The 4,100-tonne module was transported by sea from Cadiz in Spain by the vessel Biglift Barentsz, and it was an impressive sight that came sailing in Karmsundet this morning.
The journey has taken one week, and as many as 850,000 working hours have been spent at the Navantia yard in Spain since the start-up in August 2019. The module is 50 meters long, 37 meters wide and 32 meters high. The total weight for the P2 topside including all equipment will be 24,500 tonnes.
Upon arrival, the module was structurally finished and painted, and until mid-November it will be equipped with infrastructure such as stairs, scaffolding, elevator, lights, electricity, alarm equipment, etc. Then everything is safe and ready to start the installation activities and the further work of bringing on board HVDC equipment from Siemens. This work will continue until mid-April.
“It is a relief to have come this far”, says project director Stig Jessen. “Delay at Navantia, partly caused by the covid-19 outbreak in Spain with the yard closed for two months, has certainly not made this process easier. But now we look ahead and look forward to the assembly of all three modules”, Jessen says.
The HVDC module that has now arrived in Haugesund will be part of the fifth platform on the Johan Sverdrup field. It will receive power from the converter station that is now being built on Haugsneset and distribute it further, so that more fields at the Utsira height on the Norwegian shelf can be supplied with power from shore.
"It's good to see the module in place in Haugesund. This is a major milestone for the Johan Sverdrup phase 2 project", says Equinor's Ståle Nordal, who is the project manager for the platform. He praises both his own teams and the suppliers for their efforts in a difficult situation with covid-19. He emphasizes that there is still a lot of work left in Haugesund and that there will be a hectic period until the spring of 2022, when the platform will be installed at the field.
The UPM module is being built in the North Sea Hall in Haugesund, while the third module, MSF, is being built at Aibel's yard in Thailand. Departure from Thailand is scheduled during spring 2021, with the subsequent assembly of all three modules in Vats before the platform is completed and installed on the field.
Published 04 November 2020
