The subsea production templates which form part of Statoil’s Kristin development in the Norwegian Sea are ready for installation on schedule.
These structures are due to be in position on the field before the end of June, so that drilling of production wells can begin around 1 July.
The four templates have been fabricated at the Aker Kværner yard in Egersund south of Stavanger.
Kristin is to be produced through 12 subsea-completed wells tied back to a floating platform, with gas and condensate (light oil) due to start flowing in the summer of 2005. Total deliveries of lean gas are estimated at 35 billion cubic metres over the 2005-16 period.
The development is costed at NOK 17 billion in total, with roughly 80 per cent of deliveries to the project coming from Norwegian industry.
Statoil is the world’s second-largest operator of subsea wells, and currently has more than 200 of these in production on the Norwegian continental shelf.
By the end of 2005, the group expects to be operating 270 subsea wells following the start-up of Kristin and other current developments.
Statoil has been a prime mover in developing subsea technology. Norway is the world leader in this sector. The three largest suppliers involved with subsea systems have Norwegian head offices, and have increased their international deliveries substantially over the past few years.