Norwegian oil company Statoil on Thursday marked the start of construction of the Johan Sverdrup riser platform at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea.

Johan Sverdrup is an oil field located in the North Sea, offshore Norway. The riser platform is the largest of the four platforms constituting the Johan Sverdrup field centre. The platform will be 124 metres long, 28 metres wide, 42 metres tall, and have a total weight of 23,000 tonnes.

Statoil awarded Samsung Heavy Industries the contract for decks for both the process and riser platforms exactly a year ago.

Statoil said on Thursday that construction of the processing platform (P1) for Johan Sverdrup will start during July 2016.

Project director for Johan Sverdrup Kjetel Digre project manager for the riser platform and the processing platform Ståle Nordal and head of Samsung Heavy Industries’ offshore division Younsang Won led the formal celebration of the construction start in South Korea on Thursday, June 30.

“As we are starting the riser platform construction we are taking another important step in delivering the Johan Sverdrup project on schedule,” says project director for Johan Sverdrup Kjetel Digre.

The Norwegian company said that the preparations for the riser platform construction started already in January 2015, when Aker Solutions was awarded the contract for engineering and procurement management for the processing platform and the riser platform for Johan Sverdrup.

The platform construction work started in the beginning of June 2016.

“As of today Samsung Heavy Industries will gradually be given more responsibility for ensuring that the riser platform is built without any HSE incidents and that the platform is delivered according to plan and cost. We have an ambitious project plan for Johan Sverdrup, and we depend on high-quality and precision work from Samsung and more than 100 equipment package suppliers when they are delivering the riser platform and the processing platform topsides,” says Kjetel Digre.

Key role on the field

The riser platform will play a key role on the field centre, as it will be the receiver of land-based power that will maintain operation on the Johan Sverdrup field for more than 50 years, said Statoil. From this platform the oil and gas from the huge Johan Sverdrup reservoir will be exported to land, to Kårstø (gas) and to Mongstad (oil).

The riser platform also represents the future of the Johan Sverdrup field, Statoil noted.

“Our Johan Sverdrup development is based on 40 years of experience from the Norwegian continental shelf. We know that by working hard every day we are able to improve the oil and gas recovery and extend the life of our fields.

“During the 50 years of production from Johan Sverdrup, innovation and new technology will open up new possibilities. That is why we, for the first time in an offshore project, have more than 2500 square metres of free deck space, which will be used for equipment and technology that may improve recovery and extend the life of Johan Sverdrup,” says Digre.

The free space will be used for realizing measures for improved recovery and phasing in future phases of the Johan Sverdrup development, and any other future discoveries on the Utsira High.

Statoil is the operator fo the field with 40.0267%, and its partners are Lundin Norway with 22.6%, Petoro with 17.36%, Det norske oljeselskap with 11.5733% and Maersk Oil with 8.44% interest.