Statoil is awarding a contract for pipelaying to Subsea 7 and for marine operations to Ocean Installer in the Askeladd field development. 

"The Askeladd project is being developed in a period of several key milestones for Statoil in North Norway. The Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea will come on stream at the end of the year. The Johan Castberg development began in earnest after it was recently sanctioned. In addition, Statoil’s drilling campaign in the Barents Sea is being pursued this year," says Torger Rød, Statoil’s senior vice president for project development.

Subsea 7 will lay a 44-km-long, 20-inch-wide pipeline that will tie Askeladd to the Snøhvit field.

Support activities for the operations will be based in Hammerfest and other locations. Starting immediately, the work will continue throughout 2019. The installation will be performed in the summer of 2019.

Ocean Installer will install two subsea templates in 2019. A 42-km-long umbilical, a 35-km-long MEG (mono-ethylene glycol) pipeline and two manifolds will be installed in 2020. In addition, Ocean Installer will fabricate and install four spools and protective structures and carry out tie-ins and ready-for-operation activities. The operations will mainly be mobilised from Hammerfest, and will give spinoffs for local suppliers.

Both Subsea 7 and Ocean Installer have previously been awarded similar contracts for the Johan Castberg development. There will be synergy effects between the two projects that are key developments for the Norwegian continental shelf and for North Norway in the years ahead.

"Statoil’s activities in the north generate ripple effects and together with the collaboration partners we are actively seeking competitive suppliers in this part of the country," says Pål Eitrheim, Statoil’s chief procurement officer.

Together with the main Johan Castberg suppliers Statoil carried out a separate supplier day in Tromsø last week to look at common opportunities.