Hibernia Platform Built
On Firm Basis of Teamwork
by Neil Windsor, P.Eng.
I recently had the pleasure of sharing the company of two
members of APEGGA's Executive Committee - President Dennis Lindberg, P.Eng.,
and Past President Fred Otto, P.Eng, PhD - as I made a return visit to
what for me are familiar surroundings in Newfoundland. We had the privilege
of being on hand in late May as a miracle of modern engineering, the 600,000-tonne
Hibernia production platform was prepared for its slow but steady journey
from Trinity Bay to its offshore position 315 kilometres east of St. John's.
As someone who has had an involvement and interest
in the Hibernia since its early days in the late 1970s when the field was
discovered, it was personally satisfying to see this amazing structure,
which in height rivals the Calgary Tower, and the world's largest tugs
which have since towed the gravity based structure to its final location
on the Grand Banks.
It certainly was a proud and exciting day for
Newfoundland. But there is every reason for other Canadians and particularly
for Albertans, to celebrate the emplacement of this colossus consisting
of a 111-metre gravity base structure which supports the 110-metre-high
topside facility which, in turn, houses the crew and the command centre
from which production is controlled. Alberta-based companies, many of them
APEGGA Permit Holders and most of them employing APEGGA Members, have been
part of the Hibernia project since the beginning. Alberta-based resource
companies, engineers and geoscientists helped with the discovery of the
off-shore oil, proved up the reserves and then helped provide the means
and the expertise that now places Hibernia on the brink of production.
The willingness of major investors in the project,
such as Mobil Oil Canada, Chevron Canada Resources, Petro-Canada, Murphy
Oil and others, to persevere and maintain the faith , through thick and
thin, now means that, despite the earlier naysayers, the field should prove
profitable.
(As the St. John's Evening Telegram noted in
an editorial published as the platform was about to head to sea, at $18
a barrel, the project offers a seven per cent return on investment, and
with a rise to $24 a barrel, that rate of return would rise to 12 per cent.
Assuming a recovery of 800 million barrels over its lifetime, the return
rate rises to 50 per cent. The editorial noted: "the Globe's Report
on Business reported that the Hibernia project is not only going to pay
for itself, but it will also repay all the federal loans it has received,
pay dividends to the federal government, and eventually pay back the billion
dollar grant Ottawa advanced.
"And if all that is not enough, the provincial
revenues from the project will also cut transfer payments to the province
by $500 million over the life of the project. All this is because the Hibernia
project came in on budget, with a price of oil higher than needed to break
even, and with technology that will allow the project to recover much more
oil than was initially envisioned.")
Of course, the Alberta connection did not end
with the resource companies. A significant contribution toward the construction
of the platform is a product of the engineering expertise and ingenuity
of Alberta-based companies. The list is lengthy and I stand a chance of
leaving some out if I try to list them all. But, for instance, the expertise
in modular construction that PCL Industrial Constructors Inc. has developed
over the years in serving this province's oil and gas industry, comes to
mind.
Within days of the platform being successfully
towed into place, another major engineering feat, the Confederation Bridge
linking New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, was opened for traffic.
Again, since the inception of this project, there has been a strong Alberta
connection and APEGGA Members have made a major contribution. Strait Crossing
Inc. of Calgary is a major partner in the project and companies such as
SLG Stanley Consultants, and a long list of other small and large Alberta
consultants, applied their expertise. And even with the bridge now carrying
traffic, the Alberta (and indirectly APEGGA) link to "The Link"
hasn't ended. Alberta engineers have been engaged to monitor the bridge's
performance over the next several years.
Similarly, we can expect ongoing contributions
by Alberta engineers and geoscientists as the operational phase begins
later this year and some 135,000 barrels a day of oil are pumped out of
Hibernia and work begins on the Terra Nova and Whiterose fields.
In completing these giant mega projects, lessons
have been learned. Some of them are technical; some of them are of a more
general nature. When great projects are undertaken, more than the structures
themselves are built. In the process, our national social and economic
ties also are strengthened. So, as I followed with interest the journey
of the Hibernia platform, I was not only awed by its enormity but also
very much aware of how it was the result of teamwork. Engineering and geoscience
teams, many of our fellow APEGGA Members, have provided yet another demonstration
to Canadians, and the world, just what can be accomplished through a united
and co-operative effort. Once again, the contribution of APEGGA Members
to the Alberta Advantage has been obvious and Alberta has played a significant
role in two major national projects.