Statoil ASA has signed an $840-million contract with a joint venture of Kvaerner ASA and KBR Inc. for engineering, procurement, and construction of the topside for the Johan Sverdrup utility and living quarter (ULQ) platform.
The ULQ platform, consisting of a 9,700-tonne utility module and 9,300-tonne accommodation module, is one of four platforms in the first phase of development of Johan Sverdrup oil and gas field on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The project will be executed as a 51-49% joint venture between Kvaerner and KBR, which previously reported plans to team up to bid on topsides contracts for the field (OGJ Online, Aug. 15, 2014). Kvaerner was previously awarded a contract for delivery of the riser platform jacket (OGJ Online, Jan. 20, 2015). The current agreement also includes an option for commissioning assistance and offshore hook-up for the platform.
Procurement of the utility module will be carried out by KBR, while fabrication will be done by subcontractors in Poland under management by Kvaerner and completed in Stord, Norway. The accommodation module will be constructed at Apply Leirvik’s yard in Stord, Norway, and in Emtunga, Sweden. The topside will weigh a total of 19,000 tonnes.
Detailed engineering will start immediately, while fabrication is expected to start spring 2016. Delivery of the ULQ platform is expected in first-quarter 2019, with installation conducted by the Pioneering Spirit heavy-lift vessel.
Statoil says the ULQ platform will accommodate personnel at Johan Sverdrup for more than 50 years, representing the largest living quarters on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) with a bed capacity of 560 people.
The ULQ platform, which will be connected to the processing platform at the field center by a gangway, also will house production control and monitoring activities, and central support systems for the field center including emergency power, firewater systems, diesel, heat recovery, and freshwater production.
Partnering with operator Statoil at Johan Sverdrup are Lundin Petroleum AB, Petoro, Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA, and Maersk Oil. A field development plan was submitted in February (OGJ Online, Feb. 13, 2015). Aibel AS in February was awarded an EPC contract for the deck of the drilling platform (OGJ Online, Feb. 24, 2015), while ABB Group in March was awarded a contract for land-based power supply to Phase 1 (OGJ Online, Mar. 16, 2015).
