₦airaland Forum

Angelacruz:
Please sir update ur thread...u write so well.I can't believe i read from page one to twenty two.I learnt alot.

Thank you, I am in school at the moment. I will surely update the thread.

EbonyCy:
@soknown et al
Pls can one who studied just community nursing in a Nigerian school of nursing get a job in the UK/or any other country?

Will it be easy getting a job just like one who did basic/general nursing?

No, I don't think so. Unless the person is registered with NMCN as a nurse.

BigCabal:
The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is a process engineer at an oil-producing facility. Process engineers ensure that the process of crude oil production from collection to processing for sale runs smoothly. What this means is that they spend a lot of their time, solving problems or preventing problems from happening.
Life at sea is peculiar;
Source: https://www.zikoko.com/money/hustle/im-the-only-woman-at-my-job-a-week-in-the-life-of-an-oil-and-gas-engineer-at-sea/?utm_source=nairaland_reshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_id=nairaland.261021

Nice write up. Brought back beautiful memories of living on the FPSO. To those talking about sex, you will not want to disgrace your ancestors by going offshore to chase ladies. More so when you have worked from 6am to 6pm and you have reports to write till 10pm. You just finished your meal, had a shower and put your head on the pillow and the process upset alarm sounds, ultimately an unplanned shutdown that you may battle for the next 6 hours or days. Yes days, I have experienced a 3 days unplanned shutdown, you will forget there is a dangling muscle in between your legs.
It could even be a drill that will cut shut your night, or fire outbreak or an explosion like one hypoclorite tank explosion that I experienced. We thank God for his many mercies.
More grease to your elbow @ OP.

To those

meobizy:
Okay. She’s flexing in her location. I had to work offshore to realize an absolute truth; na poor man dey work offshore. The big moneymakers avoid going to rigs and installations. If they do they never spend longer than thirty minutes. All they do is count money by the millions in air conditioned offices.

The curse of the black Gold, 'the nearer the pump, the poorer'. So true.

The health sector alone can generate massive employment for the teeming unemployed youth out on the street. I was opportune to see through some projects in the past which opened the great prospects for growth in the health sector to me.

1. Let's take Lagos as an example. Assuming that HEFAAMA ( I am not sure of the spelling). That is the regulatory agency for private health and social institutions in Lagos sit up on their job. Closing down all the moribund private clinics and hospitals that we all know never measured up to standards. This will allow pulling of resources together to build several mega, multi-specialist hospitals that will be able to attract qualified staff strength and best brains in the health sector. Euracare and Evercare are good examples of this. Imagine having the likes of these two hospitals in all local governments in Lagos. Such venture will encourage insurance companies to pursue health insurance policies that works for all. There will be 'trickle down effect' on the economy as ancillary services will grow up to support this ventures.

2. At some point, I was doing some research about the occupational health needs of factory workers in Lagos. There is no strict compliance to occupational health act. The Ministry of health has very loose regulatory framework for monitoring factories. Imagine if the ministry of health sits up and firm up their oversight function on all industries.

Occupational health industry will boom, there will be more shops to sell quality personal protective equipment, there will be more occupational health laboratories. There will be more people employed, to balance up job/man-power ratio, unlike now that one person may doing the job meant for 6 staffers.

Look at the eateries, restaurants and cafes, no one monitors the health status of the staffs, look at the transport sector, who monitors the physical and mental health of the drivers. Look at the various farms, no one monitors the health and safety if the staffs. What about the schools, how many schools have functional, well manned sick-bays. There is huge potential in the health sector, it may forever remain a potential, it is what it is.

I knew this show will air this year and next year. The 'elites' doing everything that is possible to occupy the youth. More shows will come on air next year.
#letskeeptheirmindoccupied

Happy celebration to you guys.
In some places, Pharmacists can prescribe medications once they have the requisite certification. On the ward, pharmacists check drug/medication history that medics and other clinicians don't have the time to check.

Without the DP, these operations will be chaotic if not impossible.
1. A tanker in position at a SPM, single point mooring to load crude.
2. Loading containers on a boat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpc9Sdkn7ww

I mentioned Dynamic positioning earlier on.
Here is a little explanation about DP System;

Dynamic Positioning Systems
For many offshore activities, it is very important to keep a vessel at a fixed position and heading. Dynamic Positioning (DP) systems automatically control the position and heading of a vessel by using thrusters that are constantly active and balance the environmental forces (wind, waves, current, etc). Environmental forces tend to move the vessel off the desire position while the automatically controlled thrust balances those forces and keeps the vessel in position.
DP systems automatically deliver thrust that balances external forces such as wind, wave, current, etc
The main components of any DP system are the positioning system, the DP computer, and the thrusters. The positioning system, usually a GPS, monitors the position of the vessel. When the vessel moves off the intended position the DP computer will calculate the required thrust which will then be applying by the thrusters in order to maintain the position of the vessel.
Dynamic positioning systems are typically used by offshore vessels for accurate maneuvering, for maintaining a fixed position, or for track keeping (pipe/cable laying). We usually find DP systems on:
• Offshore drilling vessels (Drilling ships and Semi-submersibles). A Drilling vessel will use DP to remain in a fixed location while drilling in deep water.
• Offshore support vessels: Platform supply vessels (PSVs), Well intervention vessels, Diving Support Vessels. Support vessels use DP to stay at a safe distance from offshore platforms and drilling rigs.
• Pipe-laying and offshore construction vessels. Pipe-laying vessels use DP for position keeping and track keeping.
• Dredging vessels. Suction Hopper dredgers, Rock-dumping vessels, Trenching vessels
• Shuttle Tankers. Shuttle tankers during offloading of FPSOs.
The first DP system was set in use in 1961 ('Eureka'). Nowadays, there are over 1000 DP-capable vessels and DP is considered indispensable for deep-water operations.
The components of a DP systems
There are 5 main components in a DP system:
1. Control Systems. The DP control system calculates the offsets between the measured values of position and heading and the required values (setpoint values). Based on the calculated offsets the control system calculated the forces that the thrusters must generate in order to reduce the errors to zero.
2. Power generation
3. Thrusters and propulsion
4. Environmental reference
5. Position and Heading reference

1.5. How DP systems work
The video below explains where and how DP systems are used

1.6. Thrusters and propulsion
The initial design of a DP system sets the environmental conditions at which the vessel is intended to work on DP. Based on this operational requirement the number, size, and location of thrusters is determined.
1.7. Weathervaning DP
Weathervaning DP is the use of dynamic positioning to keep the vessel at a fixed position while allowing the heading to change to get the heading with the least environmental load. This function is similar to single-point mooring systems and results in minimum power requirements.
introduced and tested already in the late 1980s by Pinkster and Davison. The basis of this control
is that the vessel is freely weathervaning, similar to single point moored vessels. This type of
control is also called weathervaning DP. It must not be confused with the weathervaning mode of
normal DP vessels, since bi-axial DP is a passive heading control, Dynamic positioning may either be absolute in that the position is locked to a fixed point over the bottom, or relative to a moving object like another ship or an underwater vehicle. One may also position the ship at a favorable angle towards wind, waves and current, called weathervaning.

https://www.offshoreengineering.com/education/dynamic-positioning-dp/what-is-dynamic-positioning

Boat landing operations.
1. A Surfer approaching the ladder.
2. Personnel climbing the ladder from a Surfer.

My first trip to a real platform was to Bonga, owned by Shell. Like all investments in oil and gas, Bonga is a Joint venture investment between many partners but the operating partner was Shell. Bonga was named after Bonga fish. The crew has assembled on snake island preparatory to the trip. On a fateful day, we arrived early to fuel the boat, tidy things up, everything was top-notch, we got coolers of food from the kitchen. The personnel boarded the boat at the lower jetty and we set sail.

We played the safety orientation video for them on the DVD. We demonstrated our evacuation plan. I asked if there are people that will need anti-seasickness, no one indicated interest but I brought the tablets out anyway.

