More North Sea work lined up for Floatel unit

Offshore accommodation provider Floatel International has been awarded a new deal for one of its units. As a result, this unit will work in the North Sea, offshore Norway with Vår Energi, a Norwegian oil and gas player.

Floatel announced on Friday, 16 June 2023, the award of a charter deal for the provision of accommodation support to the FPSO Jotun in 2024 with its vessel Floatel Superior. This new contract with Vår Energi is based on the option in the present contract where Floatel Superior is currently providing accommodation support to the Balder FPU.

While commenting on the new award, Peter Jacobsson, CEO of Floatel International, highlighted that the firm was “extremely pleased to be given the trust and opportunity to provide services yet again to Vår Energi.”

According to the company, the new contract has a firm period of five months with options to extend the deal further. It is slated to start in the summer of 2024. 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 is taken as a token of appreciation and a clear sign of the excellent cooperation between Floatel and Vår Energi during previous campaigns. With this award, we are convinced that the high focus on providing safe and efficient operation to our customers clearly outlines Floatel as the preferred choice for offshore accommodation services,” added Floatel.

Back in August 2022, Vår Energi took steps to take over new operatorship in the Balder area thanks to deals for two licences, including two existing discoveries, to increase the firm’s acreage positions in the North Sea off Norway. As explained at the time, these licenses would be worked as part of the further development of the greater Balder area.

The company plans to extend the lifetime of the Balder field through the Balder X project, in a bid to extend production from the Balder hub beyond 2045. To this end, the company has four ongoing projects, including the Balder FPU life extension through a vessel upgrade and drilling new wells on the Ringhorne III and Ringhorne IV projects.

The firm’s plan for the Balder field also entails an upgrade of the FPSO Jotun and the drilling of 14 new production wells along with one water injection well. In addition, the firm is considering drilling new exploration wells in the area. In September 2022, Vår Energi changed the cost estimate for the project, underlining that the first oil from Balder X would be in the third quarter of 2024 instead of in late 2023.