Statoil has awarded Sembcorp Marine in Singapore the £375million contract to build the hull and integrated living quarters for the vessel which will serve the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea.
First oil from the Johan Castberg is expected in 2022.
Statoil said there were no Norwegian bids for the contract.
Statoil’s chief procurement officer, Pål Eitrheim, said: “We will be working closely with Sembcorp Marine to ensure safe and efficient delivery based on our requirements for HSE, quality, time and cost. The remaining procurement work will be progressed in parallel with this.”
Torger Rød, Statoil’s senior vice president for project development, said: “Johan Castberg is the next major field development on the Norwegian continental shelf and important to future infrastructure in the Barents Sea. Analyses from Agenda Kaupang show that the project will generate some 47,000 man-years of employment in Norway in the development phase from 2018-2022 given a competitive Norwegian supply industry.”
The Johan Castberg development involves a large subsea system tied in to a FPSO vessel.
Recoverable resources are estimated at 450-650 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Statoil owns 50% of the licence, Eni has 30% and Petoro is on 20%.