Norwegian North Sea News

Esgian has published its Week 48 Rig Market Roundup highlighting that new contract awards were revealed for a Velesto Drilling jackup, two Seadrill drillships and a Dolphin Drilling semisub. Meanwhile, Wintershall Dea is planning to drill a new carbon storage well in Norway.ContractsMalaysia’s Velesto Drilling has agreed on an extension of a contract with Carigali Hess Operating Company for another year and six months.Seadrill has secured a short-term contract for 12,000ft drillship West Vela in the US Gulf of Mexico with QuarterNorth Energy…

Fertilizer maker Yara said on Monday it has signed a binding agreement to capture CO2 emissions from its Dutch ammonia plant and transport it to the Norwegian North Sea for storage deep beneath the seabed.The carbon capture and storage project (CCS) will cut annual emissions of CO2 by 800,000 tonnes over a 15 year period, the Norwegian company said in a statement.When the operation begins in 2025, it is expected to be the first time that CO2 from one nation is transported across borders for storage by another, Yara said.The CO2 will be liquefied and shipped by Northern Lights, a company owned

A fleet of newbuild specialized anchor handlers will be required to help build up the emerging floating offshore wind industry. But since the industry is still in its early days, many unknowns have made it difficult for shipyards and their partners to gear up to build this fleet. This article explores complex market demand and technical drivers that help give a better understanding of anchor handler requirements for floating offshore wind.Floating wind is an emerging technology currently being tested in small scale demonstration and pilot projects…

Norway-based offshore vessel owner DOF has secured a three-year contract for its anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) Skandi Vega with the current charterer Equinor.The contract, which includes two one-year options, will start in direct continuation of the current contract. "Skandi Vega is one of the largest AHTS vessels in the world and has been operating for Equinor since delivery in 2010. DOF is delighted to continue the long-term partnership with Equinor, and the new contract is proof of the value the vessel and its crew bring to this partnership," DOF said.According to the vessel's AIS, the Skandi Vega is currently in the Norwegian North Sea…

Offshore installation and decommissioning contractor Allseas said Tuesday it had successfully removed and transported to shore Repsol Norge’s 30,000-tonne Gyda platform "in a matter of days."According to the company, Allseas' Pioneering Spirit, the world's largest offshore construction ship, delivered Gyda platform’s 11,000-tonne jacket to Aker Solutions’ disposal yard in Stord, Norway, less than 48 hours after removing it from the southern Norwegian Sea. "The latest job for the vessel’s new jacket lift technology is one of the heaviest ever but well within the system’s 20…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured a contract extension for one of its platform supply vessels.In a brief statement on Wednesday, Solstad said that the one-year charter extension had been awarded to its 94,2-meter-long PSV Normand Server.The contract is now firm to January 2023, with two one-year extension options after that. Solstad did not say who the client was, nor did it share the financial details of the contract.Data from MarineTraffic show the vessel's last location was Ekofisk…

Offshore seismic survey contractors PGS and Shearwater GeoServices have been awarded framework agreements with Equinor for 4D towed streamer seismic acquisition on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) in what Equinor said was a new way of working with seismic contractors.The agreements have a total estimated value of around NOK 700 million (~USD 82,7 million).“This is a new way of working with seismic suppliers. We are moving away from annual tenders towards a more long-term collaboration model.

Heerema Marine Contractors' giant heavy-lift vessel Sleipnir has broken a record for the largest single lift jacket removal. HMC said Monday that the record was broken in the Norwegian North Sea, where Sleipnir removed the 8100-tonne Jotun-B jacket for client Vår Energi. The platform was installed in 1998 by Heerema's Thialf, which returned to the Jotun Field last year to remove the topsides and conductors.For the jacket removal, Sleipnir arrived at the Jotun Field located 200 km west of Stavanger on Friday…

Offshore installation and decommissioning firm Allseas has won a contract to remove three complete offshore platforms and two jackets in Norway for Aker BP.The company said on Wednesday that Aker BP had awarded it a deal for the removal and disposal of multiple topsides and jackets from the Valhall area in the Norwegian North Sea. Allseas will use its flagship Pioneering Spirit heavy lift vessel for the job.Work comprises removal and disposal of the Drilling Platform (DP) 5,950 t topsides and 4…

