TPT March 2016

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24 March 2016
I NDUS T RY
Contract for two 500-tonne under-rollers
SPARROWS Group, and its cable and
pipe-lay solutions (CPLS) division,
reinforced its footprint in the USA after
being awarded a contract byOceaneering
International, Inc, a global provider of
engineered services and products to the
offshore oil and gas industry, to design
and manufacture two 500-tonne powered
and jack-able under-rollers.
The new under-roller system, through
its versatility and mobility, offers a wide
range of benefits. Suitable for use with
reels of up to 11.4m outer diameter, it
provides up to 10 tonnes of line pull at the
outer reel diameter, which is particularly
beneficial for steel-tubed umbilicals – a
more rigid product that requires greater
effort to spool around the reel.
Key to Sparrows Group securing the
contract was the company’s in-house
engineering expertise and facilities in
Aberdeen, UK, where the under-rollers
are to be designed and manufactured
before undergoing testing. The
under-rollers will then be delivered to
Oceaneering in Panama City, Florida,
USA, where Sparrows Group will perform
the assembly and site acceptance
testing. Local after-care support for
the under-rollers will be supplied by
Sparrows Group’s service centre in
Slidell, Louisiana, where the company
has a number of specialist technicians
with the capability to maintain and repair
this type of equipment.
Sparrows Group CEO Stewart Mitchell
commented, “This contract award marks
a significant milestone for Sparrows
Group in that not only are the under-
rollers believed to be the first of the
design and capacity in the marketplace
but it underlines the added value we
bring through our integrated services,
responsiveness and after-care support.”
The complete under-roller unit, when
attached to a set of cradles, can be
lifted via four lifting points. With packing
structures for differing reel diameters
the system can be used for different
reel cradles. This enables the unit to be
versatile in terms of the reel dimensions it
can be used with. Both the drive and idler
units can be moved to the location of the
reel and cradles. The units can then be
fastened to the cradles and, with the use
of hydraulic cylinders, the idler wheels
can push against and under the reel,
effectively lifting the reel off the cradle.
Sparrows Group – UK
Website:
Oceaneering International, Inc – USA
Website:
Sparrows Group’s under-roller