Just as we passed, the great wall, it started to rain heavily, the tides changed, the waves started to roar. There were corresponding changes within the cabin to match the changes outside. One person wretched and became sick, it had a domino effect on the other passengers, virtually all of them vomited. Because of the rough sea, we did not arrive at Bonga until late in the evening. As we approached the platform, I noticed two things, the bright light that could be seen miles away and the heat from the gas flare tower.

The Captain contacted the control room onboard Bonga for permission to enter the 500m exclusive zone. Permission was granted and we approached the boat landing, The wearied pax started preparing to disembark, some managed to smile. Then we realized that we have more problems. The heave was more than 2m so it was very unsafe to approach. The personnel with us developed sullen faces again. The Captain asked if basket transfer could be done but it was ruled out based on the heave and the fact that the boat did not have a dynamic positioning system (DP system)

We had to stay additional 4 hours for the heave to go down, eventually, at about 2100hr, we were able to approach the landing and we transferred wave-battered wearied souls onto Bonga. We spent the night on the boat because it was too late to start getting back to Lagos.

A little information about Bonga;
(Copied.)
'Bonga lies 120km southwest of the Niger Delta, in a water depth of over 1,000m.

The real extent of the Bonga field is approximately 60km². After acquiring and processing 3D seismic data in 1993-94, the first Bonga discovery well was drilled between September 1995 and January 1996.

Shell drilled an exploration well on Bonga Southwest located 10km south-west of the Bonga field in May 2001. Bonga Southwest was drilled in a water depth of 1,245m

Shell decided on an FPSO development solution. The field has around 16 subsea oil-producing and water injection wells tied to the FPSO.

AMEC secured a £300m ($463m) offshore contract for the engineering design, fabrication, integration, and commissioning of the 17,000t topside production facilities in 2001.

These were necessary to produce approximately 200,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day.

The newly built hull arrived in the UK during the third quarter of 2002, following its construction in the Far East under a separate contract. The topsides were installed onto the hull to create the 300,000t FPSO.

The vessel achieved production of more than 800 million barrels of crude oil in 2018. It is amongst the largest FPSOs in the world.

Gas and oil export

Gas from the Bonga is connected to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant at Bonny, where a third processing train was constructed.

LNG is exported to Atlantic and European markets via tankers. The oil is stored on-board the production facilities prior to direct offloading.

It can produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The cost of the full field development was $3.6bn.

Contractors involved in the deep-water project

ABB won the $180m order for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of all of the subsea equipment. This also included production-control umbilicals and gas-lift risers.

ABB supplied 29 conventional subsea trees and associated hardware under the deal in order to facilitate oil production from, and water injection into, the reservoir.

The deliveries of equipment continued until mid-2009.

The work included project management, the engineering and supply of manifolds, trees, wellheads, controls, connection systems, intervention equipment, integration testing and installation support.

Stolt Offshore signed an approximately $200m turnkey subsea construction contract to support the project.

The deal covered the design, engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the gas-export pipeline, production flowlines, water-injection lines and steel catenary risers.

Stolt Offshore began the design engineering and procurement work immediately.

The risers were fabricated in the second half of 2002 at the Stolt Offshore Nigerdock pipe reeling facility in Nigeria.

Installation works included rigid steel flowlines, together with steel catenary oil and gas-production risers.

Seaway Polaris installed 36km of 10in-diameter production flowlines and all the project’s steel catenary risers using the J Lay method.

Samsung Heavy Industries was awarded a contract to build the FPSO.

Additionally, Seaway Polaris handled the installation of the 92km-long, 16in-diameter gas-export pipeline that connected the Bonga FPSO to the Shell EA riser platform.

Seaway Kestrel installed 25km of 12in-diameter water-injection flowlines. Surveying and tie-in work was undertaken by Seaway Legend.

ClampOn delivered a topside system of sand sensors in February 2003.

An extension to the field, Bonga Northwest field, is situated in OML 118. It lies at a water depth in the range of 2,953ft-3,937ft.

