A new diverless and ROVless bend stiffener connector from First Subsea has enabled Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd. to complete the tie-back of an umbilical connector from the Blackbird field to the nearby Ettrick field's FPSO Aoka Mizu in the UK central North Sea.

First Subsea conducted a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study to assess the ease of retrofitting an Oceaneering Multiflex power umbilical to the underside of the FPSO Aoka Mizu, without the need for a diver. A Type II bend stiffener connector (BSC) was selected to connect the electrical cable umbilical to a 20 inch J-tube on the FPSO.

The First Subsea Type II BSC features a patented automatic release clamp (ARC) for the termination head. Self-energising and self-aligning, the Type II BSC eliminated the need for a diver and ROV during termination head connection to the FPSO's J tube.

Blackbird is located on Block 20/2a in a water depth of 367 feet about four miles south of the Ettrick field in the Outer Moray Firth area 75 miles northeast of Aberdeen. Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd. serves as operator of the Ettrick and Blackbird fields.

Tags: Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited