Ekofisk wellhead platform taking shape in European yards
Aug. 25, 2011
Construction is under way of a bridge that will connect a new platform to ConocoPhillips’ Ekofisk complex in the North Sea.
Offshore staff
EGERSUND, Norway -- Construction is under way of a bridge that will connect a new platform to ConocoPhillips’ Ekofisk complex in the North Sea.
The Ekofisk 2/4 Z wellhead platform will feature 36 well slots, hosting 35 production wells and one well for reinjection of drill cuttings. Five of the wells are due to be pre-drilled in 2012/13.
ConocoPhillips expects the superstructure to be ready for transport to the field in March 2013, followed by start-up the platform and handover to the operating organization in the second half of 2013.
The Ekofisk South project was approved by the Norwegian authorities on June 9, with construction of the jacket beginning two weeks later in southwest Spain, and now the bridge in Egersund.
Work on the topsides will start in early November, also in Egersund, with a yard in Poland fabricating deck sections. Assembly of the topsides will get under way in Egersund next April
The116-m (380-ft) long bridge will be ready for transport to Ekofisk by end-April 2012, along with the jacket from Cadiz and the bridge support. The latter will be delivered from Verdal, Norway, for the steel jacket for Ekofisk 2/4 L, the new accommodation and field center platform.
