VIDEO: Ivar Aasen platform deck on its way to Norway

Following its recent completion, the platform deck for the Ivar Aasen project, in the North Sea, is now on its way to Norway after sailaway from the yard area in Singapore on Monday.

According to Det norske, the operator of the project, the platform deck will be lifted in place on the field at the end of July.

The platform deck is being shipped the long haul to the Utsira Height in the North Sea by the Cosco vessel the Xiang Rui Kou. Having arrived there, it will be lifted onto the jacket. The living quarters, built at Stord, will be lifted into place on the main module currently in transit.

Det norske said that the fact that the platform deck is now on the way denotes that the company is on track to reaching the goal of start-up of production on December 1, 2016.

At the most, more than 2,300 persons representing 35 nationalities have been working on the project in Singapore. After close to 15 million working hours, no serious incidents have been registered. The platform deck has been built at the Sembawang yard, a subsidiary of SMOE.

Bård Atle Hovd, VP Ivar Aasen Project,“It is always satisfactory to pass new milestones in such a large project, particularly when we are on track to reaching our set goals. When the platform deck arrives in Norway, a significant amount of work remains to be done on the field. This is something we are looking forward to.”

The shipment en route from Singapore contains more than merely 13,900 tonnes of steel. The platform deck is 108 metres long and 38 metres wide. Det norske noted that much of the equipment has been delivered by Norwegian suppliers.

The platform deck has systems for separation of oil and water, water treatment, gas compression, various measurements, chemical injection and flare boom.

The Ivar Aasen field is located west of the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea and contains approximately 204 million barrels of oil equivalent, included the Hanz deposit. The economic life of the Ivar Aasen field could be 20 years, depending on oil prices and production trends. The operator is Det norske, holding a 34.8 per cent ownership interest.