Dong Energy EVP Cuts First Steel for Hejre Platform

An important step towards more Danish oil and gas. On Wednesday, 19 June, first steel was cut for a 15,000 tonne heavy production platform in shipyard in South Korea. The platform will be shipped from South Korea to the Hejre field in the Danish North Sea in 2015.

In 2016, the Hejre platform will be in full production and will significantly increase DONG Energy’s oil and gas production from the North Sea. But before this happens, major construction work must be completed. The platform is being built in a shipyard on the island of Geoje in South Korea, which is where the first steel was cut today.

“Today’s celebration to mark the beginning of the construction of the Hejre platform is the culmination of several years of exploration and thorough analyses . In a few years from now, this work will lead to a significant, new Danish oil and gas field, which will boost Denmark’s production,” said Søren Gath Hansen, Executive Vice President, and responsible for DONG Energy’s oil and gas business.

Apart from being a most welcome contribution to extending Denmark’s status as a self-supplying oil nation, the Hejre field is an important step in terms of DONG Energy’s aim to achieve a strategic objective of doubling the company’s oil and gas production from 2012 to 2020.

DONG Energy is the operator of the Hejre licence and has a 60 per cent share, while the partner Bayerngas owns 40 per cent.

Challenging field

The Hejre field will be the first HPHT – High Pressure High Temperature – extension in Denmark. An HPHT field puts heavy demands on the entire construction.

Søren Gath Hansen explained:

“The oil and gas are located in a reservoir at approximately six kilometres depth, where pressure and temperature are extremely high. It puts heavy demands on the entire construction to be able to handle the oil and gas under these conditions. Therefore, we’ve also joined forces with experienced experts in the design and construction of HPHT platforms.”

The platform is designed by the French Technip group and the South Korean shipyard DSME is building the platform. The entire process is in close cooperation with DONG Energy, which has field engineers in Paris and South Korea to facilitate the progress.