Norwegian authorities give go-ahead to Hywind Tampen

Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Industry has approved the plans for development and operation of the Hywind Tampen project, which will make the Snorre and Gullfaks platforms the world’s first oil & gas platforms to be powered by a floating offshore wind farm.

Equinor and its Snorre and Gullfaks partners submitted two updated plans for development and operation of Hywind Tampen to Norwegian authorities in October 2019.

“We are experiencing very challenging times, and we are focusing on continuing our transition effort while attending to and developing the value on the Norwegian continental shelf and at the same time reducing the climate footprint from our operations”, said Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s executive vice president for Development & Production Norway.

The Hywind Tampen investments will total almost NOK 5 billion (approximately € 497.3 million). In March 2020, the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) approved Norway’s state aid to the project. The project has also secured funding from the Business Sector’s NOx Fund.

Equinor and the Snorre and Gullfaks partners made the final investment decision (FID) for Hywind Tampen in October 2019, after submitting the updated plans to the authorities.

“On behalf of the partners, Equinor has awarded contracts totalling NOK 3.4 billion, subject to final project approval by Norwegian authorities. It is a plus that the oil and gas industry is competitive in renewables projects as well, and the contracts will lead to considerable spinoff effects in Norway”, said Anders Opedal, executive vice president for Technology, Projects & Drilling.

Equinor cited a study made by Multiconsult, saying the Hywind Tampen project will create spinoff effects during the project’s life of 1,550 to 3,000 man-years for Norwegian trade and industry. Most of the spinoff effects will occur in the project’s development phase.

“As the whole industry is currently experiencing much uncertainty, it is vital that we progress projects that spur technology development in the renewables segment and create spinoff effects on the Norwegian supplier industry”, Opedal said.

Scheduled to come online in late 2022, Hywind Tampen will consist of eleven Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines, installed some 140 kilometres off Norwegian coast, in water depths ranging from 260 to 300 metres between the Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas platforms.

The Gullfaks licence is held by Equinor Energy (51%), Petoro (30%), and OMV (Norge) (19%).

The Snorre licence is held by Equinor Energy (33.3%), Petoro (30%), ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway (17.5%), Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (9.6%), DEA Norge (8.6%), and Vår Energi (1.1 %).