Statoil ready to install Tordis subsea unit

Aug. 3, 2007
Statoil ASA plans to install the Tordis subsea production facility during the week of Aug. 6 in the Norwegian North Sea to increase recovery by 35 million bbl of oil (OGJ, May 14, 2007, p. 17).

Uchenna Izundu
International Editor

LONDON, Aug. 3 -- Statoil ASA plans to install the Tordis subsea production facility during the week of Aug. 6 in the Norwegian North Sea to increase recovery by 35 million bbl of oil (OGJ, May 14, 2007, p. 17).

It will be the world's first subsea installation to separate water and sand from oil wells and to pump them directly into the bedrock. Tordis will be tied back to Statoil's Gullfaks C platform.

FMC Technologies and the Grenland Group built Tordis, the world's heaviest subsea template. The 1,200-tonne module will be installed in a single lift by the Saipem 7000 heavy-lift vessel. Commissioning is expected to take about 6 weeks, with first production by Oct. 1.

Tordis has been producing oil since 1994 through a tieback to the Gullfaks C platform. Water production has increased to 70-80% over the last few years and sand production to about 500 kg/day. In 2003, Statoil began to plan the subsea separation system, boosting, and injection system to prolong production by 15-20 years.

Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].