Equinor and partners Vår Energi, LOTOS, and KUFPEC have made an investment decision to partly electrify the Sleipner field. The partners are submitting a revised plan for development and operation to the authorities.
The solution for the Sleipner field centre will entail laying a new power cable from Sleipner to the Gina Krog platform, which will be tied into the area solution for power from shore on the Utsira High. During periods when the power need is greater than the capacity in the area solution, Sleipner will use gas turbines, like they do today, to cover the power need.
Emissions savings from all the fields connected to the area solution on the Utsira High are estimated at around 1.15 million tonnes of CO₂ on average per year. Sleipner’s share of this reduction is expected to be more than 150,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. The Business Sector’s NOx Fund will contribute up to NOK 430M to realise partial electrification of the Sleipner field center and the associated fields.
Aibel was awarded a FEED contract (front-end engineering and design) in October 2019 to electrify Sleipner. This contract has now been expanded to an EPCIC contract (engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning).
The EPCIC contract is valued at around NOK 400M and will yield about 170 man-years distributed over 2 years at Aibel’s office in Stavanger and the yard in Haugesund. Equipment purchases from subcontractors are also expected to amount to around NOK 150M. The contract is contingent on the authorities’ final approval of the amended plan for development and operation.