Oil giant Statoil has lodged plans for the world’s largest spar installation following an announcement of a new gas pipeline to the Arctic.
The £3.5billion Aasta Hansteen spar development will make use of the 300-mile Polarled pipeline, which will stretch between Norway and a new oil and gas province in the Arctic Norwegian Sea.
The spar platform will have a height of more than 656ft, a 164ft hull diameter and a condensate storage capacity of 160,000 barrels.
The £2.8billion pipeline, unveiled by Norway’s Gassco and being backed by a consortium of firms, is thought to be the deepest of its kind. It is expected to become operational in late 2016, with a daily capacity of some 70million cubic metres.
The developments are expected to lead to further investment in the Arctic ahead of an offshore licensing round by the Norwegian government this summer, with plans for 86 blocks, mostly in offshore polar areas, to be offered.
Statoil said: “No other oil/gas pipeline of this dimension has ever been laid this deep before.
“Polarled will open a new region and facilitate further exploration activities and development of future discoveries in the area.”
Norway’s oil ministry said: “Aasta Hansteen opens up a new gas province in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea. The creation of new infrastructure in the area will facilitate further development and increased exploration activity.”
Polarled is due to be finished by late 2016 and will also collect gas from smaller fields, including Shell’s Linnorm and RWE’s Zidane. It will bring gas to the Shell-operated Nyhamna processing plant on Norway’s western coast for export mostly to the UK.
Aasta Hansteen is expected to be on stream by the third quarter of 2017.
Partners in Polarled include Statoil, state-holding firm Petoro, OMV, Shell, Total, RWE, ConocoPhillips, Edison, Maersk and GDF Suez. Statoil holds 75% in Aasta Hansteen, OMV 15% and ConocoPhillips 10%.