Vår Energi, OneSubsea collaborate to speed up tiebacks offshore Norway
OneSubsea has signed a letter of intent to supply subsea production systems for Vår Energi’s projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
What is a subsea tieback?
A subsea tieback is an engineering process that connects an oil or gas discovery to an existing production platform. The system usually includes a subsea wellhead, Christmas tree and a flowline that carries the hydrocarbons back to the facility. It might also involve other commonly used pieces of equipment, such as manifolds and additional pipelines, and may require a bit of modification on the platform. Think of it as the plumbing between the seabed and the production facility.
*Definition by bp
The pre-commitment arrangement should allow Vår Energi to shorten subsea tieback development times by up to one year, the company claims.
COO Torger Rød said Vår Energi is targeting production within four years of discovery from its early-phase portfolio of more than 20 projects.
“Efficient measures to shorten the lead time and control the supply chain for key equipment is important to reach these goals and will support our plan to sustain production at 350,000 to 400,000 boe/d towards 2030,” he added.
OneSubsea will start work immediately on two equipment packages. The first is for a comprehensive subsea production system featuring four vertical subsea trees, wellheads, standardized four-slot template, manifolds, umbilicals and all associated equipment. Upon delivery, Vår Energi should be able to quickly deploy this spread on any field of its choice.
The second package includes engineering and procurement of all components for a similar-sized system, with a reduced lead time for any subsequent project developments.
The order is due to be delivered before summer 2027, with components for production drilling dispatched in 2026.
In addition, the agreement covers securing materials and reduced dispatch times to enable continuous fast-track deliveries.
Vår Energi added that it had been collaborating with OneSubsea, Ocean Installer and Saipem, as its strategic subsea partners, on standardization and reduction lead times to improve new project developments and reduce associated costs.
Vår Energi in the news
Late last month, Vår Energi formed a partnership with Aker Solutions, Honeywell and StS-ISONOR to provide maintenance and modification services to its operated assets and developments across the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Also in January, Odfjell Technology announced it will act as strategic partner to Reelwell, which secured a contract with Vår Energi for the provision of its DualLink powered digital drillpipe technology. The DualLink will be deployed offshore on the NCS for the first time. The initial contract covers operations on the COSLPioneer rig for one year, with the option of four additional one-year extensions. The contract also includes an option to expand the scope to include all Vår Energi installations across the North Sea, depending on future operational requirements.
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Jeremy Beckman | Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.
