Statoil: First building block for Johan Sverdrup installed

Norwegian oil giant Statoil has informed that the first piece of the Johan Sverdrup development has now been completed and installed on the field in the North Sea.

It was Heerema Marine Contractors’ crane vessel “Thialf” that completed the installation of the 280-tonne pre-drilling template on the Johan Sverdrup field.

“We have completed and installed the first piece of one of the largest industrial projects in Europe. We still have a long journey ahead in the Johan Sverdrup development, but we are very pleased that we have completed and installed the subsea template without serious incidents and according to plan.

“This is a good start according to the required quality and precision standards for successful implementation of the development,” says Kjetel Digre, head of the Johan Sverdrup field development.

According to Statoil’s press release, Heerema Marine Contractors were responsible for design, building and installing the pre-drilling template.

The 32-metre-long, 10-metre-high pre-drilling template is one of the smallest building blocks of the Johan Sverdrup development but plays a key role in the project, Statoil said in the press release.

The pre-drilling template contains eight well slots that allow production wells to be pre-drilled before the drilling platform is installed in 2018 and production starts at Johan Sverdrup in late 2019.

Pre-drilling allows the production capacity to be utilised as efficiently as possible when Johan Sverdrup has come on stream.

Pre-drilling and the pre-drilling template thus help capture maximum value for the partners and the whole society over the next 50 years.

The Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig will start pre-drilling on the Johan Sverdrup field through the pre-drilling template from March 2016.

“The activity level for the Johan Sverdrup project will be substantially increased as new steps are taken in the field development. We are working closely with the suppliers in the platform pre-engineering process. We have awarded several main contracts and utility packages worth more than NOK 40 billion so far. More contracts will be awarded during the autumn. We have also started building the first platform jacket at Kværner Verdal. So far, the Johan Sverdrup development is on track,” says Digre.

The Johan Sverdrup partnership consists of Statoil, Lundin Norway, Petoro, Det norske oljeselskap and Maersk Oil. The partnership has recommended Statoil as the operator of all field phases.

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