GALLERY: First steel cut for Aker BP’s new unmanned platform

Norwegian engineering and construction firm Kvaerner has cut first steel for Aker BP’s Valhall Flank West project development in the North Sea.

The cutting of the first steel for the Valhall Flank West platform deck marked the beginning of construction, which will take place at Kvaerner’s Verdal yard in Norway.

Norwegian oil company Aker BP submitted its plans for development and operations for the Valhall Flank West, Ærfugl, and Skogul fields to the Norwegian authorities in mid-December 2017.

Several days later, Aker BP awarded Kvaerner a contract for delivery of the topside and steel jacket substructure for the Valhall Flank West project.

Valhall is a giant oil field in the southern part of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The Valhall Flank West project aims to continue the development of the Tor formation in Valhall on the western flank of the field, with startup of operation in fourth quarter 2019.

Valhall Flank West will be developed from a new Normally Unmanned Installation (NUI), tied back to the Valhall field center for processing and export.

The contract awarded to Kvaerner was the first project in the Wellhead Platform Alliance, which was established in the spring of 2017 between Aker BP, Kvaerner, ABB and Aker Solutions.

The steel substructure and the topside should be ready for delivery and sail-away from Kvaerner’s facilities in May 2019, and hook-up and commissioning on the field is scheduled for August 2019.

An average of 450 people will work on the project at Kvaerner’s yard in Verdal. The activity will be at its highest in the autumn of 2018, when around 650 employees will be working on the project.

Offshore Energy Today Staff