OTC 18595

ROSA: New Challenges in West Africa Deepwater Developments

Serge Huysman, Patrick Longuet, and Gilles Lematre, Total E&P Angola

Copyright 2007, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2007 Offshore Technology Conference held in
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Abstract
Discovered in 1998, the Rosa field is located offshore Angola
in the prolific Block 17, at a distance of 16 kilometers from
the spread-moored Girassol FPSO. Water depth in the area is
about 1,350 meters.
Sanctioned in July 2004, the Rosa Development Project
proposes to tieback the Rosa wells to the Girassol FPSO. This
project handles challenges never faced before in deepwater
West Africa: long-length subsea production flowlines in cold
environment and extensive tie-in works in simultaneous
operations (SIMOPS) conditions on a live FPSO.
For processing the Rosa production on the Girassol FPSO,
5,600 tonnes of new modules, equipment and temporary steels
are added to the existing installation. This paper will
contribute to benchmarking such development alternative,
focusing on the revamping of the FPSO topsides.
The difficulties in preparing and achieving the objectives
are presented for such scale of modifications works in West
Africa. The decisions that were made on the Project execution
plan and on the contractual strategy for the topsides works are
described with their materialization on the essential aspects of
HSE, Engineering and Procurement for onshore fabrication
and offshore integration in SIMOPS conditions. In particular,
this paper covers the rationale and the feedback for planned
shutdowns - piping tie-ins (with mandatory maintenance and
inspection of existing FPSO equipment) and heavy lifts of
modules - as well as the solutions implemented for the Flotel
and logistical means in Angola.
Finally, the conclusions address the main lessons learnt
and keys to success for the hook-up, commissioning and startup of the Rosa Project.
The significance of this paper is to share the knowledge of
a major Project worked out in SIMOPS conditions, knowing
that the modifications of the Girassol FPSO are the greatest
ever made so far on a recent-built FPSO and lead to a worldfirst 2-year offshore works campaign on a live FPSO.

Introduction
At concept selection stage of the Rosa Project in June 2001,
new-built FPSO and new-built FPU options have been
envisaged. At the time of concept selection, the economic
conditions were such that the cost of a stand-alone production
pole which was under consideration was too high to yield
acceptable economic results. Thus these options were not
carried out further.
In addition, an assumed leasing system for a FPSO or a
FPU would have improved the economics without
representing a major breakthrough for the Angolan economic
value.
The direct subsea tieback to Girassol was the best-suited
concept to reach the different economic threshold limits. This
FPSO was also the ideal candidate to welcome a tieback:
available areas on the topsides, recent-built plant in good
condition for structural reinforcements and piping tie-ins,
compatible process with Oligocene oil, extension of the
production plateau and full use of an existing asset.
Although it required significant challenges - innovative
design criteria, coping with the overall liquid treatment
capabilities in the critical years, development of existing
technology for the flowlines and risers, flow assurance issues
for the subsea systems, SIMOPS constraints for the hook-up
phase - such project was considered feasible.
It was also emphasized that the industrial market would be
sufficiently open for a fair bidding competition, based on a
preliminary design competition for SURF and an extensive
Basic Engineering for Topsides.
Overview of the Rosa Project
The adopted development scheme includes:
i. Drilling of 25 wells including 14 production wells
and 11 water injection wells,
ii. Connection of the production wells to four subsea
manifolds,
iii. Laying of 65km of pipe-in-pipe subsea production
flowlines (two loops) and of 40km of water injection
pipelines (two single lines) connecting Rosa to
Girassol,
iv. Installation of a "Riser Tower" West of the FPSO,
ensuring the connection between the subsea lines and
the surface,
v. Installation of seven modules dedicated to Rosa, and
their tie-in to the existing Girassol installations,
making a total permanent additional weight of 5,300
tonnes.

