Economically solution for wastewater treatment

Experiences in offshore (Stephan van Bussel)

Triqua has provided turn-key water treatment plants which are used for hotel ships situated in the Caspian Sea for years. After the design, engineering and assembly (in our own assembly hall in Wageningen), the installation is ready to be transported. Soon thereafter a mounting specialist, whether or not accompanied by a technical exper travels down to the rig to start the installation and prepare the local staff training. Below we report the most recent experience by Stephan van Bussel to D Island.

The artificial island is located 85 km from Atyrau, 3.5 million tons of stone were used in the construction. The facility is suitable for the processing of 450,000 barrels per day. It provides a base for two residences, namely Shapagat and Karlygash. There are approximately 5430 people working on the island. The facility has 2 rigs. The island is connected to the mainland by three pipelines. D Island connects other maritime facilities which are necessary for the 1st phase of development of Kashagan.

Reason for and length of visit

During the summer and winter of 2011, Stephan van Bussel, together with an electrotechnical expert travelled to D Island. The main purpose of this visit was the startup of the water treatment plant for the treatment of domestic wastewater from the hotel ships and secondly the training of the local staff (operating instructions). Before the start-up of the installation, an inventory is made of available / missing parts, and missing items are ordered. If all parts are complete, the electrics are made in order. The plant is ready for use when the right biology is present in the buffer tank. During the survey it was found that additional piping was added, which had to be removed, since otherwise the wrong water flows intersect, which disrupts the process. The total duration of the visit was 28 days, including 3 days delay due to weather conditions.

Preparation

Before departure our staff receive a 3 day external training in the Netherlands, needed to be prepared for the trip by helicopter. This training is mainly practical. After obtaining the necessary certificate (only for North Sea), there is a safety passport needed for admission on the island. This is an additional training day in Atyrau, which consists of about 45 theoretical questions in English. Obviously, you must have a VCA certificate also. Furthermore, a visa is needed and last but not least, warm clothing in winter is a must.

Special circumstances

In this area there is extreme weather, ranging from +40 ° C in summer to -40 ° C in winter. The platform is approximately 1 ½ km long and 500 m wide. Several times a day quite a distance needs to be walked in order to get from a to b, (to / from bedroom towards workplace and to / from work to the restaurant), where the cold (reinforced by the wind on the high seas) during the winter can causes anesthetic sensation in the face. Late last year there was about 15 inches of snow while here in the Netherlands we had a temperature of  +15 ° C. Around the platform buffers are made in connection with any icing icebreakers ensure that the platform remains free of ice. It is a complete village with roads, cranes and a cement plant. The Caspian Sea consists of semi-sweet and half salt water, in the summer you can see the sturgeon swim.

Travel experiences

The platform can be reached both by helicopter and boat. The weather determines whether there should be flown or not. Early in the morning at 05.15 hours Stephan departed from the hotel towards the platform. A 3 hour trip by boat (hovercraft, capacity 200 persons), where the ice within the windows stood about 3 cm thick. Stephan was not properly dressed yet, a tough lesson for next time. The return trip was delayed 3 days because of heavy fog. Eventually he was put on the last flight out (later flights were all cancelled), a special experience, where gusts of fog were circumvented. Normally there are 32 flights a day (12 persons). Boats (hovercraft) may only operate when the sea is not frozen.

Personnel D Island

The composition of the personnel present on the drilling platform varies a lot, from Kazacks,  Russians to staff from Sri Lanka, India, England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy (from oil companies) etc.. It employs both men and women, the women mainly have fascilitating functions on board of the boats (cook, waitresses, cleaning and a striking number of painters). Some work there 6 consecutive months and go home once every 6 months. The cooperation with other parties is good but not efficient. Simple tools such as wrenches for example are not readily available, which provides unnecessary delay.

Workflow / relaxation

The working hours are between 07.00 and 19.00. Food includes breakfast; lunch and dinner, there are no interim breaks. The food is good (eg slice of pizza, grilled chicken, vegetables and salad buffet in winter). During lunch bread is served. There is a bakery where the bread is baked every evening, it's pretty solid / hard, not like we are accustomed. There is a sports room (gym) and televisionroom. This winter there are many Englishmen present, they determine the choice of the TV channel. In the summer there are many Russians, than they are decisive.

Memory

During a walk on Saturday along the river (Atyrau) families sit around a hole, waiting for the fish to bite. It is gray and icy in the streets along the river when they followed people standing in a queue. Behind the gray walls they found theirselfs in another world, a ballroom with beautiful ladies in colorful dresses, they are a spectator of a dance contest.