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Julien Boucard
Subsea Project Engineer
Bourbon Offshore Gaia, Division Offshore

Testimony of Julien Boucard, Subsea Project Engineer

Bourbon Offshore Gaia, Offshore Division
Julien Boucard is an engineer on the BOURBON Offshore Gaia project. He is in contact with clients and the operational teams onboard the vessels, both upstream of the projects and onboard during operations, bringing his knowledge and global perspective of BOURBON’s Subsea Activity.

As an Engineer in the Subsea Activity, he works on projects upstream: he researches the rigging to be used on lifting equipment, describes the procedures to be deployed, and organizes logistics and personnel management for the installation. Then he goes onboard to supervise the operation.

Flexibility, responsiveness and integration
" BOURBON Offshore Gaia has the special feature of being a small, flexible and responsive structure within a group that offers clients an integrated service combining subsea engineering and the provision of vessels. Unlike the major operators/installers who work on a grand scale to construct oil fields, we operate with smaller vessels to carry out inspection, maintenance and development of fields already in operation. This activity requires a high degree of responsiveness to be capable of reacting within very short timescales, a capacity for anticipation and being able to listen to client requirements, and wide experience to guarantee efficiency. The combination of engineering research and IMR vessels is a major asset for us because, knowing the features of our vessels and their possibilities so well and having close contacts with the operational staff, we are able to conduct realistic studies that can be successfully translated into the reality of the work to be performed, enabling us to guarantee deadlines and optimized costs for our clients. "
A dedicated IMR fleet

BOURBON conducts its Subsea Activity with a fleet of 9 vessels dedicated to IMR (Inspection, Maintenance, Repair): supply vessels equipped with a powerful crane, a cable that can reach great depths, and subsea robots (ROV). The vessels are fitted out for a larger crew than for standard supply vessels. These vessels operate in Africa for a number of clients including Total and Exxon in Angola, Congo and Nigeria, the Canadian company CNR in the Ivory Coast, and Mobil and HESS in Equatorial Guinea. One of these vessels, Vissolela, has been chartered by Exxon Mobil since 2004 under a long-term contract that has been extended to 2011.

Vissolela: intensive work on the development and maintenance of fields
" The operations conducted by the Vissolela are a good illustration of the broad span of our activities. In Angola, we operate on 4 fields in Block 15, off Soyo in the north of the country. In addition to standard inspections, we carry out the installation for connecting subsea wells. A new well is drilled every 40 to 60 days, at a depth of 1,300 meters. We have developed three types of procedure for this work, adapted to the features of the fields and we design slinging and securement plans for each jumper, depending on its dimensions. We have performed 38 such connections since 2004. We also replace defective components (hydraulic lines, control cables, well-head “intelligence”) which requires us to have a good service provision and be very responsive. Sometimes we are also called upon to perform more spectacular repairs, such as the project currently being studied to recover a broken well jumper and cut it into pieces on the seabed so we can bring it up to the surface. "
Focus on an operation: replacement of an oil field’s electric cabling

Another important task recently conducted with the Vissolela for Mobil was the replacement of the electric cabling in the Zafiro field in Equatorial Guinea, an oil field that has been in operation for around a decade.

" We had to deploy 20 kilometers of umbilical cables, stored on 5 reels. Laying electrical cables is a standard operation, but it requires extreme care as you have to ensure the cable is not kinked and that it is properly aligned with the connection and repair layout arrangement on the seabed. The difficulty was largely due to the precision required for the operation to prevent the cable from getting tangled with any of the numerous pieces of equipment on the seabed. Also, since there were no cranes sufficiently powerful to load the standard reels at the port of Malabo, we had to create smaller reels. "

BOURBON Offshore Gaia conducted the engineering research upstream, had the special reels constructed and then sent a crew of 5 people to coordinate the operation on board and on shore. It took 35 days at the end of 2007 and was performed without incident, according to plan.

A customized offer, a proactive attitude

These few projects illustrate BOURBON’s capacity to offer tailor-made responses for its clients’ specific needs for the maintenance and development of their fields. According to Julien Boucard,

" BOURBON has a very specific positioning which fits with the IMR requirements of oil operators. We have excellent relations with our clients, both upstream of projects and on board our vessels during operations. In addition to our integrated offer, I think they particularly appreciate our proactive attitude and our experience which enable us to constantly think ahead and provide them with effective solutions. "

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