Work on laying the submarine section of Statoil's Vestprosess pipeline off western Norway is due to start early this week.
"Water depths and very uneven seabed conditions make this operation a major technical challenge," reports Olav Hagland, technical manager for this stage of the project.
Running from Norsk Hydro's Sture terminal near Bergen to Statoil's Mongstad complex, the pipeline will form part of a system to carry natural gas liquids and condensate.
Its total length is 55 kilometres, and it also links with Statoil's Troll gas treatment plant at Kollsnes. Eleven kilometres of the system have already been laid, principally on land between Kollsnes and Sture.
Mr Hagland expects the pipelaying job to take two-three weeks, using the Lorelay laybarge.
After the first length of pipeline has been pulled from the Mongstad crude oil terminal through a pre-drilled shaft, laying will continue along the Fens and Fedje Fjords (see map).
It will come ashore at a landfall north of Sture. The deepest point along the submarine route is 580 metres.
Vestprosess also embraces the construction of NGL/condensate processing facilities at Mongstad to produce propane, butane and naphtha.