China's Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) has announced the ahead-of-schedule completion of the first phase of subsea pipeline installation for the Ruya EPCI 9 project in Qatar. This project is a key part of the third-phase development of the Al-Shaheen field, operated by North Oil Company, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies.

Project Significance and Scope

The Ruya EPCI 9 project represents the largest subsea pipeline-laying contract by value that COOEC has been awarded in the Middle East. The full workscope, managed by COOEC under a full engineering, procurement, and construction contract, involves laying 41 subsea pipelines and nine subsea composite cables, with a planned execution period of 64 months.

First Phase Completion Details

The successfully completed first phase involved the installation of 28 subsea pipelines, totaling 137.88 kilometres and encompassing 10 different pipeline sizes, with a maximum diameter of 26 inches. The company reported that this phase was finished ahead of schedule with zero safety incidents and zero quality defects.

Vessel and Strategic Importance

The work was executed by the Hai Yang Shi You 201, China's first domestically designed and built 3,000-metre deepwater pipelay crane vessel. Its deployment to the Middle East in May last year, marking its first operation outside Chinese waters, supports both the Ruya EPCI 9 project and QatarEnergy's ISND5-2 project. COOEC highlighted this achievement as a breakthrough and large-scale application of China's full-chain high-end offshore engineering, procurement, construction, and installation capabilities in a core global energy-producing region.