Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has selected compatriot Aker Solutions for work on a subsea development that will combine multiple discoveries in the northern part of the North Sea.
Under the new contract, Aker Solutions will be in charge of preparing the topside of the Troll C platform to receive and process the production from the Fram Sør subsea tie-in project. The scope includes engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCIC), as well as services for the new subsea templates.
The Norwegian firm describes this as a sizeable contract, a designation it uses for contracts valued between NOK 0.5 billion and NOK 1.5 billion, or approximately $49 million to $150 million. The work will start immediately, with production targeted for the end of 2029.
Fram Sør is located in the northern part of the North Sea, approximately 20 kilometers north of Troll C. The water depth in the area is approximately 350 meters, and the reservoir depth is 1800–2800 meters.
This is a subsea development with 4 x 4 subsea templates, which will be tied back to existing Fram infrastructure and Troll C for processing and export. According to Equinor, twelve wells are planned for start-up, and four well slots will be available for later development in the Fram/Troll area.
Aker Solutions’ Bergen office handled the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the project. With assistance from the Mumbai office, the Bergen team will now be in charge of the project management, detailed engineering, procurement, and shop engineering. Fabrication will take place at the company’s yard in Egersund.
Equinor disclosed the submission of a plan for development and operation (PDO) of Fram Sør at the end of June, noting that the project would enable more oil and gas to be sent to Europe from the Fram and Troll area. The Fram partners are Equinor Energy (45%), Vår Energi (40%), and Inpex Idemitsu Norge (15%).