Norwegian oil main Statoil has introduced the beginning of development on the primary of 4 topside models for the large Johan Sverdrup oil subject offshore Norway.

The metal chopping ceremony for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform was held Monday (Feb 15) at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, Norway.

“Aibel won the contract for the construction of the drilling platform about one year ago. Following an extensive planning and engineering process it feels good to start the construction of the first of four topside structures for the Johan Sverdrup project”, says Kjetel Digre, Statoil’s senior vice chairman for the venture.”

The Johan Sverdrup growth venture is heralded as the largest and costliest industrial venture in Norway in many years. The subject, positioned within the North Sea roughly 96 miles west of Stavanger, is predicted to carry between 1.7 and three billion barrels of oil equal, making it one of many high 5 largest oil discoveries ever on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The first part entails the institution of a subject hub consisting of 4 platforms.

“More than 14,000 people are involved in the Johan Sverdrup project on a daily basis in 2016, 1,000 of them working for Aibel in Norway. We now see the effect of Norwegian industry being competitive, winning most of the principal contracts and equipment deliveries for Johan Sverdrup. We are dependent on all of these people to successfully deliver the project on time, to the required quality, and above all, without any HSE incidents,” Digre says.

The development contract for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform was awarded to Aibel in February 2015. The topside engineering work is being carried out in Aibel’s Asker workplace, the place additionally Statoil’s venture group is positioned.

The 22,500-ton drilling platform will encompass three modules, one that’s being constructed on the yard in Haugesund, one on the Deeline yard in Thailand, and one at Nymo’s yard in Grimstad. The modules will probably be assembled at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund within the autumn of 2017, earlier than the platform is put in on the sphere in 2018.

In the summer season of 2015 the pre-drilling templates had been put in on the sphere. The Deepsea Atlantic semi-submersible will begin pre-drilling wells on the sphere in March 2016.

“The most complex platform on the Johan Sverdrup field the drilling platform will come on stream at the end of 2018. We will then start phasing in the pre-drilled wells before production from the field commences at the end of 2019,” Digre says.

Statoil mentioned Monday that the price growth for the venture has to this point been constructive, with the funding estimate for the primary part of the event has been decreased by 12%.

Faced with a collapse in oil costs over the past 18 months, Statoil and its companions have been compelled to chop the preliminary prices of growing the venture. In early 2015, Statoil estimated first-phase investments of $14.8 billion (NOK 117 billion ), however in September revised its estimate to $13.42 billion, a 7% financial savings. 

“We are on track in the project, and have seen a positive cost development. This is still in an early stage of the project implementation: What matters now is to maintain focus throughout the process,” Digre added.

While Monday’s metal chopping ceremony marked the beginning of development on the Johan Sverdrup topsides, the beginning of manufacturing formally started in June 2015 when metal was minimize on the primary riser platform jacket on the Kvaerner Verdal yard in Norway.

Production start-up on the subject is scheduled for the top of 2019. Oil from the sphere will probably be piped to the Mongstad terminal in Hordaland, whereas gasoline will probably be transported through Statpipe to the Kårstø processing plant in North Rogaland.

A second part of growth is predicted to start out in 2022.

Statoils companions within the venture embrace Lundin Norway, Petoro, Det norske oljeselskap and Maersk Oil.