Aasgard B hull arrives in Stavanger

The steel hull of the semisubmersible Aasgard B floating production unit arrived in Stavangar, on Aug. 31, 1999, aboard Dockwise NV's Mighty Servant 3 heavy transport vessel. The hull's 6-week voyage from Daewoo Heavy Industries' Okpo, South Korea, yard included passage through the Suez Canal.

The diagonal 53.6° setting of the hull on the 40-ft wide Mighty Servant 3 resulted in a 132.78-m width, close to the maximum that can transit the 150- ft wide canal, according to Statoil, operator of the Aasgard development. Dockwise reports that the 18,000-tonne hull's dimensions are 102.4-m long, 96-m wide, and 45-m high.

Timeline

Statoil plans to have the hull mated to the 33,000-tonne topsides in October 1999, with tow out to the field in April 2000. It expects gas production to begin during October 2000.

The Aasgard development includes three fields: Midgard, Smørbukk, and Smørbukk South in the Halten Bank area of the Norwegian Sea. Oil production from the fields began on May 19, 1999, through the Aasgard A floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Statoil says Aasgard B will be the world's largest floating offshore gas processing installation, designed to handle 1.4 bcfd, 95 000 b/d of condensate, and 40,000 bo/d.