Aker BP obtains safety consents for vessel operations in Norway

Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has received two consents related to vessels operations from the country’s offshore safety regulator, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA).

The first consent is for the use of two mobile drilling vessels, the Island Constructor and Island Wellserver, for light well intervention on three offshore fields, Alvheim, Skarv, and Ærfugl.

The consent applies to several field/production licences until 31 December 2025.

The Alvheim field is located in the North Sea while Skarv and Ærfugl fields are located in the Norwegian Sea.

The Alvheim field has been developed with subsea templates tied to a production ship (FPSO). Production started in 2008.

The development concept for the Skarv field is an FPSO vessel with five subsea templates with fifteen wells. The first production started in 2013. The Ærfugl field is also tied to the Skarv FPSO.

Furthermore, Aker BP has been given consent from the PSA for a change of use of the emergency response and rescue vessel on the Ula field.

The Stril Mariner vessel currently operates as an emergency response and rescue vessel for Ula and Tambar fields, undertaking both emergency response and operational tasks.

The vessel was awarded a new contract for ERRV services by Aker BP in November 2020.

It has been in service for Aker BP and its predecessor BP Norge for 11 years.

However, as explained by the safety regulator, Aker BP is working to streamline the vessel logistics on the southern field and consequently wishes to remove Stril Mariner from Ula.

Compensatory measures will be taken to ensure that emergency response is maintained and that the operational tasks are covered by other solutions.

Ula is a field located in the southern part of the Norwegian sector in the North Sea. The water depth in the area is 70 metres. The development consists of three facilities for production, drilling and accommodation, which are connected by bridges. The first production started in 1986.