Total delays Martin Linge project to 2018 owing to South Korean shipyard accident

Total has put off its Martin Linge project in Norway by a year owing to an accident at a South Korean shipyard where construction works related to the project were being carried out.

The Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Geoje yard, the site of a crane collapse accident that left six workers dead in May is also home to certain construction activities related to Total’s Egina FPSO in Nigeria and Ichthys project in offshore Australia.

However, there will be not much of impact on the two projects, especially for the Ichthys project as its CPF (Central Processing Facilities) was already dispatched much before the accident. The CPF has been installed on the Ichthys field as per Total.

Works related to Egina FPSO were affected like the case with Martin Linge project. But they have already resumed after a two-week suspension with the impact likely to be limited and production due to begin in the second half of next year.

According to Total, shipping of the Martin Linge modules to Norway from the South Korean yard is set to be delayed. As a result, the hook-up and commissioning operations, production start-up of the Martin Linge project have been pushed to the first half of 2019.

Total Exploration & Production president Arnaud Breuillac said: “Total has dispatched its experts to join the ongoing investigation to identify the fundamental causes of the accident and implement the necessary preventive measures to avoid any reoccurrence of such accidents.

“All works at the yard were suspended for several days in order to give absolute priority to the investigation, provide psychological support to the workers and review lessons learned before restarting activities.”

The delay for the start of the Martin Linge project was inevitable as the installation of the modules and lifting operations can only be undertaken during summer because of the challenging weather conditions in the Norwegian North Sea. Initially planned for this summer, the installations have now been put off to summer of next year.

Image: The jacket for the Martin Linge project placed in position on the seabed in the Norwegian North Sea. Photo: courtesy of Woldcam/Total E&P Norge).