Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has selected the UK-headquartered energy technology provider TechnipFMC for work on its project in the Norwegian North Sea.
Under the integrated engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (iEPCI) contract, the UK firm will help Equinor enhance the current infrastructure and extend the production lifecycle for the Heidrun platform.
TechnipFMC described the contract as significant, a designation it uses for those valued between $75 million and $250 million. The award follows an integrated front end engineering and design (iFEED) study by TechnipFMC.
Jonathan Landes , President, Subsea at TechnipFMC, said: “This direct award highlights the mutual benefit of early engagement, which led to an optimized field layout. We are excited to leverage our iEPCI™ integrated execution to upgrade this important asset for Equinor.”
Located about 175 kilometres off the coast of Mid-Norway in approximately 350 meters of water, the Heidrun field is said to be Equinor’s first field on stream in the Norwegian Sea, producing oil and gas since October 1995.
The field development concept includes what Equinor says is the world’s largest – and what Norwegian Petroleum says is the first – floating concrete tension-leg platform (TLP). The TLP is installed over a large subsea template with 56 well slots. Six subsea templates in the southern and northern areas are additionally tied back to the TLP.
Producing almost 250,000 barrels of oil per day in the peak period, Equinor says Heidrun’s current production is around 60,000 barrels. More than 100 wells have been drilled on the field so far, and an additional 100 are planned to be drilled during the field’s lifecycle.
A floating storage unit (FSU), Heidrun B, has been permanently moored at the Heidrun platform since 2015. The FSU exports oil from the field onto tankers, which then ship it further to the market. The gas is exported via Haltenpipe to the Tjeldbergodden terminal and via the Åsgard Transport System (ÅTS) to the Kårstø terminal.
Equinor struck a deal with Petoro last May to increase its ownership in Heidrun and the Noatun discovery in exchange for ownership in the Tyrihans field and the Johan Castberg field and the Carmen and Beta discoveries.
More recently, the energy giant encountered gas in the Skred prospect in the Barents Sea, while another gas discovery was made at a field in which it has an interest offshore Angola.