The drilling topside for Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup field is setting sail from Aibel’s yard in Haugesund on its way to the North Sea today.
This afternoon, four tugs will take control of the barge carrying the topside, heading towards Bømlafjorden at Stord.
There the 22,000-tonne steel structure will be transferred to the Pioneering Spirit, the world’s biggest heavy-lift vessel, before proceeding to the Johan Sverdrup field for installation as the second of four platforms in Phase 1 of the development.
Trond Bokn, Equinor’s senior vice president for Johan Sverdrup, said: “It’s great to see the drilling platform ready for sail-out. Aibel has delivered a high-quality platform, while performing well on safety. When the delivery is also on budget and on schedule, we are of course very pleased. This marks an important milestone for the Johan Sverdrup partnership, Aibel and the Norwegian supplier industry.”
The largest module, the main deck, was built at Aibel’s yard in Thailand. The drilling support module, the second largest unit, was built in Haugesund. The third module, the derrick and associated equipment, was built by Nymo in Grimstad.
The three modules were assembled in Klosterfjorden in early September 2017. The topside was then towed in to Aibel’s yard in Haugesund. The past nine months hook-up and fabrication activities have taken place at the yard. At the same time Equinor has completed the testing of equipment on board the platform before the whole topside structure is now being transported offshore.
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