This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Comm illee following raview of information contained in an abstract submitted by tha author(s). Conlenls of the paper, as presented, have not been raviewed by the Offshore Tecf1nology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any pos~ion of the Offshore Technology Conference or ils officers. Electronic raproduction, distribution, or storage of any pert of this peper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Pennission to reproduce in print is rastricted to an abslract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgmenl of where and by whom the paper was presented. AbstractThe . Mars TLP, Shell Offshore Inc.'s second TLP, was designed and fabricated in 30 months, a significant shortening compared to the previous effort. Being on the critical path, the schedule for the hull provided a large portion of the time savings by overlapping the design and fabrication schedule, simplifying the systems, revamping the approach to quality assurance, executing a record setting dry transport, and more. This paper examines each timesaving idea, describes the steps involved as well as the potential benefits and risks, and evaluates the outcome with respect to its actual time compressing value.The items documented in this paper will be of interest to designers, project management, and fabricators involved in the execution of large scale projects.

The Na Kika Development is located in water depths ranging from 5,800' to 7,000' in the US Gulf of Mexico. The project, a joint effort by Shell and BP, is a subsea development of five independent fields tied back to a centrally located, permanently moored floating development and production host facility.The construction of the Na Kika Host met many challenges potentially facing future projects, including: accelerated schedule, constricting Contractor base, overseas logistics, 33,000st onshore integration and transport, coordinating interfaces with other project activities and handing over the facility to a different operating company. The Na Kika host was installed in summer 2003 and is currently the deepest permanently moored oil and gas production facility in the world. Accelerated schedules and the construction of larger and more complete packages are expected to be commonplace challenges in the future. This paper presents the project's experience in contracting, fabricating, transporting, and commissioning the host facility.

The sample preparation for transmission electron microscope can be done using a method known as "lift-out". This paper demonstrates a method of using a silver-gallium nanoneedle array for a quicker sharpening process of tungsten probes with better sample viewing, covering the fabrication steps and performance of needle-tipped probes for lift-out process. First, an array of high aspect ratio silver-gallium nanoneedles was fabricated and coated to improve their conductivity and strength. Then, the nanoneedles were welded to a regular tungsten probe in the focused ion beam system at the desired angle, and used as a sharp probe for lift-out. The paper demonstrates the superior mechanical properties of crystalline silver-gallium metallic nanoneedles. Finally, a weldless lift-out process is described whereby a nano-fork gripper was fabricated by attaching two nanoneedles to a tungsten probe.

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