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As a result, seven modules representing a dry gross weight

(in-place) ranging from 110 tonnes to 1,470 tonnes,
cumulating to 4,000 tonnes, plus 1,300 tonnes of
interconnecting and loose equipment, have been designed,
fabricated and integrated onto the FPSO. Moreover, 300
tonnes of temporary structural steels were installed for
modules installation.
Main Challenges of the Project

Following the approval of the Rosa Project by

SONANGOL at the end of July 2004, the project entered its
active phase with the design, the manufacture of the
equipment, the implementation of the construction work and
the drilling of the development wells.
Start of production of the Rosa site is scheduled to begin in
the 2nd Quarter of 2007.
Overview of the FPSO Modifications
At start of production in December 2001, Girassol was the
largest FPSO operated worldwide: size of 300m x 59m x 30m,
storage capacity of 2 Millions bbl and overall weight of
350,000 tonnes with 25,000 tonnes for the topsides.
Its significance to the oil production in Angola and
particularly for TOTAL E&P Angola has been reflected by its
industrial success: 220,000 bopd per design and more than
240,000 bopd of production today.
The upgrade of the FPSO is intended to de-bottleneck the
topsides and to increase not only the oil production design
capacity to 270,000 bopd (maximum stream rate), but also to
absorb a liquid treatment capability of 450,000 bpd in overall
(maximum stream rate). In parallel, the produced water
treatment will increase from 180 to 300,000 bwpd (design
flow rate) and will be partly re-injected into the Rosa reservoir
instead of discharging to the sea.

Project Execution Plan and Contractual Strategy.

The main objectives assigned to the TOTAL Rosa Project
Group were:
i.
Secure safety of people and integrity of the Asset,
ii.
Minimize durations of the Girassol FPSO shutdowns
and of the offshore hook-up works,
iii.
Ensure operability of the installations,
iv.
Optimize weight, schedule and cost.
Such difficult targets can be contradictory to each other
depending on the various phases of the Project execution. As a
consequence, it was of paramount importance for the TOTAL
Rosa Project Group to be in the driving seat in order to take
the overall control and to secure the Project objectives
throughout its duration.
Therefore, it was decided not to pursue the strategy of an
EPCI contract, but to split the work in several main contracts.
The following calls for tenders were launched: (i)
Engineering, Procurement Services and ICSS, (ii) Transport
and Installation of modules - both based on an extensive basic
engineering - and (iii) Flotel design competition and
chartering. In parallel, the TOTAL Rosa Project Group had
secured the commitment of the main LLIs, further to the call
for tenders launched at the end of the basic engineering.
Subsequently, the call for tender of the (iv) Construction and
Hook-up contract was initiated, based on the preliminary
detailed design deliverables.
The following main contractors were awarded:
i.
SOFRESID Engineering, France, with JETEC and
YOKOGAWA, France, as nominated subcontractors
for the ICSS software and hardware.
ii.
HEEREMA Marine Contractors, the Netherlands, for
installation of modules M1, M2, M4, M5 and M6,
and SAIPEM, France, for installation of modules
M7A and M7B,
iii.
PROSAFE Offshore, United Kingdom, for the Flotel,
iv.
PONTICELLI Frres, France, for Construction and
Hook-up, with EIFFEL, France, and SONAMET,
Angola, as subcontractors for the fabrication of the
modules, the PONTICELLI Angolan contracting
entity being their 100%-owned subsidiary
PORTUMO.
v.
ONDEO I.S., France, with C.T.I., Belgium, for the
Seawater Desalination Package M5.
These commitments were followed by a mutual agreement
with SOTRAPLEX, contracting entity in Angola for
ACERGY, France, for an opportune so-called Early Small
Lifts contract with a crane barge available in the West Africa.

OTC 18595

ii.

iii.

term of overall POB and of shared evacuation means

in case of emergency,
Accommodation of 330 persons for TOTAL Rosa
Project Group and Contractors offshore teams (i.e.
400 persons including crew), plus 60 office desks,
Deck area of minimum 1,000 square meters, with
enclosed storage facilities, also for prefabrication and
buffer area, material storage being difficult onboard
FPSO.

