GALLERY: World’s largest semi-sub crane vessel lifts Equinor’s Snorre module

The world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessel, Heerema’s Sleipnir, has lifted a module for Equinor’s Snorre A platform from the quayside at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, Norway, ahead of its transportation and installation in the North Sea off Norway. 

Sleipnir arrived in the Port of Rotterdam for the first time on Sunday, March 22, 2020, ahead of a busy campaign.

Heerema Marine Contractors said on Monday that the vessel performed the module lift over the last weekend.

Sleipnir entered the Karmsund Strait en route to Haugesund, Norway, to lift Equinor’s Snorre A module. The vessel lifted the module directly from the quayside at Aibel’s yard.

In the Karmsund Strait, the narrowest point was 134 meters, leaving Sleipnir fifteen meters of clearance on each side.

According to Heerema, by picking up the module from the quayside, there was no requirement for a cargo barge, eliminating the need for loading the module out onto a barge or for barge grillage.

This operation was particularly special due to the clearances of Sleipnir with the seabed, which at times were down to six meters, Heerema stated.

In a separate statement on Monday, Aibel said that the approx. 600-tonne riser hang off module is meant for the Snorre Expansion Project (SEP).

The module was constructed at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund. Prefabrication began in January 2019 and assembly of the sections started in mid-July. During the following six months, Aibel has assembled, equipped and completed the module until mechanical completion on February 1, 2020. In early March, it was loaded out of the North Sea Hall and prepared for pick-up.

The module is now awaiting an optimal weather window for transport and installation offshore on the Snorre A platform, where it will connect the risers that will receive oil from the new wells on the Snorre field up to the platform. Scheduled production start-up at Snorre A is 1Q 2021.

Project manager for the Snorre Expansion Project in Aibel, Tone Dalum, said: “It was impressive to see how the module suddenly became very small compared to Sleipnir. At the same time, it was very satisfying to complete a well-executed lift and secure another important milestone for the project during this special time.“