Judy Maksoud
International Editor

LISBON, Portugal -- As production increases in harsh-environment areas, more work is being done to investigate the best options for pipelaying. At the International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference in Lisbon, Hermann Moshagen of Statoil discussed the company's experience in laying a pipeline in the Barents Sea.

The pipeline under discussion connects the Snøhvit field 140 km (87 mi) northwest of Hammerfest, Norway, to shore. The fields that provide production of natural gas and small quantities of condensate into the pipeline include Snøhvit, Albatross, and Askeladd, Moshagen said.

"Because this is the first development in the Barents Sea," Moshagen said, "the emphasis from the outset was on safety."

While meeting stringent environmental requirements for work in this pristine area, Statoil had to contend with an uneven seabed, narrow valleys that allowed only a 5 m (16 ft) separation between lines near the shore, pockmarks, and iceberg scarring that left marks up to 10 m (33 ft) deep and 150 m (492 ft) wide, all of which complicated the structure of the pipeline, Moshagen said.

"We have an extremely harsh environment," said Moshagen. "It is windy, rainy, cold, and freezing. It is tough on people and on equipment."

The remote location also complicated logistics. Accommodations are scarce, and transportation to and from the location is poor.

Despite the obstacles, Moshagen said, the subsea system came onstream in late May 2007.

7/5/2007