Kvaerner plans extended, deepwater quay for Castberg floater integration

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway – Statoil has contracted Kvaerner to construct the topsides for the Johan Castberg FPSO in the Barents Sea.

In addition, Kvaerner will be responsible for hook-up and integration of the topsides modules with the hull, with at peak around 2,000 of the company’s employees and subcontractor personnel engaged on the program.

Kvaerner’s yard in Stord, western Norway, will fabricate the modules for gas injection, for the re-compressor and for separation, while its facility in Verdal will fabricate the module for seawater handling and the main pipe rack.

Under a sub-contract, Aker Solutions’ yard in Egersund will supply the modules for water and chemical injection, with the company’s complex in Sandnessjøen, northern Norway, providing the smaller modules and the flare boom.

Sembcorp Marine is due to deliver the hull, including living quarters, to Stord during the fall of 2020, with module installation and integration to start immediately following the vessel’s arrival.

The FPSO will be fully commissioned and tested at Stord prior to its planned departure to the final offshore location in 1Q 2022.

Partly to assist the assembly and completion process, Kvaerner plans to spend NOK370 million ($47 million) on a new quay, ‘Vestkaein,’ at Stord.

This is needed because of the likely increase in deepwater projects and attendant demand for floating installations, the company said. The goal is to develop a flexible site with the extended, deeper-water quay providing opportunities for crane lifts and outfitting for projects involving integration or upgrading of floating platforms.

The newly extended quay will be 266 m (873 ft) long, with the construction area expanded to 17,000 sq m (182,986 sq ft). A water depth of 16 m (52 ft) alongside should be sufficient to accommodate the majority of floating offshore installations, Kvaerner said.

In addition, the crane lane will be lengthened by around 100 m (328 ft), allowing increased coverage from the 1,050-metric ton (1,157-ton) gantry crane ‘Storen,’ installed in 2012.”

Steinar Røgenes, Kvaerner’s executive vice president for EPCI, added: “Other advantages with the new quay are that it will provide us with an alternative loading area for modules from subcontractors, and for structures bound for our demolition facility at Eldøyane.

“This will enable us to execute a larger amount of large and small projects in parallel. In addition, it will provide us with added flexibility and opportunities to target potential new markets.”

Planning for the extension is under way, with detail planning to start following board approval for the investment. Construction work will start next month, with completion planned during the first half of 2020.

Since Kvaerner was listed in 2011, the company has invested more than NOK1 billion ($127 million) in the facilities at Stord and Verdal.

Total value of the Castberg topsides contract is around NOK3.8 billion ($481 million), with Aker Solutions’ order estimated at NOK450 million ($57 million).

02/13/2018