The job of building the topside and processing facilities for Statoil's Huldra platform started at Kværner Oil & Gas in Stavanger last week.
This part of the unstaffed North Sea wellhead platform will weigh 3,500 tonnes when it has been completed by the Rosenberg Verft yard.
Construction of the steel jacket to support the topside has been under way at the Aker Verdal yard in mid-Norway since the summer, reports project manager Morten Ruth.
The Huldra facility is due to be ready in February 2001, with production starting from the field the same August. Plans call for drilling to start from Maersk Gallant next summer.
Operation of Huldra will be coordinated with Statoil's nearby Veslefrikk field, which will receive, process and export the condensate. Huldra gas is due to be piped to Norsk Hydro's Heimdal field for processing and onward transport.
The plan for development and operation puts the cost of this project at NOK 5.7 billion, including the pipelines to Heimdal and Veslefrikk as well as modifications to facilities on these fields.