Valemon pipeline operatorship now in Gassco’s hands

The pressure test of the Valemon Rich Gas Pipeline has been approved, and Gassco has yesterday (October 9) taken over the operatorship of this 177-kilometre facility which will carry rich gas to the Heimdal field centre in the North Sea for further processing.

Gassco has thereby become the operator for the Valemon Rich Gas Pipeline joint venture, which owns the 22-inch pipeline, with Statoil as its technical service provider (TSP).

The Valemon Rich Gas Pipeline runs to a tie-in on the existing Huldra pipeline. Its available technical capacity is 13 million standard cubic metres per day (scm/d).

Valemon is a gas and condensate field located about 10 kilometres west of Kvitebjørn in the northern part of the Norwegian North Sea and operated by Statoil.

The field is currently under development, with production estimated to start in Q4 2014.

“Taking over as the operator of a new pipeline calls for extensive planning,” says Jan Hauge, executive vice president for system operation in Gassco.

“We’ve achieved this through a very good collaboration with Statoil. The next milestone in the project will be to complete dewatering of the pipeline during November.”

Gassco gained a consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway to use the Valemon rich gas pipeline in September 2014.