Norwegian oil and gas player Aker BP is days away from welcoming the arrival of a new jacket at its project in the North Sea where it will be installed on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) as part of its development project which will ensure a lifetime extension for the Valhall field past 2028.
Following the Storting’s stamp of approval for multiple projects, including the Valhall PWP-Fenris development at the start of June 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy greenlighted the developments at the end of the same month.
When September 2023 rolled in, Aker BP marked the start of the fabrication phase for two oil and gas projects, including Valhall PWP, with the cutting of the first steel plates at Aker Solutions’ yard.
According to the Norwegian energy player, the Fenris jacket and pre drill module (PDM) embarked on its journey to the Valhall field from Aker Solutions’ yard in Verdal on June 8 with three different tugboats maneuvering the giant barge out of the harbor. The trip to the field for installation is expected to take five days.
Located in the southern part of the North Sea, the Valhall PWP-Fenris development entails a new centrally located production and wellhead platform linked to the Valhall field center by a bridge and an unstaffed installation at Fenris that will be tied back to Valhall through pipelines on the seabed.
While the 16,000-tonne Valhall PWP production platform for the Valhall field will be assembled at Stord, the 9,500-tonne steel jacket will be delivered from Verdal. The field development also encompasses the Fenris unmanned platform, which is being delivered from Verdal. Aker Solutions’ scope covers considerable subsea and modification deliveries to the Valhall PWP-Fenris project.
Pandion Energy is Aker BP’s partner in Valhall and PGNiG Upstream Norway is the firm’s partner in Fenris, which is situated 50 kilometres away. The Valhall PWP-Fenris development will use the existing power from the shore system and new reserves from the development project are estimated at 230 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Aker BP is also working on developing multiple other oil and gas projects. Recently, the firm kicked off production from another field development in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, which has been tied into the Ivar Aasen platform about 15 kilometers further south.