Giant Heerema vessel installs offshore wind-powered gas platform in North Sea

Heerema Marine Contractors has completed the installation of a gas platform in the North Sea that is set to be powered by offshore wind as part of a project operated by Dutch exploration and production player ONE-Dyas.

Following the discovery of the N05-A field in August 2017, ONE-Dyas secured the final permits for the gas project in June 2022. The operator, together with partners Hansa Hydrocarbons and EBN, made a final investment decision in September 2022 for the development of the field, revealing an investment of more than €500 million.

On August 8, Clarksons Port Services reported that Heerema Marine Contractors’ semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) Sleipnir had finished the installation of the platform at the field.

Clarksons’ Eemshaven-based team assisted Heerema during the campaign with crew coordination, crew transfer vessel (CTV) transfers and helicopter flights.

The platform will soon be powered by the German 113.4 MW Riffgat offshore wind farm. First gas is expected by the end of the year.

HSM Offshore Energy was in charge of building the N05-A gas production platform at its yard in Schiedam. The rollout of the N05-A topside was completed in April, two days after the upper part of the jacket was lifted on its lower counterpart. Allseas and N-Sea were also hired to work on this project.

The N05-A project is part of the so-called GEMS area located approximately 20 to 80 kilometers north of the Ems estuary. The produced volume from the N05-A field and surrounding prospects is expected to be 4.5 to 13 billion Nm3.

The platform will not be the first in the North Sea to run on wind energy, but will be the first to do so entirely, since the Hywind Tampen floating wind farm, which came online in 2022, is intended to cover 35% of the annual power needs on the five platforms in the Snorre and Gullfaks offshore oil and gas fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).