Ellis lands the Golden Eagle

2012-9-3

Leading cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis has landed a major order to supply the first of two new oil platforms currently being built by Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited for use in the North Sea’s Golden Eagle Area Development (GEAD).

The Yorkshire manufacturer’s Emperor cable cleats, which are designed for use where the highest level of short circuit withstand are required, were specified by Nexen and supplied through MacLean Electrical’s International Projects Group, which secured the contract for supply of the project's electrical bulk materials and cables.

Paul Nolan, UK sales manager for Ellis, said: “We’ve enjoyed a great deal of recent success in the oil and gas industry, with major specifications secured for offshore developments in Australia, Brazil and Kazakhstan, but as a UK manufacturer it is extremely satisfying to add a big North Sea order to this list.”

Nexen’s Golden Eagle field is situated around 70km offshore from the UK coast and is due to go into production in 2014. The company is building a twin platform complex featuring two subsea drilling centres with up to 24 wells. One of the platforms will be a wellhead facility, which will be linked via a 70-metre bridge to a major production, utility and quarters (PUQ) platform. Both will stand on new steel jackets.

Explaining the need for correctly specified cable cleats on offshore installations, Paul Nolan added: “For any electrical installation, whether on or offshore, to be deemed safe, cables need to be restrained in a manner that can withstand the forces they generate, including those generated during a short circuit, and this is exactly what cable cleats are designed to do. Without them, the dangers are plentiful – costly damage to cables and cable management systems, plus the risk to life posed by incorrectly or poorly restrained live cables.”

Ellis’ Emperor cleats are manufactured in type 316L stainless steel, meaning they provide ultimate corrosion protection, even in the harshest of environments. The benefits of the Emperor cleats also extend to a patented design that makes installation quick and easy, and an integral LSF zero halogen polymeric liner and base pad that protects and cushions cables during short circuit conditions.