Main pipelay contract for Snøhvit

The NOK 400 million job of laying the main pipeline between Snøhvit and Melkøya was awarded by Statoil to Swiss-based Allseas Marine Contractors SA on 17 December.

“This contract covers laying of the 143-kilometre pipeline to carry the wellstream to the processing plant,” says Olav Hagland, pipelaying manager in the Snøhvit project team.

The Solitaire laybarge is due to start laying out from the Melkøya landfall towards the field in April 2005, and the work should take almost six weeks to complete.

Because the vessel is dynamically positioned, it can stay on station with engine power alone and accordingly has no need to deploy anchors.

“Using a laybarge of this kind avoids causing anchor damage to the seabed,” explains Mr Hagland.

“The pipelaying job was one of the last major installation contracts remaining to be placed for the offshore part of the Snøhvit development."

“The only one left is the assignment for dumping gravel over the pipeline and umbilicals between the field and Melkøya, which we expect to award in the first quarter of next year.”