This field will be developed by 12 subsea wells tied back to Bonga’s FPSO.'

https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/Bonga

The most common Chopper being used in the sector was and still is the Sirkosky S76c+ and S92/S96, Some operators like AON and Caverton use Augusta and Bell Helicopters but they are not as common and popular as Sirkoskys. - My words

Copied from Bristow Helicopters.
The Sikorsky S76 C++ is a twin-engine, 12-passenger, IFR-certified helicopter featuring higher speeds, greater range and a smoother ride. This reliable helicopter is capable of carrying cargo and passengers offshore, day or night, and in instrument weather conditions. The S76 C++ is powered by 2 Turbomeca Arriel 2S2 engines rated at 923 shp for takeoff, 853 shp max continuous operation, and two-minute power of 956 shp. The S-76D features an all-glass integrated avionics suite, dual-speed composite main rotor, additional fuel capacity, icing certification and 1,077 shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S turboshaft engines.

The Sikorsky S-92 helicopter is the most advanced aircraft in Sikorsky’s civil product line, certified to the most stringent safety requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The helicopter’s advanced health and usage monitoring system sets a new level of reliability and enables cutting-edge fleet management services. With seating for 19 passengers, the S-92 has a maximum takeoff weight of 26,500 lb/12,020 kg. Bristow also has four S92s with the Gross Weight Expansion (GWE) applied which increases the maximum takeoff weight to 27,700 lb/12,565 kg.

https://www.bristowgroup.com/fleet/heavy-twins/sikorsky-s-92

In the warm months between February and April, going to the sea on a boat was always fun. During these months, we usually have pods of dolphins accompanying us as we rode to our location. While on-site, sometimes we will notice jet spray in the air and the mammoth sea creature will emerge from the deep blue to breathe and then take another dive, Whales. They do come to our waters to mate and brood babies. There was one that came very close to us, less than 10m to the boat. Fortunately, we were outside on the stern when we sighted it miles aways so we were guessing when and where it will surface again only for us to be sprayed with the jet spray as it came up beside us, less than 10m away.

Some periods are always difficult to fly as a rotary-wing pilot, Late December till February when there is persistent Harmattan reducing visibility. May till July when it rains heavily offshore. The birds struggle to fly so the boat becomes the medium of staff transit naturally.
There were 3 series of Surfer boats then, at least the ones that were operational in the Nigerian Maritime and Oil and Gas upstream industry.
We had the 1400 series, the 1800 series, and the 250 series in order of production and advancement. Surfer 1822 must have annual maintenance that had to be done in the Bourbon Shipyard in PH. During this period, the company sent Surfer 1414, a 1400 series. The 1400 series had a fatal design error. The Cabin leads straight into the Stern, no wall that separates the Cabin from the Stern, just a flimsy tarpaulins curtain. The 250 series was top-of-the-range boats then, there must be newer series now.

There were 3 series of Surfer boats then, at least the ones that were operational in the Nigerian Maritime and Oil and Gas upstream industry.
We had the 1400 series, the 1800 series, and the 250 series in order of production and advancement. Surfer 1822 must have annual maintenance that had to be done in the Bourbon Shipyard in PH. During this period, the company sent Surfer 1414, a 1400 series. The 1400 series had a fatal design error. The Cabin leads straight into the Stern, no wall that separates the Cabin from the Stern, just a flimsy tarpaulins curtain. The 250 series was top-of-the-range boats then, there must be newer series now

Inside picture of one of the Surfer boats

Surfer 1414 and 258, 1400 series and 250 series.

Alwayshungry:
Dats true..
Although my normal location 8s at deep water.
Came out there for a call out.
JVO is just stressful cos of the daily surfer movement to external platforms.
All my intestines don twist.
Especially now that they are using the SILVERLINE SURFER.
THE thing can shake u out of ur body.all the same I wish I well in ur endeavors.

Thank you, Daily surfer transfer to those unmanned platforms is not easy.

These are the ships and vessels that you will find on the channel, approaching the seven port terminals in Apapa, Oe of the past Nigerian Presidents has a controlling stake in one of them. AP Muller.

