Nexans hired to deliver Troll umbilicals

French cable manufacturer Nexans has been awarded a contract by Equinor to deliver umbilicals for Troll Phase 3 development located offshore Norway. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Equinor submitted its plan for further development of the gigantic Troll field on the Norwegian continental shelf  to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The project entails capital expenditures of around NOK 7.8 billion.

Equinor also said it would sign contracts for the project within marine installations and subsea facilities worth a total of approximately NOK 750 million with the companies Allseas, Nexans and DeepOcean.

The initial development was carried out over two phases, and now Equinor is starting the Phase 3 development to recover the large amount of gas resources in the western part of the field.

Separately, Nexans said on Tuesday that its role in the project would be to provide a total of 27 kilometers of complex umbilicals with power, fiber-optic and hydraulic elements for the next development phase of the Troll Phase 3 project.

Phase 3 of the Troll project covers the development of the Troll West structure, which lies in water depths of approximately 330 meters and is located 25 kilometers north-west of the Troll A platform. The subsea production systems will comprise two subsea templates or manifolds, as well as nine trees. Each manifold is expected to have four well slots. A total of eight production wells will be drilled and tied-back to the Troll A platform in order to recover the gas reserves. First gas is expected from the project in the second quarter of 2021.

For the Troll Phase 3 development Nexans Norway will design, manufacture and supply static umbilicals that include high voltage power elements, high-pressure hydraulic lines, low-pressure hydraulic lines, a MEG (methanol and glycol) service line for chemical injection, a spare line and fiber-optic communications – all within a single cross-section. A 20 kilometer umbilical will link the Troll A platform to Template W1, while a 7 kilometer umbilical will then link Template W1 to Template W2. The contract also includes the supply of connections, terminations and other umbilical accessories.

Nexans noted it offered Equinor a total ‘made in Norway’ approach to the contract with the electrical and fiber optic elements manufactured at the Nexans Norway facility in Rognan, North Norway, while the complete umbilical system will be developed, manufactured and tested at Nexans Norway plant in Halden, Norway.

Nexans is scheduled to deliver the Troll Phase 3 umbilicals in the first quarter of 2020.