More work offshore Norway for Floatel units

Offshore accommodation provider Floatel International has secured contract extensions for two units operating offshore Norway with the country’s oil and gas state-owned giant, Equinor.

Floatel disclosed on Thursday that Equinor had extended the contracts for the existing charters for Floatel Endurance and Floatel Superior, operating in the North Sea off Norway.

In lieu of this, Floatel Endurance will continue to provide services at the Johan Sverdrup field until 31 December 2022. Two additional monthly options have been added under the same amendment, which gives Equinor the possibility to extend the charter until the end of February 2023.

As previously reported, Equinor got clearance to use this unit as a mobile quarters facility on the Johan Sverdrup field in January 2022. The charter with Equinor was expected to start in March 2022. Located 65 kilometres northeast of the Sleipner fields, Johan Sverdrup is a field on the Utsira High in the central part of the North Sea with a water depth of 110-120 metres. It is the third-largest oil field on the Norwegian continental shelf, with expected resources of 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The Johan Sverdrup field has an estimated 50-year lifespan and is expected to generate significant financial income for Norway, thanks to the 78 per cent marginal tax rate on the Norwegian oil industry, according to Equinor. This field was discovered in 2010 and the plan for development and operation (PDO) for Phase I was approved in 2015.

The production at the field started in 2019 and the PDO for Phase II was also approved in 2019. This development solution comprises a process platform and five subsea templates.

The 2015-built Floatel Endurance is a semi-submersible accommodation vessel constructed at the Keppel FELS yard in Singapore. It received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in 2016.

Furthermore, thanks to the recent extension, Floatel Superior will provide services at the Grane field – Breidablikk project – until 15 November 2022. Equinor obtained consent in January 2022 to use this unit as a mobile accommodation unit at this field from 1 April 2022. 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.

Located in the central North Sea, the Grane field is situated east of the Balder field at a water depth of 128 metres. It was discovered in 1991, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 2000. 

The 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.

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 unit, which was designed for worldwide operation with emphasis on some of the harshest environmental conditions in the world, such as the Northern North Sea, received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in 2011.

When it comes to Floatel’s most recent activities, it is worth noting that the firm inked a new contract for one of its units last week to operate for Woodside in Western Australia.

This deal will enable the vessel to provide services at the Pluto project.