Equinor opened its country office in South Korea in 2014, and has been supporting the teams supervising the construction of topsides for the Mariner and Aasta Hansteen platforms, the Aasta Hansteen hull, two Category-J rigs, two platforms for Johan Sverdrup, and now offshore wind.
South Korea
Our activites in South Korea
For more information about Equinor’s activities in South Korea in Korean or English, please visit the dedicated website:
Offshore wind in South Korea
The share of renewable energy in South Korea’s power production is predicted to increase to 20% by 2030; aiming to add 49GW to its renewable production capacity by 2030, of which solar power accounts for 36.5 GW and wind power 17.7 GW.
Donghae 1 wind farm project
Together with Korean National Oil Company and East West Power, we have the ambition to develop a 200 MW floating offshore wind farm approximately 60 km off the coast of Ulsan in South Korea. The project obtained the electric business licence (EBL) from the Korean authorities for the Donghae 1 wind farm in December 2021.
Bandibuli offshore wind project
The Bandibuli floating offshore wind project (also known as Firefly), with a capacity of up to 750MW, is currently being matured by Equinor. The project is located approximately 60 to 70km off the coast of Ulsan, Korea, at a water depth of between 150 to 300 meters. The project received the Electric Business License (Korean seabed exclusivity) in 2021, and approval of the project's Environmental Impact assessment in July 2024.
Collaboration is a key value in how Equinor operates in local communities in which we are present. To date, we have signed a general collaboration Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with all developers and Ulsan city and a 3rd party MoU with the Offshore wind project countermeasures committee and Ulsan City. We have entered these MoUs to foster the floating offshore wind industry infrastructure in response to the South Korean government's renewable energy policy. They are a testament to our belief in developing floating offshore wind in this area.
Building our rigs and platforms
Our activities in South Korea focus on the construction of the vast platforms and vessels used to find, produce and transport oil and gas. Several of these installations have been built at South Korean shipyards:
- Mariner topsides constructed at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) on the island of Geoje.
- Two category J drilling rigs for the Oseberg and Gullfaks fields constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), also on Geoje.
- SHI delivered the Valemon topside and Heidrun FSU, and is currently fabricating two out of four topsides at the Johan Sverdrup field.
- The Aasta Hansteen topside and hull were constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) near the city of Ulsan.
Equinor has personnel in South Korea to supervise all these projects. South Korea has previously delivered the following constructions: Gina Krog topside and Mariner FSU (in June 2016), the Valemon topside (delivered in June 2014), the Heidrun storage vessel (delivered in March 2015) and hulls for the Gjøa, Kristin and Åsgard B platforms. DSME has also built four category D rigs for the owner Songa. They have been designed by and will be in operation for Equinor.
How to contact us
Equinor is keen to receive feedback from local stakeholders and those working in our supply chain.
Email: UlsanFOW@equinor.com
Office address:
Equinor SK - Busan
22F, 79 Centum Jungang-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan,
South Korea [48058]
Tel: +82 (0)10 8323 5480
Equinor SK - Ulsan
#536-539, 406-21 Jongga-ro, Jung-gu, Ulsan,
South Korea [44429]
Tel : +82 (0)52 242 1907
Equinor SK - Seoul
22F, Mirae Asset Center1 – East wing, Eulji-ro 5-gil 26, Jung-gu, Seoul,
Republic of Korea [04539]
How to become a supplier