The pipelaying vessel Castorone, operated by Italian oilfield services provider Saipem, has completed the installation of an approximately 80-kilometer pipeline linking the Aasta Hansteen platform to Equinor’s new subsea tieback field, Irpa, formerly known as Asterix.
The Irpa field, located at a depth of 1,350 meters, is said to be the deepest field development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
According to Equinor, the pipeline operation had logistical impacts in Sandnessjøen, Norway, where line pipe and related equipment were delivered to the ASCO base. The components were offloaded, stored, and loaded onto pipe support vessels operating in shuttle traffic to the Castorone, which was supplied with pre-fabricated pipeline joints.
“At an average speed of 1.3 kilometers per day, the 20 inch ‘pipe in pipe’ pipeline was completed on 22 July, after 84 days,” said Equinor in a social media post.
80 kilometer pipeline installation
According to Equinor, Irpa is located 340 kilometers offshore Bodø, with expected recoverable gas reserves estimated at almost 20 billion standard cubic meters.
Irpa is expected to extend the life of Aasta Hansteen by seven years, from 2032 to 2039, and contribute to increased gas supplies to Europe. Aasta Hansteen is said to be the first spar platform on the Norwegian continental shelf and the largest in the world.
In June, Norwegian ocean services provider DeepOcean finished sliding into place a foundation template structure (FTS) at an offshore natural gas field, described as the deepest field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Equinor booked a consortium , consisting of Subsea7 and DeepOcean, in 2023 for the Irpa and Verdande field development projects in the Norwegian Sea.