OneSubsea, a joint venture backed by SLB, Aker Solutions and Subsea7, has secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor to deliver an all-electric subsea production system (SPS) for the Fram Sør field offshore Norway.
The award follows a year-long front-end engineering design (FEED) phase, where Equinor and SLB OneSubsea jointly matured the project, resulting in the development plan and final investment decision (FID).
As part of the resulting EPC scope, SLB OneSubsea will deliver four subsea templates and 12 all-electric subsea trees. This will eliminate the need for hydraulic fluid supplied by the host platform and keep topside modifications to a minimum, thus unlocking a cost-effective solution for the project while retaining topside space for additional, future expansion projects in the area, SLB said.
The Fram Sør area, located 10-30 kilometers north of the Equinor-operated Troll C platform and approximately 70 kilometers north-west of Bergen, will be connected to the existing Fram and Troll C infrastructure.
The contract is subject to regulatory approval of the Plan for Development and Operations (PDO).
Equinor also recently hired Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) , a strategic alliance combining the strengths of SLB OneSubsea and Subsea7, to handle an assignment related to the next stage of its operated oil field off the coast of Brazil.
“Fram Sør is a breakthrough project for our industry — marking the first large-scale all-electric subsea production system,” said Mads Hjelmeland , Chief Executive Officer of SLB OneSubsea. “Not only do all-electric subsea solutions significantly reduce topside needs to make large-scale tiebacks such as the Fram Sør development possible, but they also hold the key to unlock more marginal resources through their reduced footprint and simplified operations.”
Subsea7 in July announced the award of a large contract , worth between $300 million and $500 million, for the Fram Sør development, covering engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of subsea structures and flowlines, including 53 kilometres of production, gas lift and water injection lines, as well as the installation of the umbilical system.