Norway’s giant renovation project moves closer to finish line as refurbished storage vessel heads offshore

With another major milestone achieved, Norway’s energy giant Equinor has moved closer to re-starting production at its operated Njord field offshore Norway following the completion of upgrades on a storage vessel and its recent tow-out to the field.

Located in the Norwegian Sea, around 130 km northwest of Kristiansund and 30 km west of the Draugen field, the Njord field first started production in 1997. It was developed with a floating steel platform, Njord A, and a storage vessel, Njord Bravo. Equinor’s partners in the field are Wintershall Dea and Neptune Energy.

The field was previously expected to be in operation until 2013. However, the Njord and adjacent Hyme fields were shut in July that year following the discovery of structural integrity issues on the platform. The fields were brought back into production a year later, in July 2014. With new discoveries, technology, and project improvements, Equinor and its partners then saw an opportunity to create considerable value for the field for another 20 years as part of the Njord Future project. To achieve this, the field’s facilities had to be towed to shore for massive upgrades.

Therefore, the production was temporarily halted in 2016 and Njord A was towed to shore in August of that year for upgrade works, which were entrusted to Kvaerner, now Aker Solutions. It is worth mentioning here that the platform was also built by Kvaerner, back in 1997. As part of the upgrade, the platform was also prepared to bring the nearby fields, Bauge and Fenja, on stream.

On the other hand, the Njord Bravo vessel arrived at Umoe Sterkoder in July 2016. The job of upgrading the storage vessel was in April 2018 awarded to Aibel and its Haugesund yard in a contract valued at around NOK 1.3 billion. The vessel was expected to arrive at the yard in July of the same year for extensive upgrading and maintenance, in addition to the installation of equipment on board for reducing emissions to air (VOC facility). The contract also included an option for offshore work in connection with the hook-up on the field.

Both the platform and the vessel were scheduled to be delivered in the spring of 2020 and the field was expected to be put back into production in the autumn of 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the project experienced delays.

About two years past the deadline, the Njord A platform was finally delivered to Equinor in March 2022. The Njord A renovation project was described as Norway’s largest, delivering significant upgrades on the hull and deck to extend its lifetime for another 20 years of production. The platform’s deadweight increased by 23 per cent, the platform’s buoyancy increased by 24 per cent, and the payload capacity on the platform deck increased by 31 per cent.

Meanwhile, Aibel completed the upgrade of the Njord Bravo by November 2021 and the vessel left the Haugesund yard, reaching the quay at Umoe Sterkoder in Kristiansund in early December 2021 to prepare for commissioning. This was the vessel’s last port where it was docked waiting for Njord A to be put back on the field.

Finally, last Friday, 15 July 2022, Equinor’s Njord B floating storage and offloading unit (FSU) sailed away from Kristiansund. The FSU was towed by Aurora Offshore’s AHTS vessel, Aurora Saltfjord. If everything goes according to plans, the production at the Njord field is due to re-start in the fourth quarter of this year. The vessel’s oil storage capacity is 700, 000 barrels.

According to the latest AIS data, the Njord B vessel is in the Norwegian Sea close to the Njord A platform. Equinor has released the photos of the vessel’s departure from Kristiansund but has not revealed any other details.

Offshore Energy has reached out to Equinor, seeking further details about the tow-out and subsequent offshore works. A spokesperson for Equinor confirmed that the vessel had left Kristiansund on 15 July “and is now being hooked up at the field.”