Offshore staff
LYSAKER, Norway – Construction of the gravity-based structure (GBS) for the Hebron platform offshore Newfoundland has been completed in St. John’s, according to contractor Kvaerner. The structure has also undergone a submergence test.
Mating with the topsides followed in December.
In Europe, Kvaerner has completed design engineering for Statoil’sJohan Sverdrup utilities and living quarter platform topsides.
Construction continues at 13 sites in Norway, Sweden, and Poland. In December, the project headquarters transferred from Leatherhead near London to Stord, western Norway.
Kvaerner will deliver three steel jacket substructures toJohan Sverdrup and has completed detailed engineering for all three.
Assembly of the riser jacket at Verdal is on schedule, with last roll-up completed of the four main frames and installation of the first two pile clusters.
As for the production platform and drilling platform jackets, both due to be delivered in 2018, prefabrication continues in Verdal and in Dubai.
Kvaerner finished front-end engineering design (FEED) in December for theNjord A Future project in the Norwegian Sea, and agreed to the scope for post-FEED work.
Pre-EPC activity is progressing according to schedule with pre-fabrication of pontoons beginning in early December.
The company says that although the oil price has nearly doubled compared to one year ago, it is still well below its peak, hence the continued sluggishness of thefield development sector.
However, more oil companies appear to be gravitating toward projects that generate an early return on investments such as satellite field tiebacks to existing platform infrastructure.
These projects often require new modules on the host platforms in addition to other modifications, and could provide a growth segment for Kvaerner, in particular its minimal platform concept Subsea on a Stick for satellite fields.
The industry’s drive to lower costs is yielding results, the contractor adds, with oil companies communicating that new projects are feasible at a 20-50% lower price than in 2013.
Kvaerner expects theJohan Castberg development in the Barents Sea and Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 to be sanctioned during the next 10-18 months. In addition, the high activity level for drilling in the Barents Sea suggests the potential for various field developments post-2020.
02/15/2017
