Green light for Equinor to continue using Floatel unit at North Sea field

Norwegian offshore safety regulator, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has given Equinor its consent to use one of Floatel’s semi-submersible support vessels as a mobile accommodation unit for an extended period at a field in the North Sea off Norway.

Back in January 2022, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway gave Equinor consent to deploy the Floatel Superior mobile accommodation facility from 1 April 2022 at the Grane field, located in the central North Sea, east of the Balder field in a water depth of 128 metres.

The Grane field was discovered in 1991 and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 2000. This field has been developed with an integrated accommodation, drilling and processing facility with 40 well slots and a steel jacket. The production at the field started in 2003 and the Svalin field is tied-back to the Grane platform.

In an update on Wednesday, the PSA informed that it had given Equinor consent to use the unit at the Grane field for an extended period. This comes just two weeks after Floatel International secured a contract extension with Equinor, which enables Floatel Superior to provide services at the Grane field until 15 November 2022.

According to the Norwegian regulator, the consent for an extended period includes the use of Floatel Superior as a residential unit during the Breidablikk modifications on the Grane platform. During the planned activity, the unit is expected to be connected to Grane with a telescopic gangway. Breidablikk is a subsea tieback development and will be tied to the Grane platform for oil processing before being brought ashore at the Sture terminal.

The 2010-built Floatel Superior is a dynamically positioned (DP-3) semi-submersible accommodation and construction support vessel, which was constructed at the Keppel FELS yard in Singapore. This vessel can accommodate 440 people. It received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in 2011.