Maersk Oil UK has awarded a multi-million contract for the design of wellhead jacket for its £3billion Culzean gas field.
The work was agreed with Danish firm Ramboll Oil & Gas, which will provide detailed design of the WHP jacket, associated piles and appurtenances, including sea-fastening.
The project represents Ramboll’s first major involvement in the Culzean field, and it also marks the largest substructure design by Ramboll for the North Sea.
The platform will be standing in 296 ft of water.
The Danish company recently acquired Aberdeen-based oil and gas engineering consultancy Apply Altra in order to establish a presence in the UK and strengthen its capabilities.
“This is the first of many opportunities at the Culzean field for us as jacket designers, but also for Ramboll Oil & Gas in general,” said Bjørn Jønsson, Department Director of Ramboll’s Oil & Gas Marine Structures Department.
“We hope that Maersk Oil UK will continue the collaboration, and that Ramboll will be given the opportunity to support any future development requirements.”
Jønsson said that winning the project is a breakthrough as it opens up Ramboll’s opportunities in terms of new clients in a new markets, and aligns to the company’s strategy of gaining new, large international clients.
“Having our name on the paper for such a large platform is great exposure to yards and installation companies and a step towards working for other companies in Norway and the UK.
“With water depths reaching approximately 90 metres, Culzean gives us the chance to show that we can design for those clients who face deeper waters compared to the depths we normally design for,” he added.
The project will run until mid-October 2014. The appraisal well in the Maersk-operated high-pressure, high temperature (HPHT) Culzean field is nearly 145 miles east of Aberdeen.
If successfully developed, the Culzean discovery has the potential to meet around 5% of the UK’s gas demand in 2020/21.
Maersk, part of the Danish AP Moller–Maersk conglomerate, is pressing ahead with the development after chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne unveiled the u-HPHT fields allowance, a tax cut that would offer £200million in tax relie for every £1billion invested in such projects.
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