Offshore staff
SANDNES, Norway — Vår Energi has contracted Floatel International's Floatel Superior semisubmersible for the 2023 High Activity Period (HAP) related to a life extension program for the Balder FPU in the Norwegian North Sea.
The HAP starts next May. Over a 13-week period, Floatel Superior will be connected to the FPU, serving as living quarters. It previously supported the project in 2021.
Vår Energi's vice president of modifications projects, Inge Bjørkevoll, said, “The 2021 campaign was a great success. Connecting two floaters proved to be a complex but manageable solution thanks to the good cooperation and the common will-to-win mentality between Vår Energi and the suppliers involved.”
The FPU was designed originally to operate at the Balder Area until 2011 and is undergoing upgrades for extended service through 2030.
The HAP 2023 scope includes upgrades to certain production support systems, surface protection, structural reinforcements, work environment improvements and a maintenance campaign.
By 2030 the FPU’s production capacity will be replaced by the Jotun FPSO, which is due to arrive on the field in third-quarter 2024.
In September Vår Energi pushed back its estimate of first oil from the Balder X project in the North Sea, after identifying the need for further investments.
11.30.2022
