Balfour Beatty and LMR to Drill Borehole for Hywind Cables

Balfour Beatty and subcontractor LMR are getting ready to perform marine works nearshore Peterhead, Scotland, for Statoil’s 30MW Hywind Scotland Pilot Park, Kis-Orca reports.

The marine works will be carried out in the period of approximately 8 to 20 August 2016, and will involve drilling of a 660 metre borehole from Barclay Park in Peterhead out to an exit point approximately 450 metres out in the sea.

The marine operations involve the use of a multi-cat vessel, MCS Ailsa, which will be anchored at the exit point and used as support vessel during the breakthrough and diving operations.

A single duct, slightly longer than the borehole, will then be towed to the borehole exit point from Peterhead Harbour using two tug work boats, Shemarah II LH65 and Astern Vessel Moremma PD135, and pulled back into the borehole.

A rigid inflatable boat (RIB) will be used to assist the operation and act as an emergency vessel and also for personnel/diver transfer.

The Hywind floating wind farm will be located some 25 kilometres from Peterhead, northeast Scotland. It will consist of five 6MW Siemens turbines, anchored in waters exceeding 100 meters of depth.