Hydro on behalf of the Ormen Lange license group today awarded Stolt Offshore the MEG pipelines installation contract worth approximately NOK 300 million including options.
The contract includes the installation of two 6 inch MEG pipelines, approximately 125 km each, and one 6 inch MEG infield pipeline approximately 3.6 km.
The MEG pipelines will be installed from the gas processing plant under development at Nyhamna on the west coast of Norway, to the Ormen Lange field during the summer of 2006.
The stream of gas, condensate and water from the Ormen Lange field will be transported together in the 30-inch multi-phase pipelines around 120 kilometres to land.
Since the special water current conditions above the reservoir gives water temperatures as low as minus 1 Celsius, Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) - anti-freeze injection in the multi-phase pipelines is needed.
Such extreme temperature conditions combined with high pressure can cause gas and water to form hydrates (brash ice), which again forms plugs in the pipeline in the event of a stoppage.
MEG will be transported through the MEG Pipelines to the Template wellheads, and further transported with the well stream back through the 30-inch pipelines to the onshore unit at Nyhamna.
The MEG will then be separated from the gas phase and regenerated before being returned to the system.
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 - Langeled.
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 partners in Ormen Lange are:
| Hydro (operator for the development phase) | 18.0728 % |
| Shell (operator for the operational phase) | 17.0375 % |
| Petoro | 36.4750 % |
| Statoil | 10.8441 % |
| BP | 10.3420 % |
| ExxonMobil | 7.2286 % |