Sample Projects 1

Hampco completed the engineering, project management, procurement, construction supervision and DNV approvals for an extensive deepwater upgrade to 4,500ft of an  early-generation drillship including:

• Tensioner Upgrade
• New & Relocated Cranes
• New and Upgraded Crane Pedestals
• Riser Storage and Handling Upgrade
• Telescopic Flare Boom
• ROV Moonpool
• Derrick Fingerboards
• Operational Efficiency Enhancement

Hampco has designed and supplied a wide range of flare booms for MODUs and Drillships including:

• Fixed Horizontal Cantilever
• Horizontal with King Post
• Telescopic
• Inclined with Hydraulic or Pneumatic Slew
  

Supply has also included full Class certification, heat radiation analysis and design of secondary cooling systems.

Hampco has been working with a major operator and international drilling contractor since 2010 to integrate dual Gradient Drilling, DGD, (or Mud Lift) systems into two ultra-deepwater, latest-generation Drillships, including:

• Deck and moonpool handling systems
• High and low pressure piping
• Equipment maintenance and test facilities
• Onshore handling, maintenance and test hardware
• Classification Society interfacing

Hampco was contracted to re-design a new self-erecting tender rig  package that had been already under construction.  The customer needed an urgent design re-evaluation in order to reduce package weights and so Hampco established a design team in the Malaysian shipyard for almost one year.   The project involved unique design features and extra high strength materials to meet the strict weight and functional criteria. 

Hampco was contracted to supply all engineering, DNV approvals and project supervision for the deepwater upgrade of an early-generation drillship.  Part of this scope was to upgrade crane capacity.  It was impractical to upgrade the existing cranes in the time frame but a new crane was found on the market for installation in addition to the  existing units.  This required the design and integration of a new high-capacity pedestal and integration into the relatively small hull. 

The customer was nearing completion of a latest generation ultra-deepwater drillship in a yard in South Korea and won a contract in Brazil.  A specific requirement was for it to handle subsea tree assemblies of up to 13m high in the moonpool.  The existing ship tree  handling arrangement could only accommodate a maximum of 10m and so Hampco proposed an elevating transporter whereby the center section could be raised and lowered by 3m.  The section could also be locked in the raised position to allow Hampco's proprietary 1000T riser hang-off system to be deployed.  In order to meet the very demanding schedule,  the majority of the unit was manufactured in Cape Town for collection during transit to Brazil with the intent of completing it in Brazil.   However, all fabrication and painting was completed in Cape Town ahead of schedule in under 4 months, leaving only the hydraulic outfitting and  final commissioning to be completed in Brazil.  

Hampco developed several surface BOP drilling systems for operations in Indonesia in the mid-nineties.  This new technology offered substantial time and cost savings for the operator. 

Hampco was engaged at a very late stage to design, supply and supervise the installation of all low and high pressure piping to accommodate a MPD system onboard a new ultra-deepwater drilliship.  The survey was carried out in South Korea, the piping prefabricated in Singapore and installed during transit to Cape Town on route to Brazil. 

Hampco designed and supplied the upper and lower hull guidance system for the BOP and mud lift pump / LMRP package on the world's first deepwater Dual Gradient Drilling Project. 

Hampco also designed the cursor system for guiding of trees through the moonpool of a harsh-environment North sea Semi-submersible. 

As part of the Dual Gradient Drilling retrofit of a new Ultra Deepwater Drillship operating for Chevron on the US Gulf of Mexico, a dedicated tower was required for access, maintenance and testing of the Mud Lift Pump (MLP). Hampco designed, supplied and supervised the installation of the modular system which also incorporated handling aids and all the  test piping to interface between rig systems and the MLP. This part of the overall project also included the development of a unique elevating and alignment system for the large test flange under the MLP. 

The customer was experiencing safety issues when clamping the BOP MUX control cables to the riser due to having to rig up small ineffective free-hanging roller sheaves too far from well center.  Hampco developed and supplied 90° roller sheaves rotating about fixed vertical axis on the end of mechanical telescoping arms.  The sheaves were manufactured from stainless steel and the arms were fully galvanized to minimize  maintenance.  The mechanical arms were extended and retracted by small manual chain block to eliminate hydraulics and again minimize maintenance. 

The customer purchased a series of 4 new ultra-deepwater drillships but the drilling package supplier had overlooked the need for a handling tool to lift the Lower BOP on its  own.  They then quoted a delivery approaching 18 months.  Hampco  developed the lifting cap concept, completed detail design and supplied the first unit in 4 months including load testing, all with ABS CDS  Certification.   Due to the demanding delivery deadline, the unit was  uniquely manufactured from layers of plate rather than forging or  casting. 

Hampco developed the horizontal drill mud gas separator but also supplies any custom units according to customer specifications and preferences.  We also provide complete system gas handling analysis to establish the capacity of the separators in conjunction with the vent line and mud seal. 

Drillfloor manipulator arms are common pieces of industry equipment but one customer required one for a small congested drillfloor and required it to reach both racking areas either side of the V-door.  Hampco designed and supplied a custom inverted unit mounted centrally to the bottom of the mast guide rails.   The scope also included the design and supply of the interface foundations. 

Hampco designs and supplies custom winches and hoisting arrangements suited for a wide range of applications. 

This was a unique example of getting more functionality out of existing equipment.  Casing Stabbing arms were becoming regular additions to rigs to replace the traditional casing stabbing board.  In this case, Hampco developed an attachment for the lower arm of the old BJ Pipe Racking  System. 

A customer in Brazil with a new drillship was required under contract to Petrobras to supply and operate an advanced coiled tubing lift frame meeting a demanding new specification and no units meeting the full specification existed on the market.  Hampco developed a custom solution incorporating several unique features including fine vertical platform control with synchronized screw drives as opposed to standard hydraulic  motors or cylinders.  The unit was manufactured in Cape Town and loaded onboard the ship on its transit from South Korea to Brazil. 

A North Sea semi-submersible had an 8-leg combined wire and chain mooring system whereby the wire and chain had to be disconnected from each other as the mooring lines were run and retrieved.  For various reasons, torque would accumulate in the chain  and wire and made disconnection very hazardous.  Hampco developed a unique hydraulic hang-off and handling arrangement to safely control the torque built up at the chain/wire transition and allowing safe manual disconnection.  The scope included all structural support and access on the rig columns. 

The BOP Bridge Crane was approaching 30 years old and required replacing or upgrading to suit a heavier BOP.  The crane and load path components were analyzed and proven to meet current lifting codes with only minimal upgrade, saving the customer considerable cost.