Aker BP Celebrates Steel Cutting for Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris Developments

Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP on Monday celebrated the first official steel cut for its two major developments, Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris on the Norwegian shelf. 

The event at Stord marks the start of three years of high activity and thousands of jobs at yards and suppliers throughout Norway, Aker BP said.

“It’s fantastic to get started on construction. Now we start seeing the physical result of many years of planning and detailed engineering. These projects will contribute to valuable growth in Aker BP and will be significant for local communities up and down the Norwegian coastline in the years ahead. They will secure activity, jobs, and contribute to further developing the industry that will take Norway into new value chains,” says SVP Projects Knut Sandvik in Aker BP.

Aker BP’s licence partners in Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris are Equinor, PGNiG Upstream Norway, and Pandion Energy. The Norwegian share of deliveries in the development projects is around 65 percent. The development projects will contribute 130,000 full-time equivalents in Norway, about half of which will be realized in the development phase, Aker BP added.

According to Aker BP, so far, more than 200 supplier companies in Norway are making direct contributions to the developments.  

“It is very gratifying to see that the projects are securing activity and boosting competitiveness for suppliers both small and large. Today marks the start of a new phase, with mass mobilisation of people and heavy construction work both in Norway and internationally. We will be there in all the key locations, to follow up important equipment deliveries and keep a close eye on construction work going forward,” says Peter Kupka, project director for fixed facilities deliveries in Yggdrasil.  

“Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris is realized through good cooperation with licence partners, strategic partners, alliance partners and suppliers. Many people played a part in bringing us here today, and I want to say thank you very much and congratulations to all of them. Now, together, we will make sure to deliver the projects safely and according to plan,” says project director for Valhall PWP-Fenris Rannveig Storebø.  

Aker Solutions on Stord will deliver the topsides for the new production platform on Valhall and the Hugin A production and living quarters platform in the Yggdrasil area. The work will be done together with Aker BP, ABB and Siemens Energy as part of the Fixed Facilities Alliance.

And it was the first steel for these projects that was cut today. Aker BP’s project manager for Hugin A, Håkon Skofteland, and Valhall PWP-Fenris project director, Rannveig Storebø, had the honor of pushing the start button.

Aker Solutions’ yards in Egersund, Verdal and Sandnessjøen will also be heavily involved in the implementation of Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris. Over 100 new apprentices will start in the company every year.

 The Nymo yard in Grimstad, Rosenberg Worley in Stavanger, Aibel in Haugesund and Leirvik AS on Stord will also contribute substantial deliveries and take inn apprentices, Aker BP said.
“These development projects will contribute significant value creation and tax revenues for many years to come. They are also important for Aker BP because they help ensure that we can deliver on our ambition to create the oil and gas company of the future, with low costs, low emissions, profitable growth and attractive returns. And now the ball is rolling!” concludes Knut Sandvik.

Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris 

The development plans for Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris were sanctioned by the Storting (Norwegian parliament) on 5 June and approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on 28 June of this year.

Yggdrasil consists of the Hugin, Fulla and Munin license groups. The area is located between Alvheim and Oseberg in the North Sea. Partners in the area are Equinor and PGNIG Upstream Norway. Gross resources in the area are more than 700 million barrels of oil equivalent. Extensive new infrastructure is planned, including three platforms, nine subsea templates, new pipelines for oil and gas export and power from shore. The entire Yggdrasil area will be remotely operated from an integrated operations center and control room onshore in Stavanger.  

Valhall PWP-Fenris is a joint development in the southern part of the North Sea. Pandion Energy AS is the partner in Valhall, and PGNiG Upstream Norway AS is the partner in Fenris, which is situated 50 kilometres away. The development comprises a new centrally located production and wellhead platform linked to the Valhall field center by a bridge and an unstaffed installation at Fenris that will be tied back to Valhall through pipelines on the seabed. The development will use the existing power from shore system. New reserves from the development project are estimated at 230 million barrels of oil equivalent. The project will also secure a lifetime extension for Valhall past 2028.