Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway – Kvaerner has provided an update on its fabrication programs for projects offshore Eastern Canada and Norway.
At St John’s, Newfoundland, theHebron field gravity-based structure (GBS) is in its final year of construction, ahead of mating with the topsides.
Over the past quarter the main activity included mechanical outfitting work in the center shaft of the structure and completion of civil works, mainly related to post-tensioning cables for the entire GBS.
TheJohan Sverdrup utilities/living quarters topsides project is under construction at eight sites in Norway, Sweden and Poland, with design engineering more than 90% complete.
Detailed engineering has finished of three steel jacket substructures that Kvaerner will also supply forJohan Sverdrup field. Assembly of the riser platform jacket continues at Verdal, with four clusters and two flotation tanks having arrived from Dubai.
Prefabrication is in progress of the production platform and drilling platform jackets, both due to be delivered in 2018.
Front-end engineering design continues for the overhaul of theNjord Asemisubmersible platform, which was towed from its location in the Norwegian Sea and moored at the Maureen pier at Stord.
In August, Kvaerner signed the third call off contract for pre-EPC work, valued at NOK 350 million ($42.3 million). The scope includes preparations for reconstruction and execution of docking of the platform; removal of the derrick, flare, lifeboat system; and inspection and prefabrication of time critical elements, notably two pontoons that will increase the buoyancy of the hull.
Kvaerner adds that the continued global oversupply of oil and gas has limited oil companies’ interest in new field developments, but there are signs of an approaching balance between supply and demand, with several customers beginning to consider new projects. These include FPSOs and unmanned wellhead platforms with tiebacks to existing infrastructure.
Many oil companies are demanding that costs for new field developments come down to an oil price of $50/bbl. Kvaerner’s internal improvements over the last few years should allow it to fulfil these requirements, although the exact timing of potential new projects remains uncertain, with only a few likely to go forward between now and 2018, both in Norway and internationally.
“Oil companies with plans for new projects seem to put more emphasis on selecting contractors based on safe and predictable delivery connected to schedule, quality and total price,” a Kvaerner official added.
10/26/2016
