Yme MOPUstor Platform Evacuated (Norway)

Poland’s oil and gas company Lotos has informed that Yme MOPUstor platform, located in the Norwegian part of the North Sea was evacuated, Reuters reports.

Lotos, which owns 20% stake in the Yme field, said it was awaiting further update from Talisman Energy, the operator of the platform.

The problematic Yme field has been facing delays in production, mainly due to the issues with the platform delivered by the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore.  Independent technical studies have indicated that a substantial amount of work is still required to complete the facility to meet Norwegian specifications.

Due to these timing uncertainties Talisman in May 2011 announced it would remove Yme from their forward production projection.

On that occasion, Talisman expressed concern over the continued delays in the delivery of the platform, and said that it was considering all options to complete the Yme development.

MOPUstor

The MOPUstor concept, developed by GustoMSC, provides a solution for short life oil fields without direct access to pipeline infrastructure in water depths and environment not suitable for an FPSO. This MOPUstor concept consists of a steel storage tank supported directly on the sea bed, three (or four) tubular legs, firmly connected to the storage tank, a barge type platform deck that can be jacked along the legs and a jacking system.

Talisman Energy awarded SBM a FEED study in September 2006 for the development of the Yme field on the MOPUstor concept. This resulted in a contract early 2007 for the design, construction and installation of the unit.

CNBC today quoted a Dutch analyst as saying: “This is sensitive for SBM Offshore. It was a strong company but they have suffered a lot of damage from the Yme project.”

Following the platform evacuation, SBM Offshore’s shares fell 7 per cent.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, July 11, 2012