In addition, during the course of the engineering phase, the

TOTAL Rosa Project Group placed nearly 120 purchase
orders for itemized equipment and main first-bulk
procurement.
Health, Safety and Environment.
A SIMOPS Risk Management strategy for TOTAL and
Contractors had to be developed early in the Project. This has
included a definition of the organization between Block 17
Field Operations and the Rosa Project Group and a
classification of type of SIMOPS according to their
occurrence and criticality depending on the offshore phase.
This has resulted in:
i.
Listing the main safety rules according to the nature
of activities involving SIMOPS, together with a
revision of the Girassol SIMOPS Matrix,
ii.
Issuance of formal SIMOPS Safety Dossiers as
relevant,
iii.
Enhancement of the existing Work Permit System to
cope with additional qualitative and quantitative
requirements (i.e. 130 PTW per day at peak),
iv.
Reinforcement of the FPSO Field Operations team
with specific Operations, Safety and Lifting
expertise,
v.
Implementation of a formal Kick-off Meeting and
Pre-job Meeting, prior to each sensitive works, taking
into account Job Safety Analysis and Risk
mitigations,
vi.
Compulsory training and habilitations of all
Contractors personnel working on the FPSO prior to
offshore mobilization (more than 1,000 persons
taking into account rotational and turn-over
constraints).
Logistics.
The size and duration of the offshore campaign have
imposed drastic requirements for additional large
accommodation facilities on site, without which the Project
could not be achievable. The difficulty was to competitively
find such Flotel in a narrow market. The contract was finally
awarded with the MSV Regalia, a DP Class 3 semisubmersible vessel that has satisfied:
i.
Permanent connection to the FPSO, in order to
consider both units, FPSO and Flotel, as a complex in

The other main challenge has been to continuously and

timely sustain regular transfers of rotational Personnel, but
also diligent deliveries of materials and equipment.
Most of the Personnel transportation means (helicopters
and fast crew-boats) have been early identified and planned by
the TOTAL Rosa Project Group, and undertaken by the
Logistics and Transports Department of TOTAL E&P Angola.
However, due to the volume of offshore activities in
Blocks 17 and 32 - together with the increasing activities at
the Luanda harbor - the TOTAL Rosa Project Group made the
early decision to charter (through the Construction Contractor)
two Project-dedicated supply boats, one shuttling between
Luanda and the Girassol area, the other permanently staying
on site to ensure cargo transfers between the Flotel and the
FPSO and offering additional storage. Nearly 9,000 tonnes of
cargo were handled and transported back and forth to the
offshore site in 2006.
Offshore Works
Key Indicators.
The scale and the size of the offshore works may be
summarized by the following key indicators:
- About 2 Millions productive offshore man-hours, with a
turn-over of nearly 1,400 persons,
- Nearly 2 years of offshore work in SIMOPS,
- Almost 2 years with a DP Flotel permanently connected,
- 420 tonnes of permanent deck structures reinforcement and
supports for equipment,
- 300 tonnes of temporary structures for modules installation
aids (i.e. guides and bumpers),
- 750 tonnes of scaffolding used in hook-up works,
- 165km of E&I cables to pull and to connect,
- 407 tie-in connections to existing piping,

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3,200 spools of interconnecting piping to erect (620

tonnes),
40 loose equipment to install and connect (e.g. cargo oil
tank vents compressors, pumps, hydraulic power units,
deluge valves skids),
7 modules to install and connect,
4 planned production shutdowns of the Girassol FPSO
process for a total of 57 days over a 2-year work period.

Offshore Work Execution Plan.

