Statoil maps the Barents sea

Statoil has started mapping the seabed in the Barents Sea of the Snøhvit field. Potential routes will be mapped for pipelines and cables between gas deposits in the Snøhvit field and the Melkøya plant in Finnmark county, said Arne Indreeide, Statoil mapping coordinator. The work includes mapping areas where subsea installations are sited to ensure the most favorable location for pipelines and equipment. The work, which is expected to take two to three weeks, will be carried out from the special shipNormand Tonjer. The ship was converted into a mapping vessel a few years ago and is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment such as remote-controlled subsea tools, multi-beam echo sounders, side scan sonar, and video cameras.
Geotechnical surveys on the field and along the pipeline routes will follow the mapping. Gisle Håland, coordinator for these surveys, explains that samples will be taken from the upper layers of the seabed at the Snøhvit and Albatross deposits and along the pipeline routes between the subsea installations and Melkøya. This work will be carried out from the special ship Bucentaur. The geotechnical surveys are estimated to last three weeks starting in mid-July.