Kvaerner to splash out on new Stord quay following Castberg topsides award

Norwegian engineering and construction services company Kvaerner plans to invest NOK 370 million ($46.9M) in a new quay at the company’s facility at Stord, Norway. 

The move comes following the award of a contract to Kvaerner by Statoil for delivery of the topside modules for the Johan Castberg FPSO, as well as for hook-up and integration of the topside modules with the hull.

“The objective for this upgrade will be to make the facility more flexible. We invest now to strengthen our competitiveness, and this extension will position Kvaerner for deliveries of new solutions to both oil and gas projects and other market segments,” President & CEO Jan Arve Haugan commented.

The investment is subject to approval by Kvaerner’s board of directors within a short period of time. Kvaerner explained that the background for the investment is a changing oil and gas market. More projects are expected in deep waters, which mean an increased demand for floating installations, the company said.

“A flexible facility is crucial, with large capacity that supports flawless project execution and on-time delivery. An extended quay provides greater opportunities for both crane lifts and outfitting. It will not only improve our productivity for assembly and completion of projects such as Johan Castberg, but also for future projects where integration or upgrading of floating platforms can be performed more efficiently at a deep sea quay,” Haugan stated.

According to Kvaerner, the extension will increase the facility’s quayside with 266 meters, and extend its construction area with 17 000 square meters. The water depth at the new quay will be 16 meters, which is sufficient for the majority of floating offshore installations. Additionally, the crane lane will be extended by approximately 100 meters, which means that installations at the new “Vestkaien” will have increased crane coverage from the 1 050 tonnes gantry crane “Storen”.

“The investment in “Storen” in 2012 has practically revolutionized the way we assemble platforms, and improved safety, quality and productivity. It has proven to be an excellent investment for Kvaerner and our customers. The crane coverage will become even better with the new quay, which in turn will allow us to capitalize further on the crane investment made in 2012,” said Steinar Røgenes, Kvaerner’s executive vice president for EPCI.

“Other advantages with the new quay are that it will provide us with an alternative loading area for modules from subcontractors, and for structures bound for our demolition facility at Eldøyane. This will enable us to execute a larger amount of large and small projects in parallel. In addition, it will provide us with added flexibility and opportunities to target potential new markets,” said Røgenes.

Construction works in March

The main project planning of the quayside extension is already underway, and the detail planning will start immediately after the board of directors’ approval. Construction work will start in March, with planned completion during the first half of 2020.

The first project to utilize the quay is the FPSO vessel destined for the Johan Castberg field development. Kvaerner is responsible for constructing the topsides. The hull and living quarter are being built in Singapore, but will be transported to Kvaerner’s facility at Stord for integration and completion.

“Since Kvaerner was listed in 2011, we have invested more than NOK 1 billion in the company’s two facilities at Stord and Verdal. With this investment, the total amount reaches more than NOK 1.3 billion, of which nearly 75 percent can be categorized as development investments to improve our own productivity and strengthen our competitiveness,” Haugan concluded.