Therefore, the Offshore Work Execution Plan has been
built in 7 main phases to adequately organize and manage
each intermediate milestone leading step by step to the final
objective:
- Phase 1 (from June 2005 to end-December 2005), with a
reduced team onboard the FPSO: preparation of (i) the 1st
planned process shutdown in September 2005 for the
heavy lifts of major construction equipment (e.g.
temporary hook-up crawler crane) and of mandatory
prefabricated elements (e.g. additional freefall lifeboat) so-called Early Small Lifts - and, (ii) the Flotel arrival
(installation of the two gangway platforms on the FPSO).
- Phase 2 (end-December 2005 to mid-May 2006), with a
full Project team accommodated onboard the Flotel: (i)
commencement of the integrated deck reinforcements for
modules installation and, (ii) preparation of the 2nd planned
process shutdown.
- Phase 3 (mid-May 2006 to end-June 2006): 2nd planned
process shutdown for (i) the Rosa tie-ins to the existing
Girassol piping lines, (ii) the compulsory 5-yearly
maintenance and inspection of the FPSO vessels and
exchangers and, (iii) the upgrade of the existing ICSS.
- Phase 4 (end June 2006 to mid October 2006): (i)
finalization of the integrated deck reinforcements and
erection of guides for modules installation and in parallel,
(ii) commencement of a massive campaign of large bore
interconnecting piping erection and of interconnecting E&I
cables pulling.
- Phase 5 (mid-October 2006): 3rd planned process shutdown
for heavy lifts and installations of the modules M1 to M6.
- Phase 6 (end-October 2006 to 2nd Quarter 2007): (i)
finalization of the large bore interconnecting piping
erection, (ii) 4th planned process shutdown (February 2007)
for heavy lifts and installation of the modules M7A and
M7B and removal of the temporary hook-up crane, (iii)
assistance to the pulling and pre-commissioning of the
SURF flexible jumpers and umbilicals from the FPSO and,
(iv) completion of the hook-up, commissioning and startup activities necessary for first oil from the Rosa E
reservoir.
- Phase 7 (2nd Quarter to beginning of 4th Quarter 2007):
completion of hook-up, commissioning and start-up
activities for (i) first oil from the Rosa D reservoir, (ii)
water treatment and injection and, (iii) preparation for
Flotel demobilization.
The main challenge of each offshore Phase has been the
permanent care for effective ahead-preparation and for
performance of complex and numerous construction activities
on an operating process plant, with large workforce and

operational constraints regarding hot work and handling over

process facilities. This has required an efficient organization
to overcome the continuous difficulty of satisfying both HSE
constraints and offshore productivity.
Regarding each planned process shutdown, considerable
pressures have been also assigned to the TOTAL Rosa Project
Group and to the FPSO Field Operations teams, considering
the additional potential loss of production and the risks on the
integrity of the FPSO asset.
Local Content.
The support that could be given to the Project by the local
industrial market was early investigated in order to match the
Project objectives and to maximize the Angolan content
whenever possible.
This was largely achieved for the subsea scope (subsea
manifolds, flowlines quad joints, riser tower) and as follow for
the topsides:
i.
Fabrication of structural steels for installation during
the Early Small Lifts campaign and of the topsides
manifolds modules M7A and M7B by SONAMET in
their Lobito Yard.
ii.
Prefabrication of the structural and piping interconnecting between the Rosa modules and the
existing Girassol installations, plus Onshore Logistics
Base by PORTUMO in Luanda.

Main Achievements
Detailed Design.
Weight optimization was one of the main assigned targets.
The Weight Reduction Initiative undertaken at the beginning
of the detailed design and thoroughly pursued afterwards was
not infringed by cost consideration. As a result, the first
weight report produced by the Engineering Contractor had
predicted an overall Gross Dry Weight (in-place) of 5,800
tonnes, whereas it became 5,300 tonnes at contract end in July
2006 (i.e. 4,000 tonnes for the modules and 1,300 tonnes for
interconnecting, excluding 300 tonnes of temporary steels for
installations guides).
Another important challenge was the early identification of
engineering solutions allowing the minimization of the

OTC 18595

offshore man-hours and hot works. Close and early input from
the various contractors through a comprehensive Interface
Management System led by the TOTAL Rosa Project Group
was of paramount importance. This was in particular
implemented with the Installation Contractor for the definition
of the installation aids and installation volumes restrictions,
and with the Hook-up Contractor for the critical
constructability aspects. Agreed solutions were always taken
to the sole benefit of the offshore scope, even with cost and
planning impact on the onshore construction works.
Onshore Construction.
Fos yard, France.
Four out of the seven Rosa modules were built in this yard,
plus the supporting frame of an additional 60-seat freefall
lifeboat (part of the Early Small Lifts):
i.
M1 is a 6-leg supported module designed for
flowlines preservation with dead oil circulation and
dedicated electrical generation (two diesel generators
of 3.2 MillionVA each), with a lift weight of 1,200
tonnes.
ii.
M2 is devoted to methanol injection and is the
lightest module with a lift weight of 135 tonnes.
iii.
M4, dedicated to water treatment and injection (two
water injection centrifugal turbo-pumps), is to be
located on the FPSO on top of a new-built
substructure installed during the Early Small Lifts
campaign and is the heaviest module with a lift
weight of 1,750 tonnes.
iv.
M6 is dedicated to separation with one first stage
separator and hydrocyclone, with a dry lift weight of
600 tonnes.

