Development Solution News

Dubai's shipbuilding and shiprepair company Drydocks World and Norwegian offshore engineering and construction firm Aker Solutions have established a joint venture to upgrade the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO for Equinor's Rosebank offshore oil and gas field in the UK, the Government of Dubai media office confirmed Friday.The joint venture signed its first contract with FPSO owner Altera Infrastructure to upgrade, refurbish, and electrify the FPSO. The vessel will be redeployed at Rosebank field…

Norway's Aker Solutions will upgrade Altera Infrastructure's Petrojarl  Knarr floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) to be redeployed at Equinor's Rosebank field development, offshore the UK. Petrojarl Knarr was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and delivered in 2014. It was operating on the Knarr field offshore Norway from 2015 until May 2022.The development concept for the Rosebank field includes the redeployment and reuse of the existing Petrojarl Knarr FPSO owned by Altera.Under a 'substantial' contract with Altera…

Offshore oil services firm Subsea 7 has announced the award of a sizeable contract by Fieldwood Energy to Subsea Integration Alliance, a global partnership between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company.The award is for the deepwater Katmai field development in the US Gulf of Mexico’s Green Canyon 40, said a press release from the company.This supplier-led integrated subsea development solution, combines OneSubsea’s subsea production systems (SPS) and Subsea 7’s subsea umbilicals, riser and flowline systems (SURF) expertise.The Subsea 7 scope includes project management, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of 40 km of pipe-in-pipe production flowline (12” outer pipe and 8” inner pipe)…

Sole standalone in a sea of tiebacks: BP's Mad Dog is the only major final investment decision (FID)  in deepwater Gulf of Mexico this year, says Wood Mackenzie. On 1 December 2016, BP (60.5% and operator) sanctioned the Mad Dog Phase II development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). BP and partners BHP Billiton (23.9%) and Chevron (15.6%) operate the Mad Dog field, which began production in January 2005. The second phase commercialises southern segments of the field that were discovered in 2009 and 2011. The project was first evaluated in 2012 and has been through multiple revisions as the partners honed in on an optimal development solution. Wood Mackenzie expects first production in late 2021.

SBM Offshore is pleased to announce it has signed a Production Handling Agreement (PHA) with Noble Energy to produce the Big Bend and Dantzler fields to the Thunder Hawk DeepDraft (TM) Semi located in 6,060 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Production fees associated with produced volumes are estimated to lead up to projected revenue of US$400 million to be delivered over the ten year primary contract period. First oil from Big Bend and Dantzler are expected in late 2015 and first quarter 2016 respectively. At these levels both fields will utilize a maximum of 85% of total daily asset capacity, and brownfield construction to upgrade the facility will be handled by Noble Energy.

Statoil, together with PL532 partners, has made a gas discovery in the Kramsnø prospect in the Barents Sea. The exploration program around the Johan Castberg field has been vital in providing area knowledge, but so far not delivered expected oil volumes. In 2011-2012 Statoil made a breakthrough in the Barents Sea with two high impact oil discoveries Skrugard and Havis, proving a total of 400-600 million barrels of recoverable oil. Skrugard and Havis opened a new petroleum province in the Barents Sea and created a basis for the Johan Castberg field development project.

Subsea 7 wins US$135-million contract from Shell U.K. for work on the Fram oil & gas development in the Central North Sea. The contract scope encompasses the engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of a 4.5km in-field pipeline bundle of approximately 44-inch diameter, with integrated manifolds and tie-in structures. Project management and engineering work will commence immediately and will be managed from Subsea 7's offices in Aberdeen, with bundle fabrication taking place at Subsea 7’s Wester site fabrication yard in Wick.

Statoil has made a significant gas and condensate discovery in the King Lear prospect in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea along with its partner Total E&P Norge. Exploration well 2/4-21 drilled by the jack-up rig Maersk Gallant in production licences 146 and 333, has proven a 48-metre gas/condensate column in the main bore 2/4-21 and an additional 70-metre gas/condensate column in the side-track 2/4-21A. Statoil estimates the total volumes in King Lear to be between 70 and 200 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.).

