Seven Norwegian supply bases to provide services for Equinor

Norwegian oil major Equinor has awarded NorSea Group, Saga Fjordbase, and ASCO contracts for services at supply bases in Norway.

Equinor said on Wednesday that the contracts were awarded to assist with work on operated licences on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Peggy Krantz-Underland, Equinor’s chief procurement officer, said: “Employing over 800 people, from Dusavik in the South to Hammerfest in the North, the bases create important activity in the local communities along the Norwegian coast.

“The new two-year contracts help secure jobs and enable continuity for the bases and the business clusters associated with them”.

The company stated that the three suppliers had been delivering safe and efficient operations at the supply bases since 2015. The new contracts are awarded through an exercise of options included in the framework agreements established in 2015.

The contracts will start up on 1 July 2021 and have a duration of two years. The total value of the contracts is estimated at about NOK 1.4 billion ($155.9 million). The scope includes terminal and warehouse services.

Roger Foss, manager supply operations for Equinor on the Norwegian continental shelf, added: “The supply bases in Norway are cornerstones for our offshore operations all along the coast. In 2019, around two million tons of goods and bulk were shipped via these bases to serve our offshore operations.

“We look forward to further cooperate and improve together with our supply base service suppliers on safety, efficiency and sustainability”.

Equinor also said that it was cooperating with these and other suppliers at the bases to reduce CO2 emissions from logistical operations on the Norwegian continental shelf.

A recent example is a common effort to enable shore-to-ship power supply, now in place at five of the bases. This significantly reduces both CO2 emissions and noise from vessels while docked at the bases.

Under the contract, NorSea will be using the Dusavik, Kristiansund, Hammerfest, and Mongstad facilities for terminal and warehouse services while the Ågotnes and Florø bases will be used only for warehouse services.

As for Saga Fjordbase’s facilities, its Florø facility will be used for terminal services while ASCO’s Sandnessjøen base will offer both terminal and warehouse services.