Subsea 7 to engineer Ormen Lange extension

April 18, 2011
Norske Shell has contracted Subsea 7 for subsea installations for the Ormen Lange Northern field development in the Norwegian Sea.

Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UK -- Norske Shell has contracted Subsea 7 for subsea installations for the Ormen Lange Northern field development in the Norwegian Sea.

The Mid North Project, as it is also known, involves adding a subsea template 6 km (3.7 mi) north of the existing subsea facilities in around 900 m (2,953 ft) water depth. It will tieback to Ormen Lange via two 12-in. (30.5-cm) rigid production pipelines, a 6-in. (15.2-cm) service pipeline, and a control umbilical.

Subsea 7 will fabricate and install the pipelines and umbilical, and manage all associated subsea connections and pre-commissioning activities.

Engineering and procurement will be performed from the company’s offices in Stavanger, Norway, with Subsea 7’s North Sea spoolbase at Vigra, northwest Norway, with fabrication starting early next year.

Pipelay should also begin early in 2012, using one of the company’s reel-lay vessels. The remainder of the offshore installation will be performed next summer by vessels more suited for deepwater subsea construction work.

The program, valued at around $70 million, work is the first call-off under Subsea 7’s frame agreement with Shell for pipeline installation services in the North Sea region, awarded last September.

The Ormen Lange field is 130 km (80.8 mi) northwest of Kristiansund, in water depths of 850-940 m (2,789-3,084 ft).

04/18/2011