Grampian-based ACE Winches has won its first order for its newly-developed 500 tonne reel-drive system from Oceaneering for Shell’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas project.
The tool is an upgrade of its existing 400 tonne system that has been engineered and manufactured at ACE Winches’ Turriff factory. The product range has been developed for high tension spooling and the deployment and recovery of subsea products such as umbilicals, risers and flow lines, flexible pipelines, power cables, telecommunication cables, tubing, wire ropes and mooring lines. It can accommodate a gross weight of 500te.
The patent-pending 500te system consists of two towers that disassemble into eight modules for easy transportation. The towers use a slave and master configuration, with two gear boxes in each drive hub.
A spokesman for ACE Winches said: “As our clients projects continue to venture to even greater depths, we understand the need for equipment to operate in harsh conditions and as a result, have developed it to ensure we are accommodating the ever growing needs of the oil and gas industry.”
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