Due to the installation volumes restrictions agreed with the

Installation Contractor, peripheral structures such as walkways
and stairs have been designed bolted or hinge-able, to be
installed offshore after modules stacking.
Lobito and Luanda yards, Angola.
The TOTAL Rosa Project Group has decided to entrust an
extensive work scope to traditional and newly-established
Contractors.
- Fabrication in the Lobito Yard of structural steels to be
installed during the Early Small Lifts campaign and of the
topsides manifolds modules M7A and M7B:
i.
The heavy installation aids and the M4 substructure
for the Early Small Lifts consisted in the construction
of about 350 tonnes of tubular structure, with
diameter averaging 18 inches and 800 welded joints.
55 tonnes per week were welded during the peak
period,
ii.
The construction of modules M7A and M7B with a
lift weight of respectively 670 tonnes and 250 tonnes.
Piping fabrication, representing 51,000 welded inches
and 720 spools were integrated into the modules for
250 tonnes. This included duplex stainless steel for
8,600 inches and 175 spools.

The limitation of permanent added weight for FPSO

stability purpose and structural constraints during lifting
operation has driven Engineering to select the lifting frames
option. This choice has the drawback of an extended
construction of temporary steels (versus conventional spreader
bars), with associated planning and cost impacts, but the
advantage of minimizing permanent structure. For these four
modules, cumulative grillage and lifting frame weights were
similar (around 500 tonnes), to compare with the module
permanent structure weight of 1,100 tonnes.

Specific conversion of an old storage base of 1,250 square

meters in Luanda into a prefabrication yard for the
structural and piping interconnecting between the modules
and existing installations:
i.
The handled structural scope was nearly 380 tonnes,
including primary structure reinforcement for 52
tonnes and installations aids for 85 tonnes,
ii.
Most of the interconnecting piping prefabrication has
been carried-out in Luanda, i.e. more than 330
tonnes, representing 49,600 welded inches and 2,600
spools (3,000 inches per week were welded at peak).
- Enhancement of an existing storage base of 5,000 square
meter in Luanda and conversion into an Onshore Logistics
Base for storage of hook-up materials and equipment.
2,600 pipe spools fabricated in Angola were dispatched, as
well as the materials coming from Europe: 600 GRE
piping spools, 2,000 special piping supports, 650 valves
and 40 loose equipment or skids.

Flotel.
A hydrodynamic engineering study was performed on the
relative motions between the FPSO and the MSV Regalia to
determine the Flotel behavior and to assess the best
configuration for her hydraulically operated telescopic
gangway. The availability target of the gangway in operation
was set by the Project over 98% of the time, taking into
account the one-year weather condition and the FPSO extreme
drafts in operations of +11m to +22m. In this case the
maximum angle for the gangway is ranging between -11 to
+12 to the horizontal. This had led to an optimization of the
gangway pedestal height to 8.1 meters. The 38m nominal
length of the aluminium telescopic gangway was kept with its
+7m to -7m possible extension.
Over more than one year of utilization, the Regalia did not
had any breakdown, and out of the 6 hours spent for planned
maintenance, the gangway has always been operational.

In addition to the existing helideck facility, two boat

landings were also specifically installed on the Regalia in
order to facilitate personnel transfers by fast crew boats.
Two gangway landing platforms were added in cantilever
at the rear of the FPSO, one on each side, thus allowing
alternative locations of the Flotel depending on the nearby
Marine operations during the Rosa works. The DP Class 3
facilities allow rapid and safe change of position of the
Regalia, i.e. 2 hours between disconnection and reconnection.

