Aker BP, a Norwegian oil and gas player, has set the stage to transport a jacket destined for its gas development project in the North Sea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Aker BP and its partners, Equinor and PGNiG Upstream Norway, made a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Yggdrasil area in December 2022 and submitted plans for development and operation (PDOs) to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
The first steel for the Munin platform was cut at Aibel’s yard in Thailand in November 2023. A 2,900-ton utility module for Munin was ready for sail-away in October 2024, after the topsides, expected to weigh over 8,000 tonnes, were lifted onboard a transport vessel in August last year.
Aker BP has now confirmed the loading of the Munin jacket onto the barge at Heerema Fabrication Group in Vlissingen, Netherlands. This 130-meter-tall jacket, weighing 5,200 tonnes, is expected to soon set sail for the northern part of the Yggdrasil area for installation. Håkon Helgå , Munin’s Project Manager, commented: “The Munin jacket is delivered according to plan, with quality, and the work has been carried out safely. Aker Solutions efficiently delivered quality engineering in the early stage of the project.
“This enabled us to cut the first steel as planned in Vlissingen in the winter of 2024. It has been a true pleasure to work as an integrated One Team with all parties these last years and everyone involved should be proud of the Munin jacket delivery.”
The Norwegian operator describes Yggdrasil as the largest ongoing development on the NCS, which is powered by tens of thousands of people across Norway and the world. The project is perceived to be progressing forward according to plan, on track for first production in 2027.
Located in the northern part of the Yggdrasil area, Munin is an unmanned production platform, seen as the first of its kind on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The Yggdrasil project, with gross resources of more than 700 million barrels of oil equivalent, is expected to be remotely operated from an integrated operations center and control room onshore in Stavanger.
The finished Munin platform will be one of three new platforms in the Yggrasil area between Alvheim and Oseberg in the North Sea.
Aker BP underlined: “We need stable and predictable conditions to continue to deliver essential energy to Europe in the years ahead. This is crucial for safeguarding jobs and maintaining energy security.”