A steel jacket for the Mariner platform in the North Sea has started its journey from the Spanish Dragados yard.
The move comes after the construction of the large platform sub-structure was launched in 2013.
At 134 metres high and with a footprint of 88 x 62 metres, it is the largest steel jacket ever built for a Statoil project.
The Mariner field is located on the east Shetland platform of the UK North Sea around 150 kilometres from the Shetland Isles.
Earlier this month a fantastic image of the jacket showed it holding up traffic as it was transported from the fabrication yard.
The load out from the Dragados yard in Cadiz onto the S44 barge took place in late July and earlier this week the main tug “Skandi Iceman” was connected to the barge and in the afternoon the jacket safely entered the channel of Bahia Cadiz.
The journey from the southern part of Spain to the Mariner field in the North Sea is expected to take around two weeks.
After it has arrived at the field, the jacket will be launched by the barge being ballasted to a certain angle, enabling the 22,400-tonne structure to slide horizontally into the sea.
Statoil is the operator of Mariner with 65.11% equity. Co-venturers are JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited (28.89%) and Dyas UK Ltd. (6%).
Last month Statoil revealed a timelapse video which showed the Mariner jacket being loaded onto a barge off Spain’s Cadiz coast.
Statoil’s Mariner project is the largest field development on the UKCS in more than a decade, with a gross investment of more than $7billion.
It is expected to produce more than 250million barrels of heavy oil during its 30-year lifespan, with average plateau production hitting around 55,000 barrels per day.
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