Project review
Deepwater installs 2 RetroBuoy systems on Gulf of Mexico platform

Overview

Deepwater Corrosion Services, Inc. recently retrofitted an eight-leg, fixed steel jacket in the Gulf of Mexico with two RetroBuoy impressed-current cathodic-protection (ICCP) sleds. Sitting in about 330 feet of seawater, the platform’s CP life will be extended by 20 years.

Each RetroBuoy system is comprised of:

• One RetroBuoy sled
• One Transformer-Rectifier (TR) power unit, which is installed topside
• One power cable between the RetroBuoy and TR

Installation

The RetroBuoys and their cables (terminated dockside in Carlyss, LA) were loaded onto the back deck of the dive support vessel and taken to the platform. Using saturation divers, the RetroBuoys were installed on the seabed about 175 feet south of the base of the jacket. The subsea cables were slowly unreeled and landed on the seabed in a figure-8 near the jacket base. The platfom had a J-Tube available to pull the cables for both RetroBuoys through the splash zone.

Both RetroBuoys and cables were installed subsea in less than 30 hours.