Tideland Signal has won the contract to supply Saipem with Syncrolan LED light stations and fog signals as temporary marks for the jacket that it is currently fabricating for Total E&P UK’s West Franklin phase two project in the North Sea.

To warn shipping in the vicinity, the new wellhead platform will be marked by a Tideland Syncrolan LED light station with main and secondary lights and a Syncrolan main/secondary fog signal, fog detector, batteries, battery boxes and charger. The batteries have been sized to give 90 days autonomy with suitable charging arrangements and all equipment is ATEX certified for use in Zone 1 hazardous areas.

Tideland’s Syncrolan light station uses combined MLED-150 EX LED main and secondary lights with a range of 10 NM. In order to keep the space to a minimum, main and secondary lights are positioned on top of the fog signal and the whole assembly is mounted on a galvanised steel pedestal and wired to an Exe junction box.

Tideland’s MLED-150 lantern offers minimal maintenance requirements and an expected service life in excess of 25 years on station in the most demanding environments. Long-life LEDs and high-integrity electronics are employed to maximise reliability and minimise maintenance.

The fog signal station comprises an AB-68EX fog signal mounted on a galvanized steel bracket, which also incorporates dual ECU 800 control units generating morse U, one on duty and the other on standby. A current monitor is programmed to change over automatically from duty to standby ECU and send an alarm report to the central control and monitor panel.

The US$1bn second-phase development at West Franklin will involve three new production wells as well as the new wellhead platform. Due to come on-stream by 2013, the phase two development will tap into reserves estimated at 85 million barrels. Originally discovered in 2003, West Franklin is in the UK central North Sea and started production in 2007.