Aker Solutions has won a contract from Det norske oljeselskap to conduct a front-end, engineering and design (FEED) study for the Draupne field on the Norwegian continental shelf. The study will be carried out by Aker Solutions' newly established engineering office in London, and delivered to the license partners in Q4 2012. The contract value is undisclosed. "I am very pleased that Det norske has decided to follow on the pre-FEED contract with the award of the topsides FEED contract for the Draupne development. The Draupne pre-FEED was the first contract awarded to the re-established Aker Solutions engineering entity in London. The new award confirms the successful build-up of our London office," said Valborg Lundegaard, executive vice president and head of engineering in Aker Solutions.

Energy consultancy ADIL announces six-figure contract win with Iona Energy. ADIL, the Aberdeen-based independent energy consultancy, announces a £500,000 contract win with oil and gas company, Iona Energy. ADIL will provide management support, enabling its client to develop a recently purchased field in the UKCS. Iona completed the acquisition of North Sea Block 3/8d, containing the Kells (formerly Staffa) Oil Field, earlier in January. The company is primarily focused on the acquisition, appraisal and development of oil and gas discoveries in the UK North Sea.

Statoil and its partners are considering developing the Skrugard discovery in the Barents Sea by means of a floating production unit with the additional capacity to process and transport from other prospects in the area. A feasibility study has identified a technical and commercial solution for the Skrugard field in the Barents Sea. The solution involving a floating production unit will result in the rapid and cost-efficient development of the discovery. The production unit will have separate oil storage and offshore loading capability with a production capacity of 95…

Communication between the Aldous and Avaldsnes oil discoveries in the North Sea has now been confirmed. In combination these discoveries may represent an oil structure of between 500 million and 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. If the upper part of the interval strikes pay dirt, the discovery will be one of the ten largest oil finds ever on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Statoil (OSE: STL, NYSE: STO) has a 40% stake both in licence PL 265, where Aldous was discovered, and in PL 501, where the Avaldsnes discovery was made.

Statoil is developing Njord’s northwest flank. This development will increase the total recoverable reserves in the Njord field, secure continued gas exports and extend Njord’s lifetime by up to two years. The flank lies about six kilometers north-west of the Njord platform. The development solution comprises two new extended-reach wells. Drilled directly from the platform with eight kilometers of well paths, the wells will be tied back to the platform. “This is an example of…

Hydro has entered into an agreement to sell its 10 percent stake in production licences PL064, PL077, PL078, PL097, PL099, PL100 and PL110 in the Norwegian offshore sector, including the Snøhvit gas field development. The buyer is Statoil ASA. At the same time Hydro also entered into another agreement: The purchase of a two per cent interest from Statoil in the PL134B and PL199 licences, including the Kristin field. The Snøhvit transaction is expected to result in an estimated accounting gain for Hydro of approximately NOK 100 million, after tax. "We are very satisfied with the agreements. This is a result of Hydro's active management of the company's oil and gas portfolio, and in line with Hydro's strategic positions.

According to a new report by IMA, there are 121 floating production systems in operation or available as of February 2001. This is an increase of almost 90 percent over the number of units in operation five years ago. About one-quarter of the units are operating off Northern Europe, another quarter off Brazil and the remainder are mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore China/Southeast Asia, West Africa and Australia. There has been a recent burst of orders for new floating production systems and eight production units have been ordered over the past five months: four FPSO vessels, three spars and a production semi. With these new orders, there are now 27 floating production systems being built. A noticeable shift has taken place in type production system now being built vs.

According to a study just completed by IMA, 121 floating production systems are in operation or available. This is an increase of approximately 90 percent over the number of units in operation five years ago. About one-quarter of the units are operating off Northern Europe, another quarter off Brazil and the remainder are mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore China/Southeast Asia, West Africa and Australia. Reflecting upbeat conditions in the oil and gas sector, there has been a burst of orders for new floating production systems over the past six months. Between September 2000 and March 2001, eight production units have been ordered: four FPSO vessels, three spars and a production semi. With these new orders 27 floating production systems are now being built (see chart 1).