Offshore staff

OSLO, Norway -- The first of 14 christmas trees for the Ormen Lange project was positioned last week at a depth of 850 m (2,789 ft) in the Norwegian Sea. The tree was installed on Template A and connected to the manifold before being pressure tested.

"The Christmas tree was loaded onboard the drill shipWest Navigator in Kristiansund, and installation was completed without any great difficulties," says drilling manager Robin Hartmann of Shell, who commented that the greatest concern had been the prevailing weather conditions out on the field.

Hartmann expects additional trees to be installed beginning in late February or early March.

Before installation, the Christmas trees underwent an extensive test program at Grenland Offshore in Tønsberg (in 2005 and 2006) and at Vestbase in Kristiansund (2006).

The next step in the project is to complete the well by passing the drill string through the christmas tree and down into the reservoir.

12/01/2006