Norwegian energy giant Equinor has signed a raft of contracts with service company Aibel, totalling more than £400 million.
Comprising work on four onshore and offshore projects – Krafla, Gina Krog, Asterix, and Kårstø – the deals are expected to need a total of 3500 person years, according to Aibel.
Mette H. Ottøy, Equinor’s chief procurement officer, said: “These awards build on our strong common history and Aibel’s proven competitiveness.
“The contracts will require a large-scale effort by Aibel’s Norwegian organisation, including personnel in Haugesund, Harstad, Asker, and Stavanger.”
Signed in a ceremony at Aibel’s premises at Forus, an industrial part of Stavanger, the contracts indicate high oil and gas activity in Norway for the near future.
Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s senior vice president for project development, said: “We have a long-term cooperation with Aibel, one of our main cooperation partners in further maturing our project portfolio on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
“In our ongoing projects we have tested new digital tools enhancing our efficiency, which will be important going forward.
“More use of industry standards and energy-efficient solutions are central to maintain profitability and be able to realise projects also in the future.
“This is something we will ensure together with Aibel through these contracts.”
Aibel has been awarded a contract for front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the unmanned processing platform at the Krafla field.
The award is a continuation of the pre-FEED contract the company bagged in 2020.
The study, valued at around £15m, will form the basis for tying an unmanned installation to the Aker BP-operated platform on the NOA field.
The Krafla field development will be one of the biggest development projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and will help to maintain activity.
Asterix
Aibel has been awarded a FEED study – including an option for an extended FEED study and the actual implementation of topside modifications – for tying the Asterix discovery to the Aasta Hansteen platform.
The total value of the project is calculated to be around £6m
The implementation option is calculated to exceed £84m and includes the assembly of a 430-tonne module at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund.
Located in 1350 metres of water in the Norwegian Sea, Asterix is a subsea development taking place around 50 miles west of the Aasta Hansteen platform.
The Gina Krog licence partners have opted to invest in a new oil export solution on the North Sea field.
A new 15 mile pipeline between Gina Krog and Sleipner A (SLA) will replace the existing Rangfrid floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) in 2024.
Aibel has been awarded an implementation contract, valued at close to £41m for modifications on Gina Krog and Sleipner A for tying the platforms together by the new pipeline.
Equinor has awarded Aibel a FEED contract for electrification of turbines and pressure boilers at the Kårstø processing plant.
The contract was awarded on 12 October but was only officially signed today.
It is valued at £10m and will form the basis for a cost evaluation, before a final investment decision is made at the end of 2022.
An implementation option has also been awarded at a preliminary estimated value of more than £250m.