WorleyParsons cuts first steel for Nova tie-back to Gjøa

Rosenberg WorleyParsons has cut the  first steel for the Wintershall-operated Nova project tie-back to Neptune’s Gjøa platform. 

Rosenberg WorleyParsons won a contract for construction and installation of a new Nova topside module on the Gjøa platform in the North Sea in May 2018 and the first steel was cut at its yard in Stavanger, Norway on Wednesday, November 14.

Neptune said on Wednesday that the approx. 800 ton heavy module will in two years be lifted on board Neptune Energy’s Gjøa platform, enabling production from the nearby Nova field. This follows the approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Nova’s Plan for Development and Operations (PDO) on September 28.

It is also worth reminding that Aker Solutions in May started fabrication on Wintershall’s Nova project by cutting the first steel for subsea templates.

The Nova field, operated by Wintershall, was discovered in 2012 and is situated on the northeastern Norwegian continental shelf, approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the Neptune Energy-operated Gjøa platform and about 120 kilometers northwest of Bergen.

Nova will be developed as a subsea tie-back connecting two modules to the nearby Gjøa platform for processing and export. Gjøa will also supply lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support.

Arild Jåsund, Project Manager for Nova at Neptune Energy, said: “The un-stranding of additional volumes from Nova, by using existing Gjøa infrastructure, is not only significant for the Norwegian economy but also important in extending the production life of Gjøa itself. Furthermore, the Nova tie-in works represent the largest modification ever conducted on Gjøa, and provide Neptune Energy and our contractors the opportunity to prove our capabilities in managing major projects in a safe and an efficient way.”

Neptune said that the first steel is a major milestone in the work to prepare for production of the Nova field through the Gjøa platform. During the next two years, Rosenberg WorleyParsons will complete construction of the Nova topside equipment, built for processing of Nova field hydrocarbons and to provide water injection facilities via the Gjøa platform. At peak the project will support engineering and construction work for approximately 300 people at Rosenberg WorleyParsons.

Installation in 2020

From January 2019, preparations will start at Gjøa to receive the Nova module and other necessary equipment. In parallel with the work at Gjøa, Wintershall and its main contractors will complete the necessary underwater activities and riser installation so that three oil wells and three water injection wells are ready for use when the new module on Gjøa starts up.

In May 2020, the Nova module will be lifted on board Gjøa by a heavy lift vessel from Heerema Marine Contractors.

Hjalmar Aslagsen, Project Manager at Rosenberg WorleyParsons, added: “Rosenberg WorleyParsons highly appreciates the trust shown to us by Neptune Energy and the Nova license partners, through the initial FEED stage and into the EPCIC phase of this important project.”

Gjøa license partners are Neptune Energy (30% and operator), A/S Norske Shell (12%), DEA Norge (8%), Petoro (30%) and Wintershall Norge (20%).