Norway: Aibel Bags $560M Worth of Contracts with Equinor, Partners

Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has, on behalf of the license partners in Krafla, Gina Krog, Asterix fields, and Gassco at Kårstø, signed contracts with engineering and construction firm Aibel worth around five billion Norwegian crowns (nearly $560 million), including options. 

First, Aibel has won a contract for front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the unmanned processing platform at the Krafla field, offshore Norway.

The study, a continuation of the pre-FEED contract they were awarded in 2020, will form the basis for tying an unmanned platform to the Aker BP-operated platform on the NOA field. The study is valued at just above NOK 180 million.

The Krafla field development will be one of the biggest development projects on the NCS in the planned realisation period. The development will represent a major part of the NCS investment level and help maintain the activity level in the industry, Equinor said.

In June 2020, the licensees in Krafla, NOA, and Fulla agreed on coordinated development of the fields, where Equinor is the operator of Krafla in the north and Aker BP is the operator of NOA Fulla in the south.

The planned development concept involves an unmanned production platform (UPP) to which subsea installations on Askja, Krafla, and Sentral will be tied in. Operations will be run from Equinor’s operations center at Sandsli in Bergen, representing a new and important technology development providing a more cost-effective field development solution compared to conventional platform concepts.

Krafla and NOA Fulla will be powered from shore through a submarine power cable from Samnanger in Vestland county.

Plans call for an investment decision to be made at the end of 2022. Given an investment decision, the supplier selection for the implementation contract will also be made in 2022.

Asterix FEED

Also, Aibel has been awarded a FEED study, including an option for an extended FEED study and the actual implementation of topside modifications for tying the Asterix discovery to the Aasta Hansteen offshore platform.

The total value of the FEED study is calculated to be just above NOK 75 million. The implementation option is calculated to exceed one billion Norwegian crowns, including for example a 430-tonne module to be assembled in the North Sea Hall at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, Equinor said.

Located in 1350 meters of water in the Norwegian Sea, Asterix is a subsea development located around 80 kilometers west of the Aasta Hansteen platform. The project will help extend the life of the Aasta Hansteen field, which will drop below plateau production in 2026 when Asterix is to be phased in.

Plans call for the gas to be processed and then transported to the market via the Polarled pipeline to the terminal at Nyhamna. The chosen concept includes for example a subsea template with three gas producers and a pipeline of 80 kilometers, Equinor said

An investment decision is scheduled for the autumn of 2022. Licence partners are Equinor Energy AS (operator), WintershallDea, Petoro, and Shell.

Gina Krog scope

Equinor further said that the Gina Krog license partners had decided to invest in a new oil export solution on the Gina Krog field. A new 23-kilometer pipeline between Gina Krog and Sleipner A (SLA) will replace the existing Rangfrid floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) in 2024.

Aibel has been awarded an implementation contract for modifications on Gina Krog and Sleipner A for tying the platforms together by the new pipeline.

“Valued at close to NOK 500 million, this contract is expected to employ around 70 people during the next three years. This is the fourth contract awarded to Aibel for modifications in the Sleipner area, where Equinor is cooperating with Aibel in a portfolio organization,” Equinor added.

According to Equinor, removal of the current vessel solution will reduce CO2 emissions from the field by around 18,000 tonnes per year. The new pipeline will strongly reduce annual operating costs from the field while helping extend field production.

Licence partners are Equinor Energy AS (operator), PGNiG Upstream Norway AS, and KUFPEC Norway AS.

Kårstø

Furthermore, on behalf of the operator Gassco and the Gassled partnership, Equinor has awarded Aibel a FEED contract for electrification of turbines and pressure boilers at the Kårstø processing plant.

The contract was awarded in October however it was officially signed on November 23. The value is estimated at NOK 130 million for the FEED study, which will form the basis for a cost evaluation before a final investment decision is to be made at the end of 2022.

An implementation option has also been awarded at a preliminary estimated value of more than three billion crowns. The study is expected to employ around 85 people on average, and up to 600 during the implementation phase.

The Kårstø electrification project aims to reduce CO2 emissions by close to 500,000 tonnes per year, Equinor said.