Dutch offshore and dredging services specialist Van Oord has been awarded the contract to carry out offshore installation works for the West White Rose Project of the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The project will give Canadian oil company Husky Energy access to resources west of the existing White Rose field.

The West White Rose Project will be developed by means of a fixed oil drilling platform consisting of a Concrete Gravity Structure (CGS) supporting an integrated drilling and production topsides. This fixed drilling platform will be tied back to the existing SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The first oil is expected in 2022.

The scope of work for Van Oord is divided in four phases: seabed preparation, ballasting activities, flowline protection, and scour protection.
Van Oord will deploy its flexible fallpipe vessels Nordnes and Stornes to carry out the work. Before positioning the CGS, a seabed preparation layer will be installed.

As part of the preparations for tow-out of the CGS, the flexible fallpipe vessels will offload ballasting material directly into the CGS compartments. After installation of the CGS, Van Oord will install scour and flowline protection around the CGS and the flowlines.

Maurits den Broeder, Managing Director Van Oord Offshore, said, "We are thrilled to have been awarded this contract by Husky Energy. Alongside efforts to transition to renewable energy sources, projects like West White Rose are essential in meeting the rising global demand that results from a growing world economy and population. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Husky Energy and I am confident that with Marine Ingenuity we can make our contribution to a successful project."