The Ormen Lange license group has awarded Van Oord ACZ AS a subsea rock installation contract for the years 2004-2007 valued at approximately NOK 700 million, including options.
The contract comprises the installation of rock for support and protection of Ormen Lange’s pipelines and umbilicals from shore at Nyhamna in Mid-Norway to the field development area. The contract involves procurement of approximately 2,800,000 tonnes of rock, transport thereof from quarries along the coast of Norway and installation on the seabed.
During the most intensive seasons, two specialized fall-pipe vessels will be in operation simultaneously. Van Oord is supported by their strategic partner Jebsens Beltships of Norway in the management of the offered vessels Rocknes and Tertnes.
Hydro is operator for Ormen Lange during the development phase, including all field development, the onshore gas processing plant at Nyhamna in Mid-Norway, as well as the export pipeline project.
Ormen Lange’s untreated wellstream will be transported onshore in two 120 km long, 30” flowlines. At Nyhamna the gas will be processed, before being exported in a 1,200 km long pipeline to Easington in the UK.
The contract award is conditional on the governmental approval of the Plan for Installation and Operation (PIO) and the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO). Production start of the Ormen Lange field is planned for October 2007.
Ormen Lange is the largest gas field under development on the Norwegian continental shelf. It is located 100 km off the northwest coast of Norway at a water depth of 850 to 1,100 meters.
The planned gas export volume to England is about 20 percent of Norway’s gas exports and 20 percent of UK gas market demand.
Partners in the Ormen Lange licence:
- Norsk Hydro (18.0728 %, operator development phase)
- Shell (17.0375 %, operator production phase)
- Petoro (36.475 %)
- BP (10.3420 %)
- Statoil (10.8441 %)
- ExxonMobil (7.2286 %)