The Mariner A oil and gas platform

Hello,

Today i thought that i would talk about the oil / gas rig that you will have seen images of. I was involved with the construction of this beast. At any one time there was 850 people offshore.

As oil rigs go, this is a one of kind.

The Mariner oilfield is located in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, in block 9/11a. It was discovered in 1981 at a depth of about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) below sea level. Water depth in the area is about 100 metres (330 ft). Estimated recovery is at least 250 million barrels (40×106 m3) of oil. 

As of December 2012 the operator, Statoil (now Equinor), made the investment decision and final approval of the field development plan by the UK authorities is in progress. The plan envisages a production, drilling and quarters platform based on a conventional steel jacket, exporting oil via a floating storage unit.

The oil is heavy and viscous, with API gravities of 12.1°–14.6° and viscosities ranging from 67cp in the field's Maureen reservoir to 508cp in the Heimdal reservoir. The small volume of associated gas will be used as fuel for the platform, and more fuel gas will be imported via a connection to the nearby Vesterled pipeline.

In summary

It took over 35 years to work out how to extract this super heavy thick oil. The diluting solution that mixes with the oil, thins it out, and we end up with an even better product. As this platform isn’t on a pipe line, she is connected a large vessel, known as an FSU (floating storage unit) This FSU pumps the diluting solution to the platform, and the platform then pumps back the recovered oil. A large tanker comes into the field every few days to collect the produced oil.

Amazing isn’t it.

Have a good week.

Lee

Neptune Energy Aberdeen

Good morning,

Another Aberdeen office. This is one of the first photos taken with my drone. It was a nerve wrecking flight that’s for sure ha!

Some information on the building.

This commercial building was completed in 2015 for energy firm GDF Suez, designed by the award winning Halliday Fraser Munro. The project value was £8 million. This distinctive building in Aberdeen city centre was winner of the BCO award for ‘Best Commercial Workplace’ in 2015. Judges in the British Council for Offices’ (BCO’s) Regional Awards said the 40,000 square feet riverside development showed what can be achieved by a “clear vision that puts the needs of the occupier centre stage”, while at the same time benefiting the wider community.

The building is now occupied by Neptune Energy, who are an independent exploration and production company in the oil and gas industry, who have a regional focus on the North Sea, North Africa and Asia Pacific with a diverse, gas-weighted portfolio and deep industry expertise.

Have a great weekend.

Lee

Scent by Miss C

Hello,

How are you?

Today i wanted to show its not just oil rigs and buildings i take photos of.

While i’m staying in Aberdeen a local business reached out, wanting product images to be used on websites, social media and even printed on a floor to ceiling banner.

The candles that are made by hand and a lovely product.

With mothers day approaching, i recommend putting your order in.

www.scentbymissc.com

Have a great weekend.

Thanks

Lee

Prosafe - Safe Boreas

Hello,

I want to share some images taken of an accommodation vessel..

The Safe Boreas is the most advanced and efficient harsh environment accommodation vessel in the world, constructed to comply with Norwegian regulations.

The vessel has the capacity to accommodate 450 persons in single man cabins.

The layout of the unit is unique, with two large internal atriums allowing natural daylight into cabins, mess room and recreational areas.

The vessel is named after Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind and the bringer of cold winter air.

The name reflects that the vessel is designed for operating in the Norwegian and UK North Sea, a geographical area renown for its cold climate and harsh winters.

Annan House Aberdeen

While I am now spending 75% of my time in Aberdeen.

I am out documenting some buildings and offices of Aberdeen.

So today I start with Annan House which EnQuest and WorleyParsons occupy in the city centre. Early morning it catches the sun beautifully.

Completed in 2015 this eight storey building provides 120,000ft2 of grade ‘A’ office space. This building has led to the physical regeneration of a neglected and run down area of the City and also act as a catalyst in generating additional long-term economic activity for the Aberdeen harbour area and city in general.

I hope that you have a good weekend.

All the best

Lee

Robert Gordon University.

Hello,

Hows things?

Thats us well into 2020 now..

Here are some images of Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University.

“Omni Nunc Arte Magistra”

“Now by all your mastered arts”

Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU, is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.

The university derives from Robert Gordon's Hospital, an institution set up in the mid-18th century to provide the poor with a basic education and reasonable start in life, and the various educational institutions which developed in Aberdeen to provide adults with technical, vocational and artistic training, mostly in the evenings and part-time. Following numerous mergers between these establishments, it became Robert Gordon's Technical College in 1910, then following further developments became Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology in 1965 and began to conduct increasing amounts of research and provide degree-level education (by now mostly offering day classes to full-time students). Finally, it became a university in 1992.

Keep in touch and be sure to subscribe to my news letter if you have not yet.

Lee

The key is to wait...

Hello how are you?

Have you had a good festive period.

Thats it all over and back to normal for me now.

Q. What is the difference with the above images?

A. About half an hour..

It is amazing how waiting can have such a difference to your images.

In half an hour the sky semi cleared, even look at the sea, waves calmed down and the setting sun caught the clouds nicely.

So please take your time, slow down, bag the image and then wait till the suns gone as you never know how mother nature will react…

Have a great weekend.

