Aasta Hansteen News

Norwegian police on Thursday responded to a threat made by telephone against the Nyhamna gas processing plant, one of Europe's largest energy export facilities, and later said the incident had been resolved. The threat came amid heightened concerns about the security of oil and gas infrastructure following suspected sabotage of Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines to Europe, though plant operator Gassco and offshore producers Shell and Equinor said output had not been interrupted.

Global engineering company BMT announced a partnership with Sonardyne to deliver to Subsea 7 its proven ‘Riser Monitoring System’ (RMS).The subsea integrity monitoring solution has been adopted by the world’s largest spar platform, Aasta Hansteen.The Aasta Hansteen Spar platform is operated and owned by Equinor ASA, the Norwegian multinational energy company.Located 300 kilometres west of Sandnessjøen on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in water depths of up to 1,300m, the deepest field development on the NCS, the Aasta Hansteen Spar is installed in a harsh environment utilising highly robust deepwater Steel Catenary Risers (SCR).Neil Charles…

Mario Mehren, CEO of Wintershall, Germany's largest crude oil and natural gas producer, has presented Wintershall’s growth plans in Norway during a visit by Norway's Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, to Berlin.Mehren announced a further increase in production during a discussion with the Prime Minister and representatives of German energy politics and the energy industry, which was held at the Norwegian Embassy."It has become clear during the last few weeks that Wintershall and DEA will become the company Wintershall DEA within the next year. As Europe's leading independent gas and oil producer, we will continue to expand our activities in Norway," said Mehren. "More competition is good for the Norwegian shelf.

Norway's gas exports hit a new high of 36.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) this summer and the annual deliveries will be on a par with the record annual figure achieved in 2017, gas system operator Gassco said on Friday.Between May and August, which is normally a season with fewer gas exports, Norway's deliveries almost matched a normal winter level as European importers needed to refill depleted gas storages which drained during last year's cold winter."It's too early to say exactly where we'll end up this year…

Oil producer Equinor aims to boost the recovery rate from its Norwegian fields to well above the global average to extend production from the mature basin beyond 2030.Equinor announced plans on Tuesday to drill up to 3,000 wells offshore from its native Norway in coming decades - almost as many as it has drilled since its startup in 1972 - to mitigate declining output from older fields, and extend the production lifetime of more than 20 installations.The company said it remained on track for to keep profitable oil and gas production in Norway towards 2030…

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, along with Jan Grevstad, Norwegian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and other Norwegian government officials, visited Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to meet with Choi Kil-seon, chairman and CEO of HHI, and Kwon Oh-gap, president and CEO of HHI. During the meeting held at the HHI headquarters in Ulsan, South Korea, the prime minister showed particular interests in HHI that has been developing long-term business partnerships with the Norwegian companies and government in the areas of offshore exploration and production…

Statoil has awarded two new, long-term contracts with estimated value of NOK 11 billion for insulation, scaffolding and surface treatment services to Beerenberg Corp AS and Prezioso Linjebygg AS. They will provide services to 20 of the company’s 29 installations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) when the contracts take effect. Carried out on all installations on the NCS, as well as all onshore plants in Norway, these services have ripple effects in many parts of the country. Taking effect in the first quarter of 2016, the contracts have an estimated total value of NOK 11 billion over the 15-year contract period. The two new contracts will replace the company’s existing contracts with these two suppliers regarding NCS services.

On April 21, Hyundai-10000, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)’s newest floating crane, succeeded to the throne of “symbol of HHI” from the two 1,600-ton gantry cranes at its offshore yard by lifting a topside module of Moho Nord tension leg platform (TLP) at once. What makes Hyundai-10000 a successor to the 1,600-ton Goliath cranes is not just because it is new but because it has an unparalleled lifting capacity at one of the world’s biggest offshore yards. Hyundai-10000 can lift subjects about six times heavier than the Goliath crane, hence its name.

ConocoPhillips Inc is weighing sale of some of its North Sea assets in Norway which may fetch as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The largest independent producer of oil and natural gas may sell assets that are operated by others including stakes in the Aasta Hansteen, Alvheim and Grane fields, Bloomberg said, citing the sources. (http://bloom.bg/1J7KJ8g). The company is also said to have contacted potential buyers, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. ConocoPhillips said it does not comment on ongoing business development or commercial activities. Reuters last week reported that the company was preparing the sale of noncore oil and gas producing acreage in the United States…

On 26 March, the Solitaire pipe-laying vessel started on the first stage of the Polarled installation project. The 482-kilometre long pipeline will transport gas from the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea to Nyhamna in western Norway. Statoil is operator during the development of the Polarled project and therefore responsible for laying the pipeline between Aasta Hansteen and Nyhamna. As operator for the gas plant, Shell is responsible for preparing the Nyhamna processing plant for gas reception. “I am pleased to note that the pipeline is now connected to the Nyhamna processing plant. The pipeline pull-in to Nyhamna is an important milestone to the project and the Polarled licensees,” says Håkon Ivarjord, MPR’s project venture manager.

Wintershall has taken over the operatorship of the subsea oil and gas field Vega from Statoil, Wintershall announced today. Vega is the BASF subsidiary’s first operated subsea tie-in field in Norway. With this transfer, Germany-based Wintershall now operates two production fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, Brage and Vega. The takeover of the Vega operatorship is part of a transaction with Statoil that was completed in December 2014. Winteshall is currently producing more than 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Norway.

Norvestor VI, L.P., a fund advised by Norvestor Equity AS, announced it has signed an agreement to invest in Ing Per Gjerdrum AS including its subsidiaries PG Hydraulics AS and PG Construction AS. The transaction is expected to close end of October 2014, subject to customary approval from the Norwegian Competition Authorities. Following the acquisition, Norvestor will become the largest shareholder in PG with about 63 % of the shares, while the remaining shares will be held by Mads Gjerdrum and Roy Norum. The company had revenues of NOK 552 million in 2013.

Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg officially opened the Gudrun platform in the North Sea today, 19 August. This is the first new Statoil-operated platform on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) since Kristin in 2005. Gudrun is the first in a long line of new field developments operated by Statoil, and therefore it represents a new era on the NCS. The next in line is Valemon, which is scheduled for start-up later this year. Gina Krog and Johan Sverdrup on the Utsira High are next in the North Sea.

Subsea 7 selected BMT Scientific Marine Services (BMT), subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, to supply the riser monitoring system for the Aasta Hansteen Spar, approximately 300 km off the coast of Norway. The system includes an innovative suite of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) deployed strain, motion and position sensors to monitor steel catenary riser (SCR) response in the Touch Down Zone (TDZ). Data acquired by the riser monitoring system will be used to validate both the spar and SCR design.

A new spar platform being built for Statoil's Aasta Hansteen field off the coast of Norway will feature Wärtsilä's Inert Gas and Nitrogen Generator systems, the power solutions company said. The contract has been issued in the first quarter 2014 by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of South Korea, the yard building the platform. The Wärtsilä Inert Gas Generator will utilize titanium in its construction, the first time ever that this material has been used in such a system. Titanium was preferred due to its superior corrosion resistance in relation to sea water. Wärtsilä's claims its experience and technical expertise in gas handling systems were critical factors in the award of this contract…

Leading contractor for deliveries of complete upstream oil & gas offshore platforms and onshore plants, Norway's Kværner ASA, reports  operating revenues for the first quarter of 2014 wer NOK 3,489-million which is an increase of 31 percent compared to NOK 2 663 million in first quarter in 2013. The high activity and good utilisation of resources continued in first quarter 2014. The order intake in the first quarter of NOK 1.3 billion included two completion contracts for the Aasta Hansteen project, in addition to some growth in existing contracts. "This is an industry with a high degree of visibility with respect to when new projects can be expected. We knew already one year ago that we would have 12 - 18 months with relatively few project awards.

Power and automation technology group, ABB, informs it has won three orders worth $60 million for internal and external telecommunication systems for three Statoil projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The three contracts have been signed with leading shipyards in South Korea. ABB will be a system integrator of telecommunications on the offshore installations built for the Aasta Hansteen and Gina Krog fields in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and for the Mariner field in the British sector.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (Hyundai) has awarded Kvaerner a sub-contract to provide services for inshore and offshore hook-up and commissioning assistance for the topsides for the Aasta Hansteen spar project. The inshore-work will be carried out at Stord and the offshore scope will be done at the field in the Norwegian Sea 300 km west of Bodø. Kvaerner explain that the inshore work will be carried out during the first half of 2016 while the platform is moored at Kvaerner's deep water site in Digernessundet, close to Kvaerner's offshore yard at Stord.

Offshore rope manufacturer Lankhorst Ropes has been awarded a contract by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Technip USA consortium (HHITECH) to supply the mooring lines for Statoil’s Aasta Hansteen Spar platform to be located in the Norwegian sector of the Norwegian Sea. According to Lankhorst, it is the largest single order for deepwater mooring ropes, and believed to be the largest ever order in the global synthetic fiber rope industry. Located in the Aasta Hansteen field, approximately 300 km west of Bodø…

Norway's Kværner ASA say that Technip Norge AS has awarded them a sub-contract for the Fjord Base and Support Services up-ending and preparation for mating operations of the sub-structure for the Aasta Hansteen Spar platform. With a total length of 198 meters, Aasta Hansteen will be the world's largest spar platform, claims Kværner,  and the first of its kind on the Norwegian continental shelf. Statoil has contracted Technip and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in a consortium to engineer, procure and construct (EPC) the Aasta Hansteen spar substructure.

GE Oil & Gas was awarded a contract to provide Korean shipbuilding firm Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) with turbomachinery equipment and services for a new oil and gas production platform being built to support the production activities of Statoil Petroleum AS and its partners Total S.A. and Det Norske in the Gina Krog field in the Norwegian North Sea. Gina Krog (previously known as Dagny) is located 30 kilometers (km) northwest of the Sleipner field and approximately 250 km southwest of Stavanger, Norway. The development of Gina Krog will be among Statoil's major new developments with an estimated 225 million barrels of oil and gas. For the project, GE is supplying DSME with an integrated topside turbomachinery solution featuring products from several GE businesses.

Statoil ASA has signed an agreement to divest minority interests in the Gullfaks and Gudrun fields offshore Norway and exit the non-core, non-operated Schiehallion and Rosebank fields, West of Shetlands. In addition to the cash consideration of USD 2.65 billion, the transaction with Austrian oil and gas company OMV includes a contingent payment and involves a partnership between the two companies. Statoil reduces its ownership share in Gullfaks from 70 % to 51 % and from 75 % to 51 % in Gudrun, and retains its operatorships on both fields. "Through this transaction, Statoil captures value created through asset development and unlocks capital for investment in high return projects in core areas. This includes our recent discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS (KOGT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (KOG), has signed an agreement with Statoil for the delivery of subsea structures, in-line tee’s, tie-in and connection systems for the Polarled gas pipeline. The contract was signed with Statoil on behalf of the partners in the joint venture for Polarled: Statoil, Petoro, OMV, Shell, TOTAL, RWE Dea, ConocoPhillips, Edison, Maersk Oil and GDF SUEZ. Polarled is a new 480-km long gas pipeline from Aasta Hansteen to the Nyhamna processing facility in Møre & Romsdal County.