GRUPPO ANTONINI COMPLETES IRENA 3 PLATFORM LOAD-OUT AND SAIL-AWAY
One year after the start of almost 100,000 hours of work, Gruppo Antonini has completed the sail-away of the IRENA 3 offshore platform. The project, worth over 25 million euros, is now entering the offshore installation phase and will contribute to the development of the IRENA gas field in the Croatian Upper Adriatic.
Gruppo Antonini has successfully completed the load-out and sail-away operations for the IRENA 3 platform, marking the start of work to transfer the structures to the installation site, the IRENA gas field located in the upper Croatian Adriatic Sea off the coast of Rovinj. The operation marks the project’s transition from the onshore construction phase to the offshore installation and commissioning of the platform, as part of a contract worth over 25 million euros.
Developed by Gruppo Antonini in partnership with engineering firm DG Impianti Industriali and working on behalf of ED-INA Ltd., a joint venture between Energean Plc., an independent international group active in hydrocarbon exploration and production, and INA d.d., Croatia’s leading energy operator with a well-established presence in the oil and gas sector in the Adriatic Sea, the project involves the construction of a new offshore gas platform designed to help develop energy resources in the Adriatic.
The contract covers a wide range of activities, from project management and engineering to procurement, construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning, right through to transport, offshore hook-up and plant start-up operations. This integrated approach capitalises on the management, engineering, construction and operational expertise developed by Gruppo Antonini in the offshore sector.
The structures involved in the transfer comprise the jacket, the foundation piles, the conductors and the topside, all loaded onto the same cargo barge for onward transport to the installation site. The platform consists of a jacket weighing approximately 410 tonnes and a three-level topside weighing about 200 tonnes, designed to house the production facilities and the main operational equipment. Once installed, it will be powered entirely by a photovoltaic system and equipped with a Distributed Control System (DCS) so that operations can be controlled remotely.
The project has so far involved nearly 100,000 hours of work and will require a further 10,000 during the subsequent offshore phases. Over the next 40 days, work will be completed on installing the jacket and topside, on driving the foundation piles, and on the drilling work required to connect the platform to the gas field.
After this, Gruppo Antonini will be involved in hook-up and commissioning operations to integrate the platform with the gas extraction, separation and export network. This work will include the installation of pipework and electrical and instrumentation connections, plus the integration of the photovoltaic generation system, and conclude with plant start-up operations.
In parallel, the project includes offshore revamping of the Izabela South platform, which involves new installations and modifications to the existing plant and sealine requiring an estimated 45 days of offshore work. This work will make it possible to integrate production from IRENA 3 into the extraction infrastructure already operating in the area.
The platform is expected to come on stream by the end of 2026, when IRENA 3 will start contributing to gas production in the Adriatic and to the region’s future energy developments. Gruppo Antonini has once again confirmed its role as an integrated main contractor in the construction of complex offshore infrastructure, overseeing the entire project lifecycle, from design and construction through to installation and commissioning.
