InterMoor completes IRIS installation, recovery in Gulf of Mexico

InterMoor, an Acteon company, has completed an installation and recovery project for Apache Deepwater in Mississippi Canyon Block 148, Well 5 in the Gulf of Mexico. The work scope included the overboard, wet transfer, deployment and recovery of a 30-ton interchangeable riserless intervention system (IRIS) owned by Blue Ocean Technologies. InterMoor undertook the work in water depths of approximately 168 meters from Cal Dive’s Uncle John semisubmersible vessel.

InterMoor delivered the project using its compensated anchor handler subsea installation system (CASIM), which reduces heave motions relative to vessel motions. CASIM units are pre-charged at the surface to deliver the needed heave compensation for the load at depth. InterMoor’s proprietary CASIM method requires less deck space and demands fewer deck operations than the traditional buoy-based, heave-compensated landing system. The company also provided the associated rigging equipment and a technician to help facilitate the subsea compensation.

“Although we have used CASIM to deploy and recover many types of subsea equipment, this is the first time that we have used CASIM for IRIS deployment and recovery, and the project’s success shows that this proven installation method is suitable for a wide range of subsea equipment,” said InterMoor project manager Jacob Heikes.