Kværner to Build Sverdrup’s Drilling Platform Jacket

Norway’s Statoil has, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, awarded a contract to Kværner Verdal for delivery of the steel jacket for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform.

The contract is an execution of the letter of intent signed by Statoil and Kværner for delivery of two jackets for Johan Sverdrup.

Weighing 22,500 tonnes, the drilling platform jacket will be the second largest of the jackets to be constructed during the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup project. This jacket will be delivered and installed on the Johan Sverdrup field in the spring of 2018.

“We are well pleased with getting Kværner on board on yet another complex steel jacket delivery for Johan Sverdrup.

“An important part of the original letter of intent between Statoil and Kværner for delivery of steel jackets implied that the partners were to cooperate on realising further improvements through standardisation and simplification.

“This contract proves that the cooperation has been successful, and together we have improved competitiveness and maximised value creation from Johan Sverdrup,” says Kjetel Digre, senior vice president for the Johan Sverdrup development project.

The investment costs in the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup development are estimated at around NOK 117 billion (2015 value), with expected recoverable resources in the range of 1.4 – 2.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

“More contracts will be awarded this autumn. We have already started on the first jacket for the riser platform at Kværner Verdal. So far, we are on track on the Johan Sverdrup development,” says Digre.

The first phase of the Johan Sverdrup field development will consist of four installations, including a utility and living quarters platform, a processing platform, a drilling platform and a riser platform, as well as three subsea water injection templates. The platforms will be interlinked by gangways.

This is number 45 in a series of steel substructures from Kvaerner in the past 45 years.

“Kvaerner is known in the business to always deliver demanding projects at the agreed time and quality. With the two contracts for delivery of steel jackets to Johan Sverdrup in order backlog, Kvaerner Verdal has a solid and predictable foundation as basis for continuous improvement and long-term planning in connection with further development of Kvaerner in Verdal,” says Jan Arve Haugan, Kvaerner’s President & CEO.

At peak manning, around 250 Kvaerner employees will be working on the drilling platform jacket. Together with the delivery of the riser platform jacket, this will engage around 500 Kvaerner employees when the two projects are at their most hectic. Additionally, it is expected that as spin-off effects of the two deliveries work will be created for another 1 500 people in Kvaerner’s sub-suppliers and from regional service providers in private and public sector.