WATCH: Wintershall Wraps Up Nova Subsea Setup

Wintershall Dea has completed the installation of the subsea pipelines and umbilicals for the operated Nova project in the Norwegian North Sea.

The installation of the flowlines completes a summer of significant subsea activity for Nova which began in May with two templates being installed on the seabed at 370 metres water depth.

The subsea installation consists of several work stages. Subsea 7 spearheaded the subsea work and installed the templates on the Nova field before laying 65 kilometres of pipelines using the Seven Oceans vessel, and 20 kilometres of control umbilicals using the Skandi Acergy vessel.

“The safe installation of the pipelines and umbilicals in the field marks another major step towards the completion of the Nova project. Together with the recent accomplishments on the Dvalin project, Wintershall Dea had very successful installation activities over the last summer”, explained Hugo Dijkgraaf, chief technology officer (CTO) and member of the executive board of Wintershall Dea.

The pipelines, fabricated by Subsea 7, and umbilicals and tie-in systems, fabricated by Aker Solutions, will tie the Nova field back to the nearby Gjøa platform, which will process and export the hydrocarbons, and provide injection water and lift gas for pressure support.

“In close co-operation with our suppliers, we are delivering as ‘One Team’. With the installation of a dedicated Nova module on the Gjøa platform and the drilling of the wells to start next year, we are delivering according to our plans and on highest safety standards. We look forward to seeing the field in production in 2021,” said André Hesse, senior vice president, Major Project Nova.

When it comes on stream, Nova will be Wintershall Dea’s fourth operated subsea field in production, underpinning the company’s position as an experienced underwater field developer in Norway.

“We continue to use our expertise in subsea field construction and operation in Norway to make the best use of existing infrastructure on the shelf. By delivering hydrocarbons through subsea technology, we are meeting the energy needs of business and consumers in the most sustainable way,” said Alv Bjørn Solheim, managing director of the Business Unit Norway.

Nova is located in the Norwegian North Sea, 120 kilometres northwest of Bergen. The expected recoverable reserves from the field are around 80 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which the majority will be oil. The partnership is investing almost 1.1 billion euros (NOK 9.9 billion Norwegian kroner) in the development of the Nova field, which is expected to come on stream in 2021.

Nova Partnership consists of Wintershall Dea (operator 45%), Capricorn Norge (fully owned subsidiary of Cairn Energy (20%), Spirit Energy Norge (20%) and Edison Norge (15%).