Case Study: Zakum Development Company reinstates ship‑impacted wellhead platform and saves USD 2.6M with Bentley SACS

ZADCO Uses SACS to Reinstate Ship-impacted Wellhead Platform

Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), operator of the Upper Zakum offshore field, faced the urgent challenge of reinstating a wellhead platform after a 1,600-ton vessel collision that halted production and threatened safety and the environment. To rapidly assess damage, model post‑impact behavior, and substantiate an insurance claim, ZADCO used Bentley’s SACS software to simulate the ship impact and evaluate structural integrity.

Using Bentley SACS (Precede, PSI, Collapse), ZADCO conducted in‑house nonlinear impact and soil–pile analyses, optimized subsea inspection scope, and outsourced detailed repair engineering. Bentley’s solution reduced diver inspection time from 134 to 34 days (75% saving, USD 850,000), cut inspection and repair costs from USD 3.75M to USD 1.15M (USD 2.6M saved, ~70% of project cost), verified a 485‑ton impact causing a 6.6% strength loss, enabled staged early return to near‑full production, and supplied the documentation needed to support the insurance claim.

Zakum Development Company

Wilson John

Integrity Engineer