• Container Ships.

• Bulk Carrier.

• Tanker Ships.

• Naval Ships.

• Offshore Ships.

There are tug boats, supply boats, floating barges, wooden canoes mostly sand-carrying canoes. These sand-carrying canoes move sharp sand from one point to the other, they travel in clusters of about 15 or more boats tied together. Once we sight them, we will reduce our speed to the slowest because the wave generated by the surfer is strong enough to capsize all of them.

Tug boats are like the touts on the channel in the sense that they are small, hardy, and mostly unkempt but they can tow mighty ships in and out of the channel.

I remember NNS Arandu, the naval flagship frigate, she has accosted us a couple of times, questioning what we were doing on the sea.

In the warm months between February to April, going to the sea on a boat was always fun. During these months, we usually have pods of dolphins accompanying us as we rode to our location. While on-site, sometimes we will notice jet spray in the air and the mammoth sea creature will emerge from the deep blue to breathe and then take another dive, Whales. They do come to our waters to mate and brood babies. There was one that came very close to us, less than 10m to the boat. Fortunately, we were outside on the stern when we sighted it miles aways so we were guessing when and where it will surface again only for us to be sprayed with the jet spray as it came up beside us, less than 10m away.





https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2020/02/nns-aradu-nigerias-most-powerful-warship-gets-a-refit

Fidelismaria:
Well done SoKnown, how's London treating you?

Great my friend, welcome on board

IYIMAN:
Great experience we had. Nice write up my man. It was all worth it, a lifetime experience. Thank God you made it out and then out. I will be corroborating and expatiating on our encounters as necessary.

Thank you, Baba, good to have you on board

Exmilitant:
Op, i can relate, once worked with Noble drillings as roostabout and in a fishing trawler as deckhand. Water is another world of its own. Thats why those who've worked long at sea hardly get use to another life. You write like a pro.

At this time, Noble was drilling wells at Erha.

itzzkhaliii:
Nice thread op,me found my bed relax,plug my charger and followed the thread reading kindly with all interest wishing to learn one or two things from this write up but it seems there are tons of knowledge in here.
But on a serious note op connect your boy na.

It was ages ago, my friend.

Alwayshungry:
Bourbon surfer are no longer crewed that way.
It's now manned by a 3 member crew.
No more medic.
Medic are only found onboard platforms or FPSO.

That Crew make up was just for that project, Most Surfer boats have just the Captain and Seamen.

Asquare84:
Opp, did you witness any mystical being like UFO in the sea

Not really.

Alwayshungry:
Wonderful.
Kindred spirit.
Currently onboard deep waters.
No other life than the sea.

Trust you are safe, looks like a JVO location that I know. A Production platform that uses a mother ship as its storage. Don't want to mention the name.

iamclime:
And by the way, this is how Whispering Palms looks like now. Was there on Thursday for research purposes.

These pictures brought many memories. Thank you.

uche785:
Pictures from nigerdock, drydock and RoRo vessel, the red arrow is the gate of the drydock.

Nostalgic feeling here. Thank you.

I need to rest, I am on a late shift. See you, later all.

uche785:
Wow that's awesome � am so surprise most places mentioned I have work there snake island, in niger duck also enjoyed their shor club restaurant ,thro deep blue sea, high sea and inland Waters , work on tugs boat, pilot boat and digger vessel etc is a good experience but the risk is very high.

Wow, happy to have someone that has worked on Nigerdock on board.

Generalwoodz:
IAM not Op but we are as hot as fallen angels

Washed by Amphitrite and creamed by Calypso,

Klass99:
@ Soknown, I like the way you write.

Did you ever encounter any incidents where a chopper crashed into the sea and your crew had to do rescue activity?

Are men at sea as Hot as I've heard? And if there's a female on board they all try to get in between her legs for some relief?

These are things I've heard and I'm curious to know if there's any truth to it.

No chopper crash happened when I was on that project but after, I will get to that later.
Per the bolded, it's all bar-table tales. Fables I must say,