Catershop

Catershop has recently installed a wide range of galley, refrigeration and servery equipment on the Valhall Oil platform which has been hailed as one of the best pieces of rig construction of its kind in the world 

The platform itself cost in the region of £1 billion pounds represents three million man hours, is nine storeys’s high and boasts a state of the art dining hall in the atrium, gym and sauna which will be home to 180 workers and should be operational by Christmas 2010.

Valhall is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Discovered in 1975, production began in 1982 and is expected to continue until 2050.
As it currently stands, the Valhall Oil field processes 168,000 barrels of oil and 350 million cubic feet of gas per day. The oil production is piped to the Ekofisk Centre and goes to Conoco Phillips terminal in Teesside. The gas is transported directly via the Norpipe pipeline to Emden in Germany.

    
Design and supply of Equipment

After a year of design and consultancy for the galley facilities to BP, Catershop was awarded the contract to provide the operational foodservice facilities within the module. The supply of equipment was specified to an extremely high standard and was designed to comply with Norwegian Norsok offshore design standards. The main criteria for the equipment supply was for a 40 year life span with strong emphasis placed on ergonomic operation. All sinks and working areas within the galley are fully height adjustable using the Catershop Hydralift system. This hydraulic lifting system built into the work surface allows full height adjustment simply by turning a handle. The main cooking operation is designed to reduce heat output within the galley making the working environment pleasant and efficient. Rational combination ovens and induction cooking surfaces were used for this purpose.
Within the dining room Catershop designed and manufactured a state of the art granite top server counter that was designed as a one off to fit in with the architectural features of the LQ module. The server system allows for a free flow design using separate service modules consisting of a hot bain marie, sweets, salads and breakfast bars with a separate beverage station. The challenges of the design included incorporating an HVAC air supply system through the deck to supply fresh air into the dining room through front panels keeping the finishes highly decorative.

The ventilation canopies selected was the Halton Marine automatic water wash system incorporating a separate water wash control panel that allows wash times for the canopy units to be pre programmed. The design save time and ensures that the canopies operate safely and hygienically offshore.

The final result was the supply and installation of galley facilities that represent cutting edge technology combined with ergonomic work flow and a quality of equipment that will with stand the rigors of offshore use. A world class project that we are proud to say was completed in the UK.