Lee

Happy New year

Happy new year!

wow 2020… and the Millennium bug still hasn’t struck and caused us a melt down…

I hope that you have had a great time and not made a shed load of resolutions that wont be kept….

Lee

Petrofac Christmas

Congratulations for Petrofacs Industrial services Rope Access team, for doing an amazing job installing the buildings Christmas decorations :)

Through either a work rotation or weather, i have not physically been home for Christmas day since 2014,

and so just call me Mr Christmas as the Ramsden family are going the whole hog this year.

I hope that you all have a great time, either at home with your families, or if you are stuck at work, hope that you make up for it double when you return.

Thanks

Lee

If you have not yet SUBSCRIBED then please do,

Or head over to instagram and give me a follow

www.leeramsden.com/links

Need access? Use ropes.

Hello,

Hope that you are you well.

Today i thought i would show a couple of images of different rope access teams.

The above image, is a technician abseiling down from working at the top of a leg on a jack up oil and gas platform.

These images may look like fun, but an 80m vertical ladder is not. Ha!

Take care and have a good week.

Lee

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date.

North Sea, Supply Vessels

Good morning,

Today i want to show a vessel, this is one of many many vessels, that feed us, that bring us supplies and from the skippers and crews devotion and hard work keep the oil and gas industry working.

This is the Sea Falcon, operated by Solstad Offshore.

She was created in 2013, Length of 88.9m, Width 19.7m and a total 8732 bhp.

To keep up to date please subscribe.

Have a good week

Lee

Oil and Gas platform.

Hello,

Today i would like to share three images, all taken within a few minutes on one another,

I thought it gives a good visual on the setting sun and blue hour.

Sometimes there isn’t a spectacular sun set.

With these industrial beauties, blue hour is my favourite as the contrast against the warm flood lights look amazing.

I hope that you have a good weekend,

Be sure to subscribe to keep up to date.

Lee

Oil and Gas platform.

Hello and welcome

Today i’d like to show these two images of the Mariner A, Uk North sea oil and gas platform.

hope that you have had a great weekend.

and if you have not yet subscribed to my newsletter then please do below.

Lee

Radio silence... Do you copy.... Over.....

Hello,

Radio silence is over, nearly 18 months of not posting, i have an interesting catalogue that i would like to share and update this site with on a fortnightly basis.

Be sure to subscribe to my news letter for future updates.

Newsletters are on a monthly basis, in your inbox on 1st of each month.

No spam just nice images and information about the sites i have been shooting.

The above image is myself as rescue man on an 80 meter high jack up oil rig leg, whilst in dry dock having repairs.

Keep in touch.

Lee

Beer

Hello, 

Today id like to share some images that I recently created. 

At present I shoot products in my dining room, which is not ideal. 

I am currently on the look out for a suitable space, If anyone has any suggestions or has a space I can use / share in the Lytham St Annes / Blackpool / Lancashire area then please use the contact page and let me know. 

Kind regards, 

Lee

Example of my work in use.

Hi, 

Today thought id she a couple of my images and how varied their usages can be. 

The above image was taken back in 2009, on my first Dslr camera, an old Nikon D90. In comparison today, my iPhone can take better images. 

This image of a street in Manchester has been purchased for the front cover of a fiction crime novel by the talented author Bill Rogers. 

His publishers added the people and colour graded the image, but it is nice to see an image of mine in print. 

My images are sold either directly, or through the stock site Alamy.  

Once a sale occurs I am not privy to who the customer is, but with the powerful tools around, like googles reverse image search it is nice to find my images around the internet. 

Lee

BP Glen Lyon

Another trip up Blackpool tower.

Hello, id like to share some images from another trip working up Blackpool's tower, repairing the illumination lighting at great height. 

Arrived to site early and so I walked the long way there. Was surprised to see early morning council worker cleaning the front. 

Ropes set, and decent underway. Always told "don't look down" but you have to in this game. 

Today repairs ongoing to the heart light. 

Sophisticated control gear, power the lighting on the Tower, helps it to change colour and be programmable.

A spectator while working at height. 

Thanks for viewing.

Lee

Module removal.

Hello, 

Today marks the final post in this series. 

It finishes with the big finale - the heavy lift of the accommodation module. 

Project manager looks on with anticipation. 

Nearly 3000 tonnes being lifted, which is effortless for the Saipem S7000. 

With additional tugger lines fitter, the huge load can be rotated on its axis and and with great prescission laid onto the deck of the S7000. 

I hope that this series of blog posts over the last few months, have been of interest.

I have been working in the oil and gas industry for nearly 15 years and this has certainly been the most interesting project I have been involved in. 

The decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas platforms are unfortunately something that we are going to see much more, as the price of oil falls, and the platforms are becoming a less viable option to maintain and keep running. 

Thanks

Lee

Derrick removal.

Hello, 

Today id like to show, the first couple of lifts. 

Above image the rope access riggers, install the cranes lifting equipment. 

Once landed the derrick is then sea fastened (welded) to the deck of the S7000.

The next lift to be completed was the helideck. 

It was amazing to see these huge bits of an oil rig, look almost insignificant against the huge Saipem S7000 cranes. 

Thanks