Statoil has chosen to take out an additional two-year option on the existing contract for diving services with Technip Norge AS. According to a cooperation agreement, ExxonMobil and Gassco could also be potential users of this contract.
The manned underwater operations will be conducted from DSV Skandi Arctic as primary vessel and DSV Wellservicer as secondary vessel, as well as the light diving vessel LDC Technip Sea Hunter.
PSA Norway has given the companies has given a consent for manned underwater operations down to water depths of 180 meters. The consent and comprises defined and undefined operational and project tasks, as well as repair standby.
The defined tasks are work which Statoil will perform on Glitne oil field during the spring of 2012. It relates to connection of underwater wells to the FPSO Petrojarl 1. The water depth at the site is 110 metres, and the work is assumed to last for five days.
Glitne oil field was brought on stream in 2001 and has been developed with sub-sea completed wells tied back to the leased FPSO facility Petrojarl 1. Oil is transported to shore by offshore tanker loading. Production was originally expected to last for around three years, but a combination of better than expected performance and in-fill drilling has resulted in extended field life.
No need for separate schedule
Gassco has not identified any need for separate scheduled manned underwater operations relating to this consent, but may require repair work on pipelines that the company owns.
The consent also applies to undefined operational and project assignments which may be required during the period for the companies’ production licenses, as well as pipeline systems. This also includes pipelines on a foreign shelf covered by Norwegian jurisdiction.
The consent also includes any surface-supplied diving operations which may be required during the period.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, January 4, 2012; Image: North Stream