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Transport and Installation.

Early Small Lifts.
Well in advance of the modules installation and of the
beginning of hook-up works, it was necessary to install some
equipment such as an additional freefall lifeboat at the bow of
the FPSO and a temporary crawler crane for the hook-up.
The contract was placed with the use of the DP crane barge
Seaway Polaris that was already planned to work in West
Africa during the same period. The opportunity of its capacity
(2,000 tonnes) was also taken to add into the scope the heavy
M1 guides and the M4 substructure necessary to future
module installation. The M4 substructure of nearly 300 tonnes
was originally planned to be piece-meal erected offshore by
elements of 5 to 10 tonnes maximum. This has allowed a large
reduction of offshore hot works and man-hours.
The Polaris was also used in the same campaign to remove
existing FPSO structures.

The Polaris arrived on site on September 2nd, 2005 together

with the cargo barge loaded with the equipment to be lifted.
Despite 12 hours of weather standby, all 9 lifts were safely
completed in less than 3 days.
Heavy Lifts of Modules M1 to M6
The DP Semi-Submersible Crane Vessel Thialf was used
for the lifts of the five modules M1, M2, M4, M5 and M6.
Thanks to her size and capacity, it was possible to install all
modules - even the modules on the FPSO Starboard - with the
SSCV being on the Portside of the FPSO.
As it was highly innovative to place such large modules on
a floating unit such as a FPSO, specific equipment (so-called
RMRU) was requested in the work scope and subsequently
developed.
This equipment is composed of three devices working
together in real time:
i.
The FPSO device, placed at the final location of the
module installation, was indicating the vertical
motion of the FPSO at the location,
ii.
The Thialf device, located at the stern of the SSCV,
was providing the motion of the said point of the
vessel: from this device, pre-fed with the installation
data such as crane boom orientation and radius, the

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motion of the module above the FPSO deck was

computed, prior to and during the installation,
iii.
A screen data receiver, located on the Thialf bridge,
was giving the relative vertical motion of the two
moving parts, the FPSO and the load.
From the data could be monitored the maximum motion,
the period and the duration of swell windows without any
significant movement. This equipment was of helpful
assistance to determine if the operation could take place
during such favorable windows and ease the decision process
of the operation, together with the weather forecast and the
wave rider buoy.

All five modules, of which lifting weight ranged from 135

to 1,750 tonnes, were safely installed in less than four days
without any damage.
Heavy Lifts of Modules M7A and M7B, Removal of
Temporary Hook-up Crane.
A significant breakthrough was made with the use of the
DP crane vessel S3000 during the same campaign of her Rosa
umbilical laying for the SURF scope.
This vessel has a crane capacity that matched the lifting
weights of the Lobito Modules M7A and M7B, i.e.
respectively 670 and 250 tonnes. These lifts and the removal
of the temporary hook-up crawler crane were performed
without any specific mobilization or demobilization of the
vessel.
Offshore Hook-up.
The initial preparation phase of the hook-up from June to
December 2005 has been essential to determine the best
construction sequences, or Phases in order to limit planned
process shutdowns and optimize overall offshore tasks
durations.
During this phase, software had been developed and
intensively used to optimize task packs preparation and
facilitate work permits organization for the overall FPSO
(flow of 130 PTW per day at peak).
Considering the FPSO configuration and the absence of
available lifting device for construction purpose, a crawler
crane with a luffing jib was selected to facilitate onboard
lifting from hundreds of kilograms to few tonnes, minimizing
manual handling of heavy loads, therefore reducing risk of

dropped object and speeding up assemblies. This temporary

crane was customized to be used in Zone 2 hazardous areas.
Its capacity between 5.5 tonnes at 16-m radius to 2.8 tonnes at
50-m radius has been widely used until its demobilization by
the S3000 vessel in February 2007.

Phase 1: Prior to Flotel Mobilization.

