Total’s Nigerian exploration and production team is set to be the first oil and gas company to use a new offshore crew transfer device.
The Frog XT4, developed by Reflex Marine and launched in February this year, allows for up to four people to be transferred to offshore installations from a ship via a crane, offering greater comfort for the passengers.
It can also be used for medical evacuations, the Aberdeen-based company claimed.
The French operator purchased the crew transfer device primarily for carrying out inter-field transfers and will deploy it in the Odudu field in Nigeria.
“The Frog XT4 is very portable and easy to transfer from starboard to port, and vice versa,” said deck foreman at Total E&P Nigeria.
“In case of impact, it has better personnel protection with improved shielding compared to that of the Frog-3, previously used by Total. Another improvement would be the Frog XT4’s shock absorbers.”
The response from the wider industry on the new range has also been positive, with a second unit recently purchased by an international operator in Mozambique, Reflex said.
The company is now looking to launch a higher capacity version of the product, the Frog XT10, in the coming months.