Aker BP laying the groundwork to install 100 km of offshore pipelines at North Sea project

Norwegian oil and gas player Aker BP is set on undertaking six offshore campaigns to install almost 100 km of pipelines this summer at its development project in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. 

Subsea7’s Seven Navica pipelay vessel is laying sections of pipes on the seabed near the Valhall field. These activities are related to the Fenris section of Aker BP’s Valhall PWP-Fenris development in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The team is preparing for the next installation at the Subsea7 spool base in Vigra.

The pipes are welded into stalks before being spooled onto the vessel. Each reel for the Fenris 14″ production pipe carries about 12.5 km of pipe per trip. The Valhall PWP-Fenris project entails further development of the Valhall area, featuring the connection of a new unmanned platform at the Fenris field to a new integrated process platform at Valhall. 

Aker BP will soon receive the Fenris jacket, which will be installed at its designated site on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) as part of its efforts to secure a lifetime extension for the Valhall field past 2028.

The total investment for this project is approximately NOK 50 billion ($4.6 billion), with around 65% of the work expected to be carried out by Norwegian suppliers. This year six offshore campaigns for the Fenris 14” production and 4.5” MEG pipelines will install nearly 100 kilometers of pipelines.

In May 2024, two Norwegian companies drilled two wells in the North Sea and the Barents Sea which turned out to be dry. The one Aker BP spudded was drilled to a vertical depth of 4,626 meters below sea level, in a water depth of 120 meters, and was terminated in the Draupne Formation in the Upper Jurassic.

The company also started collaborating with Greek Corinth Pipeworks, a steel pipes segment of Cenergy Holdings, delivering steel pipes for Aker BP’s development in the North Sea.