Esso Norge AS has issued letters of intent for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and wellhead platform for development of Jotun oil field in Blocks 25/8 and 25/7 in the Norwegian North Sea.
Jotun lies in 126 m of water and consists of separate discoveries Elli, Tau West, and Elli South, with combined reserves of 200 million bbl of oil.
Both Jotun contracts will be for engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning. They will be confirmed once Norway's Ministry of Industry and Energy approves the development plan, expected in the spring. The FPSO contract will go to Kvaerner AS, Oslo, which will build the ship's hull at Kvaerner Masa yard in Finland and topsides at its Rosenberg yard in Stavanger.
The FPSO contract is valued at 2 billion kroner ($310 million). Kvaerner will begin early engineering and preparatory work ahead of approval of the development plan. The ship is expected to be installed in Jotun field in spring 1999, with production start-up later that year.
The FPSO will have capacity to produce 90,000 b/d of oil and to store almost 600,000 bbl of oil. The 250 m-long ship will be linked to the wellhead platform by eight flowline/umbilical risers.
The 1.5 billion kroner ($230 million) wellhead platform contract will be awarded to Heerema Toensberg AS, Toensberg, Norway. The platform will be a four-legged steel structure with 24 well slots. Topsides engineering will be carried out by ABB Offshore Technology AS, Billingstad, Norway, while topsides fabrication will be at Heerema's Toensberg yard.
The Jotun jacket will be built by Aker at its Verdal yard, while drilling facilities will be provided by Bentec Norge AS, Stavanger.
Jotun oil will be exported by shuttle tankers. The ship's turret and mooring system will be supplied by Bluewater Offshore Production Systems Ltd., Essen, Belgium, and installed by Kvaerner Rosenberg.
Jotun license partners are: for Block 25/8 operator Esso 50% and Enterprise Oil Norge AS 50%; for Block 25/7 Norske Conoco AS 37.5%, Amerada Hess Norge AS 12.5%, and Den norske stats oljeselskap AS (Statoil) 50%.
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