STATOIL PURSUES SLEIPNER GAS ALTERNATIVE

Den norkse stats oljeselskap AS has taken the first step toward providing alternatives to gas supply from Sleipner field in the Norwegian North Sea. Statoil ordered a 500 million kroner ($77 million) riser platform from Norwegian fabricator Aker Verdal to link the Zeepipe gas pipeline system into the Statpipe system in 1993. The link originally was to take place through Sleipner Platform A, but it sank off Norwegian Contractors' construction yard at Stavanger (OGJ, Sept. 2, p. 30).

Oct. 14, 1991

2 min read

Den norkse stats oljeselskap AS has taken the first step toward providing alternatives to gas supply from Sleipner field in the Norwegian North Sea.

Statoil ordered a 500 million kroner ($77 million) riser platform from Norwegian fabricator Aker Verdal to link the Zeepipe gas pipeline system into the Statpipe system in 1993. The link originally was to take place through Sleipner Platform A, but it sank off Norwegian Contractors' construction yard at Stavanger (OGJ, Sept. 2, p. 30).

Statoil hopes by the end of this month to finish plans to replace Sleipner gas supplies, which were due to start in October 1993, with gas from other Norwegian North Sea fields.

Replacement gas will move through Statpipe and the new riser connection into Zeepipe until another Sleipner platform is ready in 1994.

Statoil said two commissions investigating the loss of the Sleipner A concrete base should be ready to report by the end of this month.

A replica concrete replacement for Sleipner A will depend on whether the commissions find there was no design fault in the original structure.

Statoil also let contract to Aker Verdal to complete the wellhead module for Sleipner A that has been removed from a construction yard in Marseilles, France. Completion will cost 130 million kroner ($20 million). The unit is to be delivered Jan. 15, 1992.

The wellhead unit is the only outstanding module for the Sleipner topsides that were custom made for the concrete substructure that sank. The topsides can be used only if Statoil orders a replacement four legged concrete unit.