A contract worth some NOK 80 million to install subsea production systems on Statoil’s Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea has been awarded to Aker Marine Contractors (AMC). Being manufactured by ABB, these six structures are due for installation in the summer of 2004. They will be submerged to a depth of 70–100 metres in calm water close to land before being towed to the field for placement on the seabed. AMC has resolved to split up the structures and install their heaviest components first. “We want a good tow-out, and AMC presented a technically good solution which reduces risk to the production system,” says offshore installation manager Jan Hatlestad at Statoil. Snøhvit is being developed with subsea production facilities, a pipeline to land and a gas treatment and liquefaction plant on Melkøya island outside Hammerfest in northern Norway. Templates with slots for 21 production wells and one carbon dioxide injector are due to be installed offshore. The project has adopted pioneering technology which allows subsea production to be remotely operated from land via a 161km umbilical. Containing gas and condensate (light oil), Snøhvit ranks as the first Norwegian development in the Barents Sea and the first in Europe based on the production of liquefied natural gas. The field is due to come on-stream in 2006.
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