Statoil lets contracts for Tampen area work

Aug. 2, 2005
Statoil ASA recently awarded contracts totaling 590 million kroner for development of its Skinfaks oil field and expansion of Rimfaks oil field in the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea.

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Aug. -- Statoil ASA recently awarded contracts totaling 590 million kroner for development of its Skinfaks oil field and expansion of Rimfaks oil field in the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea.

Engineering contractor Subsea 7 will lay pipelines to tie new subsea installations back to the nearby Gullfaks C platform under a contract worth just under 190 million kroner. Saipem SPA is to do all subsea connections under a contract valued at 230 million kroner.

Fabricom Contracting Ltd. has a 170 million kroner contract for modifications on the Gullfaks C platform.

The two fields are being tied back to the C platform via existing infrastructure. The pipelaying involves two 10-in. lines, each about 12 km long, and an 8-in. line of 4.5 km. They will link new subsea templates being installed on the two fields to existing templates on Statoil's Gullfaks satellites.

The Scandi Navica vessel will lay the pipe. Work is to start next spring and is scheduled for completion in July 2006, officials said.

Saipem will use the Normand Cutter and Far Sovereign vessels to install a number of structures and make 26 subsea connections.

Statoil has already awarded Transocean Inc. a drilling contact worth 550 million kroner and FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS a contract valued at just under 500 million kroner for subsea hardware.

Statoil put total investment in the fields at 3.4 billion kroner, with production due to start in November 2006. Reserves are estimated to be 70 million bbl of oil equivalent.

Statoil has a 61% interest in the development; partners are Petoro AS with 30% interest and Norsk Hydro ASA with 9%.