Electro Flow Controls delivers multi-million pound contract for offshore drilling giant Valaris
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MECHATRONICS specialist Electro Flow Controls (EFC) has completed a multi-million pound contract to design and build a conductor tensioning system for offshore drilling giant Valaris.
Electro Flow Controls, based in Forres, worked in partnership with fabricator Forsyths of Rothes to build the system which allows more efficient jack-up drilling in harsher environments and deeper waters.
The project took eight months to complete, with EFC, as original equipment manufacturer, designing the entire system as well as building the controls, procuring the components and overseeing assembly and testing.
Forsyths assisted with the heavy steel fabrication, machining, and painting at their Buckie facility, working in tandem with EFC’s engineering, assembly and testing teams.
EFC Managing Director Tom Dixon said: "We realised early on that the conductor tension platform – the system’s main structure – was going to be larger than any other we have developed.
"In fact, due to the grand scale of the package, we knew it was not possible to transport it by road and so we needed to find a quayside facility where it could be assembled and tested before being loaded straight onto a seagoing vessel.
"Highlands and Islands Enterprise introduced us to Forsyths as they have an excellent facility at Buckie, close to our base in Forres.
"We are delighted with how well the partnership has worked out."
The project had just begun last year when the coronavirus pandemic struck, placing huge obstacles in the way.
Mr Dixon added: "Bespoke projects such as these are challenging enough at any time, and it took all the experience of both companies to plot a new route forward.
"As well as putting in place all the new Covid-19 protocols, we also had to re-sequence many of the manufacturing tasks to minimise contact between co-workers and keep different groups separate."
Mr Dixon said the new Valaris JU-120 system – which has ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) approval – has been designed to hydraulically skid its tensioning unit independent of the drilling package and without any need for manual intervention.
It also has unique telescopic legs which allows it to be operated at two elevations, so widening the scope of the type of subsea equipment that can be placed below the drilling package.
Forsyths Operations Director Neil Grant said: ‘‘We are delighted to have been able to deliver on this contract and to have forged such a mutually beneficial relationship with the team at EFC in the process.
"We look forward to collaborating again with EFC’s team in the future."
