By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 24 --The Saipem 7000 crane barge, one of the world's largest, delivered a new filtration plant to Statoil ASA's Heidrun platform in the Norwegian Sea Wednesday.
The new 27 m high, 970 tonne unit, designed to remove naturally occurring sulfates from injection seawater to prevent piping and subsurface formations from becoming plugged, was lifted onto the barge in the Åmøy Fjord outside Stavanger. Leirvik Module Technology fabricated the modular plant at Stord, between Stavanger and Bergen.
Because high concentrations of the metallic element barium in the Heidrun reservoir mix with sulfates to produce deposits and coatings inside tubing and rock formations, the filtration unit is necessary to remove the sulfates.
"The filtration unit represents a pioneering project," Statoil said. "No similar sulfate treatment plant exists on the Norwegian continental shelf today."
The facility, constructed as a single unit, is the second of two large modules being installed on Heidrun as part of its water-injection project, with the first module holding three large pumps.
Injecting produced water and sulfate-free seawater into the field will boost its reservoir pressure, improving recovery and eliminating harmful discharges into the sea, Statoil said.
It expects work on the 1.5 billion kroner project to be completed in November. Fabricom and Sørco are the main contractors.
