Mongstad News

Norway's military said on Monday it had posted soldiers to help guard major onshore oil and gas processing plants, part of a wider effort to boost security amid suspicion that sabotage caused leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines last week.Russia's Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines burst on Sept. 26, draining gas into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden. Seismologists registered explosions in the area, and police in several countries have launched investigations.Norway…

  A fire that broke out at Equinor's Mongstad oil refinery on Norway's west coast early on Sunday was now extinguished, the company said, affecting the unit producing gasoline.The fire broke out in a part of the refinery that produces gasoline, Equinor said, adding that the main part of the refinery was still in operation."The fire is extinguished," said a company spokesperson.Mongstad is Equinor's largest refinery and has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 226,000 barrels per day.The wider Mongstad area contains refinery operations, a terminal for crude oil exports as well as

Offshore vessel owner DOF said Tuesday it had won vessel charter extensions with Norway's Equinor and Shell in the UK.Equinor has exercised options to extend the firm periods of the contracts for 2008-built Skandi Mongstad PSV for three years, and 2010-built Skandi Vega AHTS vessel for two years. Both vessels have worked continuously with Equinor since delivery from the yard in 2008 and 2010, respectively.Also, Shell UK Ltd has exercised an option to extend the contract for the platform supply vessel Skandi Kvitsøy for one year firm, from end March 2022.Furthermore, DOF's subsidiary DOF Rederi has sold Skandi Rona, a platform supply vessel built in 2002, with delivery in April. DOF did not share the financial details.

The vessel Åsværfjord, which is the sixth ship in the Havtrans series, is leaving Havyard Leirvik to go into service for Frøy.Managing director of the yard, Tor Leif Mongstad, says they must have broken the world record for start-up on these kinds of ships.‘I do not think there is anyone who can compare with us when it comes to starting up this type of ships. We have learned a lot along the way and dare to say that we are experts in wellboats.’Excellent, quick workHåkon Bosdal has been project manager for Åsværfjord.

Norwegian shipbuilder Havyard Leirvik has delivered another offshore wind service operation vessel (SOV) to Danish vessel owner Esvagt.The vessel, Esvagt Havelok, is the third and last of the ‘triplet ships’ built by Havyard for Esvagt. The ship handed over Tuesday was the third in the same series, but it is the sixth wind farm service vessel that the Sognefjorden yard has delivered to the Danish offshore wind pioneer Managing director of Havyard Leirvik, Tor Leif Mongstad, says…

Norwegian offshore shipowner Havila Shipping has won a contract with Equinor for one of its platform supply vessels.The company said Thursday the PSV Havila Clipper would start working rot the Norwegian oil giant in direct continuation of the existing contract."The contract is for a firm period of 70 days with options for 20 days," Havila Shipping said. It did not provide details on the value of the contract.Equinor in February awarded an 8-month contract for the vessel, with four…

A project to produce a novel emissions-slashing hydrogen passenger ferry has been granted €8 million ($9.4 million) in European funding as the Norwegian government announces strengthened focus on development and commercialization of hydrogen as a carbon-neutral fuel.The HySHIP project involves 14 European partners collaborating on the design and construction of a new ro-ro demonstration vessel running on liquid green hydrogen (LH2), as well as the establishment of a viable LH2 supply chain and bunkering platform.

Dutch crane specialist Huisman has signed a letter of intent with Norway-based Wergeland and PSW for the delivery of its Skyhook quayside crane at the Gulen Industrial Harbour, Norway.The crane - dubbed the largest Slewing Jib Quayside Crane in the world - will be deployed at the Gulen Industrial Harbour, the base of Wergeland and near PSW Group in Mongstad, providing the additional potential for both decommissioning works as well as for outfitting the next generation deepwater semi-submersibles in the port’s 100 meters wide dock.

