GALLERY: Statoil completes Johan Sverdrup riser platform installation

Norwegian oil major Statoil has completed the installation of the riser platform on the Johan Sverdrup field offshore Norway.

Statoil said on Thursday that the last module of the Johan Sverdrup riser platform was lifted into place on Wednesday, April 25.

With this, the first of four topsides of the giant North Sea development was installed.

As reported by Offshore Energy Today on Wednesday, Statoil started the installation of the topside during last weekend.

Kjetel Digre, senior vice president for Johan Sverdrup, said: “It’s a special feeling to see the first Johan Sverdrup platform in place, even a few days ahead of the plan set more than three years ago – all without any serious incidents along the way.”

The riser platform, the first of four platforms to be installed in the first phase of the project, handles all exports of oil and gas from the Johan Sverdrup field. The power converter, which will enable the Johan Sverdrup field to be powered with renewable electricity from shore, will also be located on the platform.

Statoil added that the riser platform would be a particularly central piece of the Johan Sverdrup field center. Not only will oil and gas worth more than NOK 350 million ($44 million) pass daily through the platform at peak production but power from shore will also make Johan Sverdrup one of the most carbon efficient fields on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The calculation of oil and gas worth was made based on the current oil price of around $70 per barrel and a production of 660,000 barrels per day,

All the pieces of the platform were lifted in place by the heavy-lift vessel Thialf of Heerema Marine Contractors.

Ståle Nordal, Statoil’s project manager for the riser platform, added: “Delivering a topside of this size and complexity in less than 20 months, and without a single serious incident, is a feat on its own.”

The next step will be the installation of more than 400 km of pipelines, 200 km of power cables, the drilling platform, two jackets, and a bridge over the next weeks and months.

According to the company, connecting and hooking up the growing field center and the beginning of preparations for production start-up late in 2019 will begin in early May.

“With this milestone, we firmly take a step into the final phase of the project. These operations have been carefully planned, drawing on Statoil’s significant experience in this area. With the riser platform in place we have taken a significant step forward in preparation for start-up late next year,” added Digre.