Exploration & Development

Statoil begins laying long Snøhvit umbilical

Aug. 3, 2005

Statoil has begun to lay the 144 km umbilical that will link its Snøhvit development in the Barents Sea with the control room of the gas liquefaction plant on Melkøya Island near Hammerfest in northern Norway.

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Aug. 3 -- Statoil has begun to lay the 144 km umbilical that will link its Snøhvit development in the Barents Sea with the control room of the gas liquefaction plant on Melkøya Island near Hammerfest in northern Norway.

The umbilical, which Statoil calls the world's longest, will permit remote operation of gas production from the field's subsea installations.

The Normand Clipper laying vessel is to install the umbilical in a single excursion, reeling it off a spool onto the seabed at 10-20 km/day. The work is expected to be complete in the middle of August.