VIDEO: Aibel assembles first two modules for Sverdrup drilling platform

Oil services company Aibel has put together the first two modules for the Statoil-operated Johan Sverdrup drilling platform in Norway. 

The operation was completed during the course of the weekend and early Monday morning in Klosterfjorden north of Haugesund.

The first module, the main support frame (MSF), was completed and delivered by Aibel’s yard in Thailand in early August. Soon after, the module headed to Norway onboard GPO Heavylift’s new heavy load carrier vessel, the GPO Grace.

After its arrival to Norway, the crane vessel Thialf started the lifting operation of the 10,800 tons heavy module at 09.50 p.m. on Saturday evening. Just past midnight, the module was lifted off, and two hours later, Thialf was in position for set-down of the MSF onto the integration barge.

At 05.25 a.m. on Sunday morning, the module and all other material from the transport vessel were on board the barge.

“Everything was well-prepared and the crews in Thailand and on board the GPO Grace deserve a lot of credit for making ready and tidy the module for the lifting operation. This meant that we were able to complete the operation in shorter time than scheduled,” says Anne Kindlihagen, Aibel’s Marine Operation Manager in the Johan Sverdrup Drilling Platform project.

Drilling Support Module lifted

The Johan Sverdrup drilling support module (DSM) was completed by Aibel’s Haugesund yard in late August. Following completion, the module was loaded onto a barge and sent to Klosterfjorden in early September.

According to Aibel, more or less 24 hours after the first lift started, Thialf was ready to lift the Drilling Support Module (DSM) off the barge and on top of the MSF.

The approx. 8,200 tons heavy module was lifted off at 01.30 a.m. on Monday morning.

Just two hours later, the module was placed on top of the MSF and the first two modules for the Johan Sverdrup Drilling Platform were put together.

Early on Monday, Thialf was de-ballasted before the DSM was released from the crane vessel.

Thialf has one more lift, the drilling platform’s third module also known as the drilling equipment set (DES). This module, built by Aibel’s collaboration partner Nymo in Grimstad, is also the smallest one. Aibel said on Monday that this module would most likely be lifted by early Tuesday morning.

Also on Monday, partners in the Johan Sverdrup field development informed they had further reduced the gross capital expenditure of the project by NOK 5 billion to NOK 92 billion.

Offshore Energy Today Staff