Equinor and DeepOcean extend subsea collaboration with new frame agreement

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has signed a frame agreement with compatriot ocean services provider DeepOcean for subsea infrastructure and cable repair for offshore oil & gas and renewables.

The agreement covers marine services including subsea intervention and repair contingency for subsea pipelines, structures and high-voltage cables. It has a duration of four years, with options to extend for up to four more years.

Geographically the deal is valid for work on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) and internationally for planned Equinor work and for contingency work for the PRSI pool members. The PRSI pool consists of 23 energy companies that cover their offshore pipeline and power cable repair contingency via the pool.

For offshore renewables, the agreement covers planned or unplanned marine services related to subsea high-voltage cables, and for the offshore oil and gas industry for planned or unplanned marine services using remote-operated intervention methods with or without the use of PRS equipment.

DeepOcean will manage the contract delivery out of its office in Haugesund, Norway, supported by its international operations wherever required.

The company may also be asked to undertake various engineering or preparedness studies as requested by Equinor or PRSI pool members.

“Such a long-term agreement allows us to constantly evolve working methods, collaboration models and technologies, with the objective of making offshore operations and subsea cable repair work as cost-effective as possible. We look forward to supporting Equinor and the PRSI Pool members over the coming years,” said Olaf A. Hansen, Managing Director of DeepOcean’s European operation.

DeepOcean has already received the first call-offs for work under the new frame agreement and will on behalf of Gassco and Equinor perform seabed preparations and complex remote hot tap tie-in operations at three different locations on the NCS.

On behalf of Gassco with Equinor acting as a technical service provider, the company has already performed marine services to support baseline inline inspection of a large-sized pipeline.

“DeepOcean has a 400 people-strong engineering team that are specialists on solving subsea challenges across industries. We are industry agnostic and share learnings and experiences from subsea operations across different types of operations and industries in order to develop the best possible solutions for our clients. Our experience from oil and gas is highly valuable for offshore renewables – and vice versa,” said Normann Vikse, Offshore Renewables Director at DeepOcean.

This frame agreement comes shortly after DeepOcean won a contract with Equinor for the delivery of pipeline inspection and survey scopes on the operator’s pipelines in the North Sea. The two companies in the summer of 2023 also entered a contract for riser replacement operations at a platform located in the northern part of the North Sea.