Two subsea templates each the size of a basketball court have been placed on the ocean floor by Wintershall on its flagship Maria field development.
The company said the structures were lowered beneath the waves in the Norwegian Sea after being sailed from Kristiansund.
The vessel Normand Oceanic sailed the 285 tonne templates 210 kilometers to the Maria field on the Halten Terrace, before craning the structures 300 meters below the ocean surface.
Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall’s Maria project director, said: “This is the first major subsea installation on the Maria field, unlocking the next phase in the development.
“Maria is a multifaceted project using innovative solutions to deliver maximum value while also utilizing existing infrastructure in the area.
“With the safe completion of this milestone on time and budget, we lay an important foundation towards planned first oil in Q4 2018.”
The Maria reservoir will be linked via subsea tieback to three existing platforms in the area.
The Maria well stream will go to the Kristin platform for processing while supply of water for injection into the reservoir will come from the Heidrun platform and lift gas will be provided from Åsgard B via the Tyrihans subsea template.
Processed oil will be shipped to the Åsgard field for storage and offloading to shuttle tankers. Gas will be exported via the Åsgard Transport System to Kårstø.
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