Work on laying Troll Oil Pipeline II was initiated on 15 March as part of Statoil's Vestprosess project.
This facility is due to run from Norsk Hydro's Troll C platform in the North Sea to the Mongstad complex near Bergen. It will parallel the existing Troll Oil Pipeline I, which links with Hydro's Troll B installation.
The first step is to pull the new line from the Castoro Sei laybarge into Mongstad through a 480-metre shaft which emerges at a depth of 220 metres in the adjacent Fens Fjord. Drilling and lining of this borehole was completed on 13 March.
"Once the pull-in operation has been finished, laying will continue out to Troll C," reports project director Leif Solberg in Vestprosess.
With a diameter of 20 inches, Troll Oil Pipeline II will be 82 kilometres long. Plans call for Castoro Sei to complete the laying operation on 1 May.
Laying of a gas line between Troll C and Statoil's Troll A gas platform is also due to be finalised on the same date.
Troll Oil Pipeline II is scheduled to be ready for operation on 1 November.