Statoil has awarded M-I Swaco a four-year NK500 million for new tank cleaning technology for supply vessels that offers a safer, environmentally friendly solution.
M-I SWACO has developed a new automatic system which means that personnel avoid having to enter the tanks in order to clean them.
Wash water and soap are also recycled so that it is only the actual waste washed out of the tank that has to be delivered for further processing.
Statoil said it had not used this type of technology on supply vessels before but M-I SWACO has used the technology on its own vessels. This is the first time that the Schlumberger company M-I SWACO has commercialised the technology.
Statoil’s vice president of logistics and emergency preparedness Jone Stangeland, said: “The solution increases the safety of our personnel as there is no need to enter the tanks and we reduce both time use and costs,” says Jone Stangeland,
Supply vessels transport chemicals in tanks below deck. When the tanks are emptied offshore they must be cleaned before being used for other assignments.
Tank cleaning is often carried out with the vessels’ own tank cleaning plant, although manual tank cleaning has also been necessary on some occasions.
Manual tank cleaning is carried out by emptying the tanks of residual volume before personnel enter them, erect scaffolding and rinse with water and chemical cleaning agents.
It generates a high volume of waste and a typical clean can involve 10–15 cubic metres per assignment.
“By cleaning the water in the same operation, the volume of waste is reduced significantly,” explained Stangeland.
The new system will fit onto a lorry, and once the system has replaced manual cleaning, vessels will spend much less unproductive time while docked in connection with tank cleaning.
The contract extends over four years with an option to renew for a further four years.