo project allows us to bring substantial work volumes to our Angolan fabrication and marine transportation companies.