conference review European opportunities
New projects will need technically advanced OSVs
Norwegian state oil company Statoil plans to charter more OSVs this decade to help develop three large oil and gas fields in three different seas
tatoil, which is one of the world’s biggest offshore oil producers, intends to develop a remote oilfield in the Barents Sea and deepwater gas fields in the Norwegian Sea. On the Norwegian side of the North Sea, Statoil is planning a multi-platform project on the Johan Sverdrup oilfield, the largest offshore discovery in 2011. Future opportunities in Norway were outlined by Statoil representatives Claus Wolff and Henning Hjartholm. The projects will provide fresh charter requirements for OSV owners, they said. There will be requirements for susbea installation ships, pipelayers, construction support vessels, anchor handlers and platform supply vessels (PSVs). Mr
S
Rasmus Stute: demand for turbine support ships will increase
Hjartholm said Statoil would
charter PSVs and anchor handlers with innovative onboard technology and the latest environmental additions. The company needs 50-70 OSVs on charter for its daily operations and development work. Currently, Statoil has 49 vessels on time charter and takes between 5-20 vessels from the spot market depending on demand. Often the peak is when it has multiple rig moves happening at the same time. “Our core requirements are covered on long-term charters
with 16 owners,” Mr Hjartholm said. Statoil’s strategy of developing more complex oilfields is raising the technical requirements of its OSVs, with the transportation of larger volumes of bulk cargo and new types of chemicals. Health, safety and the environment will continue to be the most important factors for successful vessel operations to meet the new challenges. “New oil discoveries in remote and cold waters will require specialised vessels that are fit to handle combined supply, rescue and oil recovery in harsh environments,” said Mr Hjartholm. “Owners need to focus on the environment, health and safety. PSVs need to be DP2, have comfort class and Clean Design, and
have lower fuel requirements. Anchor handlers need to have 200 tonnes bollard pull with large storage capacity for rope and chains and large winch capacity, plus DP2 and comfort class.” Mr Wolff outlined the three largest projects in Statoil’s growing portfolio. “In the Norwegian Sea we have the Luva project in 1,300m of water. The partners have decided to use a spar platform and a 480km gas pipeline to Nyhamna, where there is the Ormen Lange processing plant. It is a remote location, around 300km from the nearest base,” he said.
“In the Barents Sea we have the Skrugard and Havis discoveries with a combined 400-600 million barrels of reserves. This is promising for the rest of the Barents Sea and opens up a new oil province. In the North Sea, we have the Johan Sverdrup field, the world’s largest offshore discovery in 2011,” he added. The Johan Sverdrup field could be developed with several oil production platforms scheduled to be installed by 2016. Work on the Luva project will require the installation of the spar platform, the first in Norway, and the laying of the gas pipeline and associated subsea elements to link the production wells to the processing facility. Statoil has earmarked first production from Luva in 2016. Statoil’s early development plans for the Skrugard/Havis project involve installing a production semi-submersible and a floating storage and offloading vessel. Subsea wells would be linked to the semi-submersible through a network of risers, flowlines and umbilicals. The fields are not due to come on stream until the end of this decade. OSJ
Fast-growing renewables sector will require more vessels
With around 10,000 wind turbines set to be installed offshore Europe this decade, there are significant opportunities for shipowners, vessel operators and shipyards in that market. Specialised wind turbine installation vessels are required to install the next generation of offshore turbines, which many expect will be able to generate 6MW of power each. Germanischer Lloyd’s head of offshore services, Rasmus Stute, says he expects there to be more demand for maintenance support services as each windfarm needs support vessels for transporting crews to the turbines from shore bases, along with vessels that can
10 I Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference and Awards 2012 change turbine components. industry:
He outlined the challenges facing the “The increasing size of windfarm
projects means their distance to shore is increasing. Harsher environmental conditions involving stronger winds, waves and currents need to be handled.
“This requires specialised tonnage not only for the installation of large components, but also for transportation and accommodation of offshore service personnel and the supply of construction materials and consumables.” He added: “The market is lacking suitable tonnage, and utility companies are buying
their own fleet of vessels to cover part of their demand for specialised ships. The industry has not yet absorbed all the experiences of the oil and gas industry. A stronger transfer of best practice, experience, skill and relevant training is an essential step to safer and more cost efficient operations in this sector.”
Between 300 and 500 vessels will be needed to manage the growing number of offshore windfarms. The number of vessels required for installing turbine foundations and nacelles is increasing as windfarms are built in deeper waters and jackets are used instead of monopiles.
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