Crew working on Equinor’s (OSLO:EQNR) Johan Castberg ship had to be evacuated earlier this week after a fire broke out.
A blaze was discovered on the massive floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel at around 9.30pm on Wednesday.
It is currently docked at Aker Solutions’ yard in Stord, Norway, where final completion works are being carried out before the ship heads for the Norwegian North Sea.
All personnel working on the Johan Castberg were evacuated and there were no reports of injuries. The fire was stopped shortly after it was detected.
According to Aker Solutions, the blaze started in “relation to work at the cargo deck”, and the cause of the incident will be investigated.
Preliminary assessments suggest limited damages to the vessel.
Work kicked off again yesterday, but a small area will remain closed once assessments are finalised.
It is claimed the blaze will not have any impact on the progress of the project.
Construction of the hull and living quarters for the Johan Castberg unit was completed by Sembcorp Marine earlier this year, after a string of delays.
It February the 313m long vessel begun dry transport from Singapore to Norway, having left dry dock the previous month.
Once final works are completed, it will head to the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, about 150 miles from Hammerfest.
Resources at the field are spread across three oil discoveries – Skrugard, Havis and Drivis – in licence PL 532, and are estimated at between 450-650 million barrels.
The project is expected to come on stream in 2024 and will produce for 30 years.
© Supplied by Sembcorp MarineJohan Castberg was originally approved in 2018 with a first oil date of 2022, however COVID-related delays and issues concerning welding on the ship’s hull have pushed back its timeline.
The FPSO hull has been built for uninterrupted, harsh-environment operation in the Barents, with living quarters accommodating up to 140 personnel onboard.