Johan Castberg FPSO finally sets off to Norway – gallery

Singapore’s shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine has completed the Johan Castberg FPSO hull for Equinor’s Barents Sea project and the vessel is now on its way to Norway.

As reported in January 2022, the Johan Castberg FPSO left the dock at Sembcorp Marine in Singapore in preparation for its journey to Norway. The ship is 313 metres long and 55 metres wide – roughly the size of three football fields.

A spokesperson for Equinor previously told Offshore Energy that the vessel’s journey from Singapore to Norway will last about 50 days.

Sembcorp Marine announced the completion of the Johan Castberg FPSO vessel and its delivery to Equinor on Thursday. The FPSO has now set off to Norway where it will be completed. Sembcorp Marine’s scope of work for the Johan Castberg FPSO vessel comprised the construction of the hull and living quarters.

The FPSO is being transported on board the semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel Boka Vanguard from Boskalis.

According to Sembcorp Marine, Johan Castberg is designed to FPSO hull main specifications, including Norsoks and DNV Class Rules, with an improved design concept and engineering logic embracing work environment and technical safety requirements, winterisation and other ocean data prerequisites. Johan Castberg, Sembcorp Marine’s first EPC newbuild FPSO, also met the stringent requirements of the Norwegian and the Petroleum Safety Authority regulatory requirements, the shipbuilder said.

To remind, during construction, the project experienced delays after issues with the quality of welding and further delays and cost overruns due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Upon final completion in Norway, the FPSO is scheduled for deployment at the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, about 240km from Hammerfest, Norway. The FPSO hull is built to be self-contained for harsh-environment operation, with living quarters accommodating up to 140 personnel on board.

Wang Zijian, Sembcorp Marine Head of Operations, said: “In the last two years, both Team Equinor and Team Sembmarine worked under extreme challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet both teams remained determined to keep the project going. We witnessed great teamwork and collaboration, open dialogue and close partnership to achieve today’s on-schedule delivery and sailaway, without compromise to high HSEQ (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality) standards and rigorous verification processes.”

The Johan Castberg field lies in the Barents Sea, 240 kilometres north-west of Hammerfest. With proven volumes estimated at between 400 and 650 million barrels of oil, it will be developed with the FPSO with additional subsea solutions, including 18 horizontal production wells and 12 injection wells.

The project was supposed to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2022, however, the start-up is now scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024. The oil will be offloaded to shuttle tankers and transported to the market and the field is expected to be producing for more than 30 years.