New platform for huge offshore oil field ready for sail-away

South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean is on track to send off a fixed platform to its final destination where it will be installed at Qatar’s largest offshore oil field. 

Hanwha Ocean’s latest fixed platform project for North Oil Company (NOC), a joint venture between QatarEnergy (70%) and TotalEnergies (30%), is slated to depart from the Geoje Okpo yard at the end of July 2024 and will arrive in Qatar within 25 days.

The South Korean player constructed the platform for the Al-Shaheen oil field located approximately 80 km northeast off the coast of Qatar. This is said to be one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields, featuring 40 existing platforms and up to 430 operational wells.

With 34,800 tons completed, including the new platform with a 25-year design life, a jacket substructure, extensive brownfield remodeling, and connections along 8.2 million manhours of safety lost time injury (LTI) free, Hanwha Ocean plans project hand-over for May 2025. The first oil target is set for the end of December 2024.

The Asian firm highlighted: “This timely sail-away is a testament to Hanwha Ocean’s expertise and resilience, especially in the face of increased commodity and labor costs due to COVID-19 and the Ukraine war. Our successful completion of this project, our 31st fixed platform, highlights our ability to deliver large-scale projects on time, even while collaborating with numerous international partners.

“We look forward to continue this collaboration with our clients – NOC, Qatar Energy, and TotalEnergies – with additional business opportunities in LNG carriers and further oil & gas field development projects.”

QatarEnergy confirmed plans to boost oil production from its Al-Shaheen field by about 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in January 2024 when it disclosed four multibillion-dollar engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract packages, which are part of Project Ru’ya.

While commercial production at the Al-Shaheen field started in 1994, the field underwent significant development to reach an oil production rate of 300,000 bpd in 2007. QatarEnergy has hired McDermott, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Larsen & Toubro Limited, and China Offshore Oil Engineering Co (COOEC) to handle the third phase of Al-Shaheen’s development since North Oil Company took over the field’s operation in July 2017.

The Persian Gulf state’s energy giant aims to develop more than 550 million barrels of oil over five years, encompassing the drilling of more than 200 wells and the installation of a new centralized process complex, nine remote wellhead platforms, and associated pipelines. The first oil is anticipated in 2027.

Qatar’s energy heavyweight is also pursuing its LNG fleet expansion program with vigor through the execution of shipbuilding contracts and time charter agreements for 104 conventional LNG vessels and 18 QC-Max class LNG ships, amounting to a total of 122 ultra-modern vessels, with the first new ship slated to be delivered by the end of the third quarter of 2024.