Site surveys for the next offshore phases and preparation
works for the Early Small Lifts were the main preliminary
activities during Phase 1.
The latter was timely completed with a reduced Project
team accommodated onboard the FPSO (25 at peak), hence
allowing the Shutdown#1, first to be planned by the Rosa
Project, to be successful concluded.
The subsequent difficulty of Phase 1 was overcome with
the installation of the two gangway platforms in accordance
with the Flotel mobilization schedule.
Phase 2: Prior to FPSO Shutdown#2.
The welding activities at numerous locations for the
integrated Deck reinforcement required a thorough PTW
organization, involving the assistance of firewatchers
supervised by a squad of HSE officers. Access to and handling
in congested areas had to be managed by trained teams of
scaffolders and riggers, and by innovative lifting and handling
facilities.

Meanwhile, the preparation of the 2nd shutdown of the

plant involved the mobilization of a parallel task force that
was coordinated by a Shutdown Manager specifically
appointed and empowered to receive unconditional support
from all existing Project and Operations organizations. In
respect with HSE requirements, all arbitrations were scheduledriven, rather than cost-constrained.
Phase 3: FPSO Shutdown#2.
The scope was highly challenging, mainly on the 5-Yearly
Maintenance and Inspection of the Girassol plant (19 vessels
and equipment), but also on piping (dismantling of 26 lines for
26 tonnes, tie-ins with 92 piping connections with existing
process, 46 new lines for 54 tonnes, re-routing of 9 lines for 3
tonnes, diameter increase of 13 lines for 34 tonnes).
Significant opportune repair works on Girassol were also
entrusted to the Rosa Project, such as a 36-inch seawater
dumping caisson and the replacement of corroded gas-lift
lines.
In addition the revamping and upgrade of the existing
Control and Safety systems was also implemented in the
required timeframe. This operation consisted in replacing the
operating system with new workstations, splitting the network
and loading the controllers with software adapted to manage
both Girassol existing equipment, and Rosa new one. The
necessary tests were effectively performed prior to re-start that
was successful as well.
At peak, 387 offshore people (Rosa Project and
contractors) were necessary, involving an overall 145,000
man-hours for the contractors, including 93,000 Productive
man-hours.
All shutdown#2 activities have been safely and
successfully completed in 38 days between May 15 and June
21, 2006. It allowed production to be re-started three days
ahead of schedule.

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successfully achieved, that has permitted an easier

coordination and a high productivity during the following
shutdown.
Phase 5: FPSO Shutdown#3.
The main difficulty of Phase 5 was to guarantee the best
safety level and to optimize opportune construction activities
on existing Girassol lines in SIMOPS with heavy lifts. This
had to be managed with consequent access restrictions and
required flexibility, knowing that the modules installation
sequence by the SSCV Thialf had to take priority over other
parallel works.

During the preceeding Phase 4, Phase 5 had been subject

to an accurate preparation in order to foresee accesses required
for heavy lifts operation and identify all piping tie-ins to be
completed during Shutdown#3. Material deliveries and
workplaces have been entirely organized, to allow fast
performance of the work during the phase, keeping highest
safety and quality standards.
Phase 6: Prior to Rosa E First Oil.
The ultimate use of the temporary crawler crane prior to its
demobilization and removal by the S3000 vessel has been an
extensive piping installation period, i.e. more than 1,000
spools erected, with a peak of 113 spools per week.

Phase 4: Prior to FPSO Shutdown#3.

Main objectives were to complete the installation of all
guides, to level substructure legs according to the onshore
latest surveys for modules installation. In parallel, all E&I and
piping interconnecting works required for Phase 5 have been

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Phase 6 has focused on works to be performed for start-up