Norwegian oil company Equinor has successfully sent a drone carrying a 3D-printed cargo from shore to an offshore production platform in the North Sea in what the company says is a world's first.In a flight spanning around 80 kilometers from the Mongstad base onshore to the Troll field in the North Sea offshore Norway, the drone carried a 3D-printed part for the lifeboat system. The flight took one hour, at an altitude of approx. 5000 feet, or 1524 meters."The flight was a test…

Norwegian oil and gas operators Wintershall DEA Norge and Equinor have signed a supply vessel sharing agreement.Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate in supplying platforms close to Wintershall's Brage platform in the North Sea, which, will, according to Wintershall Dea Norge, substantially increase the efficiency of the company's logistics department in Norway.Brage platform's supply vessel Energy Swan will also provide services to the nearby Equinor's Statfjord A…

Finnish utility Gasum has signed an agreement with Norwegian energy giant Equinor for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the latter’s crude shuttle tankers.The Nordic energy company said in a press release that the supply will commence when the shuttle tankers start operating during 2020.The LNG bunkering deliveries will mainly take place off Skagen, the most northern part of Denmark, and at Mongstad, close to Bergen, Norway. Gasum will utilize its Coralius LNG bunker vessel to perform this service.“We’re happy to support Equinor in its ambition towards cleaner shipping,” says Kimmo Rahkamo, Vice President at Gasum.“Last week we celebrated the 200th ship-to-ship LNG bunkering performed by Coralius.

Norwegian inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) company WellConnection Group has acquired Scotland-based Independent Oilfield Services (IOS) in a deal which marked its entrance into the UK market.WellConnection Group with bases in Stavanger, Mongstad and Hammerfest in Norway have made a strategic investment in IOS, which since its inception in 2014 has quickly grown to become one of the market leaders in the UK within IMR services and storage.IOS changes name to WellConnection IOS and will provide the group with a strong foothold in the UK market to complement its Norwegian business and represent the first step in realization of its strategy to become a strong international player.Chief Executive Officer of WellConnection Group…

Norwegian oil major Equinor said that NorSea opened a shore power supply station at the Dusavik supply base in Stavanger, Norway, on January 18."The base is the latest in a string of supply bases where vessels operating on Equinor contracts are offered shore power for hotel needs while at berth and to charge their onboard batteries," said a press statement.Shore-to-ship power supply is one of several measures to reduce emissions in logistics. Thirteen supply vessels on long-term contracts with Equinor have installed shore power systems on board, and a further five vessels in the contract portfolio will be prepared for shore power supply during 2019.“We need broad cooperation if we are to reduce emissions from our supply chain.

An oil tanker and a Norwegian navy frigate collided off Norway's west coast on Thursday, injuring eight people and triggering the temporary shutdown of a North Sea crude export terminal, Norway's top gas processing plant and several offshore fields.The frigate, which recently took part in a major NATO military exercise, was aground and tilting on one side, live television pictures showed. The Norwegian military was attempting to save the ship."We are working on stabilizing the vessel…

The world’s largest testing facility for carbon capture, Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), has signed a collaborative agreement with DNV GL to deliver advisory and verification services for CO2 capture technology.According to a press release from the quality assurance and risk management company, the new global advisory partnership will offer advisory and verification services at TCM`s facilities on the west coast of Norway and other worldwide carbon capture projects.Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the only available technology for mitigating climate change in certain industries such as cement production and the use of oil and gas.“We have been working with both CCS and verification of new technologies for the energy sector for a long time.

