Statoil’s Valemon development project in the Norwegian North Sea has taken a big step forward with the delivery and installation of its 9,000-ton steel jacket this week. On Tuesday, the Norwegian oil major confirmed that the operation to install the jacket was carried out as planned and that the project remains on schedule.
The Valemon field is located directly between the Shetland Islands and the Norwegian west coast, some 6.5 miles west of the Kvitebjørn field and 13 miles southeast of Gullfaks. It is estimates to hold at least 26 billion standard cubic meters of gas, five million standard cubic meters of condensate and 1.3 million tons of natural gas liquids.
Statoil, the operator of the field with a 53.8-percent interest, said that the 525-foot high construction is the biggest steel jacket installed in one lift on the Norwegian continental shelf and the first major-part delivery on the Valemon development project.
The jacket, which was built by Heerema Fabrication Group in Vlissingen in the Netherlands, was transported from the shipyard and out to the field by the crane barge Thialf.
“We are very pleased with this delivery from Heerema Fabrication Group BV, a new supplier to Statoil of steel jackets of this size,” said Anders Opedal, who is in charge of projects for Statoil.
“With Valemon the licensees are developing a new field in mature and exciting North Sea acreage. By making use of the existing infrastructure for processing and transport, the development is also preparing the ground for the cost-effective tie-back of new fields in both the Tampen and Heimdal areas. This will represent an important contribution to Statoil’s goal of developing the mature areas on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) in the years to come,” added Ivar Aasheim, Statoil’s head of field development on the NCS.
Development of Valemon involves a fixed platform with a steel jacket for the separation of gas, condensate and water. The rich gas will be transported via a new pipeline to the existing pipeline from Huldra to Heimdal for further processing. The condensate will be piped to the Kvitebjørn platform for stabilization and further transport via the Troll oil pipeline to the Mongstad refinery.
At peak production, Valemon is expected to deliver roughly 86,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The field is expected to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2014 and is expected to have a life of at least 11 years.