priorities of the Rosa E reservoir, i.e. deliberately holding
hook-up and commissioning activities on Rosa D and water
treatment and injection. The early mobilization of the
Commissioning team has allowed identifying and confirming
process priorities required for first oil, and has made possible
for the Construction team to plan the associated hook-up and
pre-commissioning works.
In addition, to ensure full POB on the MSV Regalia,
overbooking has been continuously arranged with the back-up
of other accommodation facilities available on Block 17, such
as S3000 and supply vessels.
Phase 7: Prior to Flotel demobilization.
The forthcoming difficulty of the post first oil Phase 7 will
be to optimize human resources until the demobilization of the
Flotel at the end of the 3rd quarter 2007, having in mind that
any outstanding Rosa work should be completed without the
current offshore logistical support with again a reduced POB
accommodated on the FPSO.
Offshore Commissioning and Assistance to Start-up.
The offshore mobilization of the Commissioning team has
been beneficial to identify and sort the process priorities
required for first oil and therefore has guided the Construction
team at early pre-commissioning stage.
Conclusions
Lessons Learnt
The TOTAL Rosa Project Group has experienced the
underestimation of some challenges that were indeed
identified, but proved to be more difficult to overcome than
initially expected.
Although safety and operational constraints onboard a live
FPSO were anticipated, conflicts in priorities are always and
rightly arbitrated to the detriment of the Project, what
unavoidably lead to slippage of schedule and cost, which can
never be caught up again.
Therefore, the planned productivity ratio of 4 between
onshore fabrication in Europe and SIMOPS offshore works in
West Africa has been hardly achieved, mainly on structural,
whereas scaffolding requirements have been underestimated.
Finally, a temporary crawler crane with a luffing jib
proved to be not well adapted to offshore works on a spreadmoored live FPSO. Although this decision was correct and
necessary in the case of the Rosa Project, it is strongly
recommended that any new-built FPSO which is a possible
candidate for a future revamping shall be designed and
fabricated with the provision of a complete deck coverage by
onboard permanent cranes.
Strengths and Keys to Success.
One of the main key to success is the selected strategy, of
which the TOTAL Rosa Project Group has been in the
driving seat for the Topsides scope since the end of the
conceptual phase up to first oil.
It had never been contemplated that Project risks are
unduly transferred to the contractors, i.e. HSE, technical,
schedule and cost-wise. This is the reason why early and

timely preparation (extensive Basic Engineering), plus the

subsequent split of the main contracts with a reasonable
contractual exposure of the contractors, together with an
associated effective management of interfaces, have been keys
to success in such a complex project development.
Similarly, offshore logistics means, onshore supports and
Project organization have not been arbitrarily cost-constrained,
but pragmatically planned in the view of what is fully
justified. However, the usual perception that offshore means
are always too big during selection phase and too small during
utilization, has been nearly true in some crucial phases of the
Rosa Project.
Safety-wise, SIMOPS procedures have been adapted to
each specific offshore phase and have evidenced their
efficiency. This has been the result of close and good
relationship between the TOTAL Rosa Project Group and the
TOTAL E&P Angola Field Operations teams, hence achieving
paramount motivation across the various entities, together
with the proactive and professional attitude of most of the
contractors.
Last but not least, the enhancement in HSE culture of the
main contractors has been the most important success:
personnel training, management behavior, resulting in
1 Million offshore man-hours Lost Time Injury free in 2006.
Acknowledgments
The Rosa field is operated by TOTAL under a Production
Sharing Agreement awarded by Sociedade Nacional de
Combustveis de Angola (SONANGOL) to the Block 17
Contractor Group including TOTAL E&P Angola, Esso
Exploration Angola (Block 17) Ldt., BP Exploration (Angola)
Ltd., Statoil Angola Block 17 AS and Norsk Hydro Dezassete
AS.
TOTAL is grateful to SONANGOL and to their Coventurers for their support and their permission to publish this
paper.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
bbl
barrel
bpd
barrel per day
bopd
barrel of oil per day
bwpd
barrel of water per day
DP
Dynamic Positioning
E&I
Electrical and Instrumentation
EPCI
Engineering, Procurement, Construction and
Installation [Contract]
FPSO
Floating Production, Storage and Offloading
[Unit]
FPU
Floating Production Unit
GRE
Glass Resin Epoxy
HSE
Health, Safety and Environment
ICSS
Integrated Control and Safety System
LLI
Long Lead Item
MSV
Multi-Services Vessel
POB
Personnel on Board
PTW
Permit to Work
RMRU
Relative Movement Reference Unit
[Designed and supplied by SIRI Marine]
SIMOPS
Simultaneous Operation and Production
SURF
Subsea Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines