VIDEO: Statoil’s first Mariner module heads for North Sea

Norwegian oil major Statoil has posted a video on its YouTube channel showing the departure of the first module for the Mariner topside from South Korea.

The Mariner module left the DSME yard in South Korea on May 2 onboard the heavy transport vessel Forte. It is now on its way to the Mariner oilfield east of Shetland.

The topside modules weighing a total of more than 38,000 tonnes are being shipped on five heavy transport vessels to the North Sea. The first of the five vessels sailed this week, with the four remaining vessels following in the coming weeks. The approximately 11,300 nautical mile journey to the Mariner field will take around 40 days.

The 38,000 tonne-heavy topside consists of eight modules and a flare. According to Statoil, the modules will be installed offshore by the heavy lift vessel Saipem 7000 during the summer.

Following the heavy lifting of the modules, the hook up and commissioning of the Mariner platform will start, lasting for more than a year. Start-up of the Mariner field is planned for the second half of 2018.

Also planned for the summer is an exploration drilling campaign in the UK on three licenses, including Mariner, using the Transocean Spitsbergen semi-submersible rig.

Mariner, discovered in 1981 some 150 km east of the Shetland Islands, is one of the largest projects currently under development in the UKCS.

The concept chosen for the development includes a production, drilling, and quarters platform based on a steel jacket, named Mariner A, with a floating storage unit, called Mariner B. Drilling will be carried out from the Mariner A drilling rig, with a jack-up rig assisting for the first four years.

Recoverable reserves from the initial development are estimated at 250 million barrels of oil excluding near field exploration potential. The license is operated by Statoil with 65.1 percent interest with partners JX Nippon, Siccar Point Energy, and Dyas owning 20, 8.9, and 6 percent interest, respectively.

Offshore Energy Today Staff