Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has completed and dispatched the processing topside for Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup project from its Geoje shipping yard in South Korea.
Image: The processing platform of Johan Sverdrup project on board Boskalis Vanguard. Photo: courtesy of Equinor ASA.
The Johan Sverdrup project, which is located in the North Sea, will involve the development of the Johan Sverdrup oil field in two phases. The North Sea field is estimated to hold 2.2-3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The processing topside, which is one of the four platforms that make up the Johan Sverdrup field center in the first phase, was fully assembled and tested before leaving the SHI yard, said Equinor.
Johan Sverdrup development senior vice president Trond Bokn said: “In cooperation with Aker Solutions, Samsung has delivered another high-quality topside for Johan Sverdrup according to plan and without serious incidents.
“Such deliveries are imperative to ensure a safe start-up of Johan Sverdrup in November 2019.
Aker Solutions was given an engineering and procurement management contract for the two topsides of the processing platform while SHI has been involved in the construction of the riser platform and the processing platform.
In February 2018, construction of the riser topside of the Johan Sverdrup project was completed.
Equinor said that the project’s processing platform has been built as a complete topside. After the actual construction phase was finalized in May 2018, the platform went through several tests to complete the processing facility to the fullest extent possible prior to its installation at the Johan Sverdrup field next spring.
Johan Sverdrup project processing platform project manager Jill Sale said: “Having built this as a complete topside gave us a unique opportunity to test a lot of systems that we normally wouldn’t have been able to test prior to installation offshore.
“This has given us a better picture of the quality of the work undertaken and helps safeguard the plan towards start-up of the field next year.”
Currently, the processing platform is heading towards Norway on board the Boskalis Vanguard vessel. It will reach the Kværner yard on Stord where two pedestal cranes will be mounted and eventually lifted into position at the Johan Sverdrup oil field in a single lift by the Pioneering Spirit vessel in the spring of 2019.
In October, Equinor and its partners inaugurated a power-from-shore solution, which will enable supply of electricity to the Johan Sverdrup project for more than 50 years.