In October, Aker Solutions debuted the Lean Semi, its latest platform design. In it, the company has worked to lower the weight and the cost of a conventional semisubmersible platform to make the production of certain marginal fields economically feasible. Capable of working in water depths of 100-400 m (328-1,312 ft), the Lean Semi is designed to commercialize fields with up to 300 MM-boe, ideally when located next to larger fields with excess processing capacity. The initial design is intended for Norwegian waters; however, John Nustad, business development director, Aker Solutions' Floating & Marine Facilities group, said that the company is in the process now of tweaking the concept for a model that can be dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico. Then, it is foreseen that minimal changes, if any, will be needed for the platform to work anywhere in the world.
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