Aker Solutions Opens New Subsea Facility at Egersund Yard

25 November 2009

Aker Solutions is today officially opening a new subsea facility at its yard in Egersund, west Norway. The new subsea hall will add another capacity to the yard and help further develop Aker Solutions' leading position within subsea processing technologies.

The first project to be undertaken in the subsea hall is the assembly and testing of the groundbreaking Ormen Lange subsea compression station pilot that Aker Solutions is developing for Statoil.

The new hall is tailored to handle highly sensitive subsea equipment including strict demands for cleanliness. It is designed to handle large structures such as the Ormen Lange subsea compression station pilot, which will measure 35 x 6.5 x 13 metres and weigh 1100 tonnes when assembled. The hall covers an area of 1900 square metres and is 26 metres tall. Total investment is approximately NOK 40 million.

"This new facility will add another string to our bow and help develop our capabilities and competitive edge in a subsea market with great future potential," says Svein Oskar Nuland, managing director of Aker Solutions' yard in Egersund.

"Our ability and desire to branch out into new business segments is what makes this yard competitive. We have a great track record within subsea structures and manifolds, and we look forward to building on this through a successful delivery of the Ormen Lange project," adds Nuland.

The initial contract for delivery of a subsea compression station pilot was awarded by Statoil to Aker Solutions in July 2006. The aim of the Ormen Lange project is to evaluate whether a subsea compression station, at approximately 900 metres water depth, is a viable alternative to an offshore platform.

The Ormen Lange gas field, for which A/S Norske Shell is the operator, started production in September 2007 and reached full production earlier this month. Later in the production phase, the challenge at Ormen Lange will be to boost the well stream in order to maintain production of gas and condensate from the reservoir. This is where a subsea compression station comes into the picture.

"We are proud to be working together with Statoil on developing this groundbreaking technology. We are confident that it will prove highly beneficial should Statoil and A/S Norske Shell go for full subsea compression station solutions in the end," says Mads Andersen, executive vice president, Aker Solutions

"In addition to Ormen Lange, there is a huge amount of undeveloped gas fields all over the world where this technology can be applied in order to increase production and recovery rates," adds Andersen.

The subsea compression station pilot, which will be built in Egersund, is identical to one out of four trains on the proposed full-scale subsea compression station. After assembly and testing in Egersund, the pilot will be transported to the Nyhamna onshore terminal, where it will undergo endurance testing in a purpose-built test pit.