The BAF Site was constructed in the 1990s to fabricate the Hibernia Offshore Oil Project. Since then, thousands of hard-working Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have played a significant role in the construction of four offshore projects at the Site, including mega-projects like Hibernia and Hebron or readying drill rigs for exploration.
The Site is Atlantic Canada’s largest fabrication yard with a history of supporting oil and gas opportunities. Through 2020/21, the 140,000 m2 marine facility has been utilized for the stacking of offshore assets; the Terra Nova FPSO is currently stored quayside, and the mobile offshore drilling units West Aquarius and Henry Goodrich were stacked at the BAF Site.
Here are some of the amazing projects completed at the Bull Arm site over the years:
At 550,000-tonnes, the Hibernia GBS is Canada’s largest offshore oil platform. With a peak workforce on site during construction of approximately 5,800, the Gravity Base and Wellhead Module along with the flareboom, helideck, and main and auxiliary lifeboat stations were built at the BAF Site. Final assembly and hook-up also took place on site.
One of the largest Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels ever built, the Terra Nova FPSO is approximately the length of three football fields and stands more than 18 stories high. The BAF Site was the home of this 5,800-tonne steel fabrication project which employed a peak workforce of approximately 1,600 during construction.
The offshore drill rig, Henry Goodrich, is a semi-submersible rig rated for 152 m of water depth and a drilling depth of almost 9 km. A refit was completed at the BAF Site that included architectural, piping, hydraulic and mechanical personnel, and equipment.
The Site was used by Transera International Logistics in 2008 for the load-in and storage of major components for the province’s first wind farm. The Site received and stored infrastructure for the 27 megawatt (MW) wind farm in St. Lawrence (nine x three MW Vestas wind turbines).
The BAF Site was the primary construction site for the Hebron Project. Construction of the GBS, fabrication of the Living Quarters, and integration of the Hebron Platform were performed on site before being towed offshore. Over 132,000 m3 of concrete were produced and poured for its construction. Peak workforce on site reached approximately 4,300.