GustoMSC, the developer of the Chela crane, has transferred the multi-functional arm to Danish offshore driller Maersk Drilling.GustoMSC, which designs and engineers solutions for mobile offshore units, said in a press release that Maersk Drilling is the first offshore company which is going to work with Chela.Since its introduction in 2016, GustoMSC’s Chela has grown from the drawing board into a piece of equipment that has made all expectations come true.In presence of and with input from involved parties Maersk Drilling, AkerBP, JB systems and Breman Factory, the FAT test was successfully performed showing Chela’s capabilities and facilitating a fast-track start-up for Maersk.

Norwegian subsea operating company DOF Subsea has been awarded three new contracts in the North Sea.The first of these contracts will see DOF Subsea undertake a workscope in the Norwegian North Sea involving subsea construction support and pre-commissioning operations from the Geosund during December 2018.In addition, the company has been awarded a contract for the initial phase of a decommissioning programme in the central North Sea for a U.K. operator, said a press release from the company.Under this contract DOF Subsea will provide construction support services for activities relating to the permanent disconnection and removal of an FPSO.

The Aoka Mizu floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel ordered by Hurricane Energy has left Dubai following a series of upgrades, the company said, another milestone for the group as it seeks to extract so-called fractured basement oil in Britain.Hurricane specializes in recovering oil from fractures in hard and brittle rock known as fractured basement reservoirs, which some see as a risky way to obtain crude.It expects first oil from its Greater Lancaster Area (GLA) project, west of Scotland's Shetland Islands, in the first half of 2019.

Hungarian operator MOL Norge has permission from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in the southern Norwegian North Sea.The jackup Rowan Viking will spud well 2/6-6 S in license PL 860 next month, targeting the Oppdal/Driva prospect.The location is 45 km (28 mi) east of the Valhall and Ekofisk fields and 20 km (12.4 mi) north of the offshore median line with Denmark, in a water depth of 70 m (229 ft).Drilling is scheduled to begin in September 2018 and expected to last between 66 and 71 days.The well will be drilled by Rowan Viking which is a jack-up mobile drilling facility built in Singapore in 2010. Rowan Viking is operated by Rowan Norway Ltd. The facility was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in August 2014.

Global drilling and engineering contractor KCA Deutag has annouced that its Norwegian operation, KCA Deutag Drilling Norge AS, has been granted an extension to its current drilling contract on the Ringhorne platform by operator Point Resources AS. The contract extension is for the provision of drilling operations and maintenance services on the Ringhorne platform operating in the Norwegian North Sea. It has an initial term of four years with the option to extend by two further periods of two years each. Rune Lorentzen, President of Offshore commented: "KCA Deutag is delighted to have been awarded this contract extension. With over 40 years of platform drilling experience, KCA Deutag is one of the world's largest platform services operators.

Transocean announced  that the harsh environment semisubmersible Transocean Spitsbergen was awarded a 22-well contract with an estimated duration of 33 months; plus two one-well options in the Norwegian North Sea with Statoil Petroleum ASA. The estimated firm backlog associated with the contract is approximately $286 million, which excludes opportunities for performance incentives. The contract is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2019. “We are extremely pleased to have once again contracted the Transocean Spitsbergen with Statoil,” said Jeremy Thigpen, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This contract is a testament to the capability…

The technology group Wärtsilä has agreed to retrofit the world’s first energy storage solution on board a large offshore supply vessel. The North Sea Giant, one of the world’s largest and most advanced subsea construction vessels, will be fitted with an energy storage system that reduces the vessel’s energy consumption, operating costs and exhaust emissions. The retrofit energy storage system improves the operational efficiency and environmental footprint of the North Sea Giant, responding to key requirements of Norwegian North Sea Shipping AS, the owner of the vessel.

