Heerema’s giant heavy lift vessel tasked with putting North Sea gas platform in place

Netherlands-headquartered exploration and production player ONE-Dyas has hired Heerema Marine Contractors’ semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) to place its new gas platform at its designated spot in the North Sea this August. This platform is expected to be powered by offshore wind.

Following the discovery of the N05-A field in August 2017, ONE-Dyas secured the final permits for the N05-A gas project in June 2022. A few months later, 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. 

HSM Offshore Energy was tasked with building the N05-A gas production platform at its yard in Schiedam. The company completed the rollout of the N05-A topside in April 2024 at its yard two days after the upper part of the jacket was lifted on its lower counterpart. Allseas and N-Sea are among the companies hired to work on this project.

When all legal challenges, stemming from activists’ opposition to the project, seemed behind it, the N05-A natural gas project in the Dutch sector of the North Sea ran into another legal trouble, as a court-ordered temporary halt of operations forced its drilling plans to go awry.

Afterward, a provisional ruling enabled the Netherlands-headquartered firm to move forward with its planned activities for the project envisioned to run on offshore wind power. The Dutch player contracted Heerema Marine Contractors’ Sleipnir crane vessel for a set period beginning in August 2024.

ONE-Dyas has now confirmed that the N05-A production platform is almost ready for transport, thus, the firm is on the verge of reaching a new milestone at this gas project after months of preparation. The operator explains that Heerema’s H-406 barge is being prepared to transport the platform to its destination, where the Sleipnir vessel will install it.

The N05-A platform is expected to be on site in mid-August so that other remaining work can be completed to produce the first gas by the end of 2024. The platform is designed to run entirely on renewable energy from the nearby 113.4 MW Riffgat offshore wind farm.