Equinor has awarded Odfjell a contract for drilling two times three production wells for the Fram and Askeladd licences by using the Deepsea Atlantic rig. Odfjell has also been awarded a master framework agreement (MFA). Equinor has signed a framework agreement with Odfjell with terms that will be used for future rig contracts with Odfjell on the Norwegian continental shelf. At the same time, the first rig contract has been signed for Deepsea Atlantic under this contract format. “We have reached a long-term agreement with standard terms that will ensure more efficient procurement processes for future assignments with Odfjell. In addition…

While the Nordic countries are among the most advanced in terms of clean electricity generation, their consumption of energy per capita is also among the highest in the world due to cold climate and a sparse population distribution. To meet growing electricity demand and accompany increased energy production, BKK Nett AS, one of Norway’s largest power companies, decided to install the Kollsnes-Mongstad power line to strengthen the electrical grid in Western Norway. After the manufacturing and installation of two submarine cables for Kollsnes-Mongstad connection, BKK Nett AS has awarded Nexans with a contract worth approximately 37 million euros for delivery of the third and last submarine cable to complete the Modalen-Mongstad connection.

Norwegian oil firm Statoil has awarded contracts to five separate ship owners. The award by Statoil covers seven supply vessels at a total contract value of NOK 3.1 billion (USD 370 million), including options. All vessels will be equipped with hybrid battery operation, and the possibility of shore power connection. “We look forward to a long-term cooperation with the chosen ship owners. The contracts will bring predictability to both the ship owners and Statoil, and will allow us to focus on optimising our operations to continuously improve operation, safety and energy efficiency,” says Philippe F. Mathieu, senior vice president for joint operations support in Statoil. The vessels chosen have good technical specifications adapted to Statoil’s logistics operations.

Robust Asian gasoline demand has drawn more cargoes from Europe over the past week. At least five LR2 vessels have been fixed within the week to load 80kt cargoes of gasoline and gasoline blendstocks from NWE (mostly Mongstad) to Singapore. Gasoline from Europe typically moves to Asia on an opportunistic basis. The sharp increase in fixtures can be attributed to the recent surge in Singapore gasoline cracks. Singapore gasoline cracks jumped to an almost t10-month high last Wednesday…

Skangas has entered into an agreement with Statoil for delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel for their platform supply vessels (PSV). The LNG will be delivered to several bases along the Norwegian west coast by ship. Skangas will in addition deliver LNG to Statoil’s tugs at Kårstø. The agreement is valid from 1 April 2017 until the end of 2020 with an option for two plus two years. The supply bases are located at Mongstad, Florø (Saga Fjordbase) and Kristiansund (Vestbase). The agreement between Statoil and Skangas was a result of a comprehensive tendering process involving several LNG suppliers in the Norwegian market. “We see this agreement as a recognition of our daily work and a confirmation of a good relationship with Statoil”, says Tor Morten Osmundsen, CEO of Skangas.

The riser platform construction start was marked today at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea. Project director for Johan Sverdrup Kjetel Digre (from right), project manager for the riser platform and the processing platform Ståle Nordal and head of Samsung Heavy Industries’ offshore division Younsang Won led the formal celebration of the construction start in South Korea 30 June. “As we are starting the riser platform construction we are taking another important step in delivering the Johan Sverdrup project on schedule,” says project director for Johan Sverdrup Kjetel Digre. The preparations for the riser platform construction started already in January 2015…

Statoil has today, 7 January, awarded the service contracts for seven bases for the company in Norway. These contracts have been awarded to NorSea Group AS, Saga Fjordbase AS and Asco Norge AS. The contracts awarded include terminal and warehouse services as well as storage and pipeline handling. “These contracts, which will involve a long-term cooperation with the chosen suppliers, will result in great savings for Statoil’s logistical operations. Logistics represent some 10% of our field costs and making base operations more efficient is essential for extending the lifetime of the fields we operate,” says Astrid Sørensen, SVP for operations in Statoil.

The new compressor in operation on the Kvitebjørn field in the North Sea from 17 September will increase production there by 220 million barrels of oil equivalent and extend the field’s lifetime with eight years. The compressor will help boost recovery rate and accelerate production on the Kvitebjørn field. The new compressor contributes to an increase in the recovery rate at the Kvitebjørn field from 55% to 70%. “These are very profitable barrels, which make a considerable contribution to wealth creation on the Norwegian continental shelf.