DEA and its partners in PL418 have selected a subsea tie-back to the Gjøa platform as the concept for development of the Skarfjell discovery in the Norwegian North Sea. This alternative is an enabler for developing the Gjøa platform as a stronger hub in the area and maximising recovery for Gjøa, Skarfjell and the area in general. Skarfjell is situated in the northeastern North Sea, approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the Gjøa platform. DEA is partner in Gjoa, with a share of 8%. Based on the proposed plan, hydrocarbons from the Skarfjell reservoir will be transported from a subsea template to the Gjøa platform for processing and export. Gjøa would also provide gas lift services to the field and water injection for pressure support to a second template.

Subsea 7 S.A. today announced the award of a sizeable(1) contract by Centrica for the Oda field in the Norwegian North Sea. The Oda oil field (previously called Butch) was discovered in 2011 in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea, approximately 14 kilometres east of the Ula field. The contract scope comprises Subsea 7's expertise and capabilities in engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) including the production pipeline, water injection line, umbilical and related subsea services. Project management and engineering will commence immediately from Subsea 7's office in Stavanger, Norway, with offshore operations scheduled to commence in 2018.

U.S. imports of light crude from across the Atlantic are set to jump this month to their highest in more than two years, according to market sources and trade data that indicate global oil flows are being scrambled by the lowest prices in years and the end of the 1970s era U.S. export ban. Shipments totaling some 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) are booked or underway from producers including Norway and Nigeria, a surprisingly rapid revival of flows that had dwindled to nearly nothing in 2014-2015, after the U.S. shale oil revolution got in full swing. The arbitrage has opened as a result of an inversion in the spread between benchmark U.S. crude oil prices and global Brent. After five years at a discount due to the eruption of domestic production, U.S.

U.S. imports of light crude from across the Atlantic are set to jump this month to their highest in more than two years, according to market sources and trade data that indicate global oil flows are being scrambled by the lowest prices in years and the end of the 1970s era U.S. export ban. Shipments totaling some 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) are booked or underway from producers including Norway and Nigeria, a surprisingly rapid revival of flows that had dwindled to nearly nothing in 2014-2015, after the U.S. shale oil revolution got in full swing. The arbitrage has opened as a result of an inversion in the spread between benchmark U.S. crude oil prices and global Brent. After five years at a discount due to the eruption of domestic production, U.S.

Statoil has awarded Palfinger Dreggen a contract for the complete rebuild and upgrade of six blowout preventer (BOP) cranes for the Gullfaks field in the northern part of the Norwegian North Sea. Each of the BOP cranes to be delivered from Palfinger Dreggen will have the capacity to lift 2 x 20 tons. In addition, the cranes are equipped with an auxiliary hoist with SWL 5 tons for smaller lifts. The delivery includes complete new trolleys with hoisting machineries, new modern control systems for the cranes and radio remote systems to make the operation of the cranes easy and flexible.

Ocean Installer will undertake flexible jumper replacement operations for Norwegian operator Statoil at the Vigdis field, says a statement from the company. Ocean Installer  will see it perform subsea work. The company said the option falls under an amendment to the previously awarded SMLP Marine Installation contract which was signed in December last year and covered riser replacement operations at the Troll C field. The SLMP amendment was signed in December 2015 and covers the replacement of a flexible jumper at the Vigdis field as well as project management, engineering and marine operations. Ocean Installer CEO Steinar Riise said in a company statement: “We are happy to see that Statoil continues to make use of options inherent to existing contracts…

Subsea 7 S.A. announced it has been awarded a pipeline and construction contract worth approximately $300 million from Wintershall Norge AS for the Maria field development. The contract consists of engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of 95 kilometers of rigid flowlines and associated structures to develop the Maria field located in the Norwegian Sea at a water depth of approximately 300 meters. Project management and engineering work will commence immediately at Subsea 7’s offices in Stavanger, Norway, while offshore operations are scheduled to commence in 2016 and are expected to be completed in 2017. Offshore activities will utilize a variety of Subsea 7 vessels, including the newbuild vessel, Seven Arctic, with its high-end capability and capacity.