Early engagement with NOPSEMA
Claude CahuzacINPEX
The APPEA Journal 54(2) 510-510 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ13083
Published: 2014
Abstract
The Ichthys LNG Project includes a central processing facility (CPF) that is the world’s largest semi-submersible platform. The Ichthys CPF is also the first semi-submersible in Australian waters. Given the novelty of the development concept, the complexity of the design, and the scale of the facilities, the Ichthys Project joint venture participants INPEX and Total wanted to gain a better understanding of what the Australian regulators would be looking for as part of the approval process prior to committing to a final investment decision (FID). On a voluntary basis, the project launched an early engagement with NOPSA (later NOPSEMA) in 2011 to review the design safety case for the CPF. This was the first time such an early engagement process had been undertaken by the regulator. A significant benefit of the early engagement process for both parties was good communication and feedback leading to the establishment of a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. The early engagement process identified no show stoppers at that stage. Feedback from the regulator was incorporated in the detailed engineering. The Ichthys Project considers that the early engagement process with NOPSEMA was positive and constructive. It contributed to an FID being taken in January 2012. INPEX continues to engage proactively with NOPSEMA.
Claude Cahuzac has an extensive career specialising in the project management of offshore oil and gas production facilities and deep sea developments, including detailed design, construction and commissioning, and marine logistics. Claude joined Total E&P in 1981 and in March 2010 was seconded to INPEX to work on the large-scale Ichthys LNG Project. Claude initially joined the project as the Deputy Director Offshore Technical Division and is now the Ichthys Offshore Project Director. Claude is undertaking the critical role of delivering the Central Processing Facility (CPF), set to be the largest of its type ever built and the first time such a floating facility would be used in Australian waters. He is also responsible for the Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility (FPSO), all the subsea infrastructure including Subsea Production Systems (SPS) and Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines (URF), as well as the Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) from the Browse Basin to the onshore LNG processing facilities near Darwin. Claude has previously worked on a number of major projects in Cameroun, China, Congo, Europe, Thailand, Indonesia and the North Sea in logistics, senior project management and offshore technical roles. Claude graduated from Ecole Nationale Superieure de Nantes in France with a Masters in hydrodynamics and naval architecture. |
