The jigsaw is almost complete

This summer, the modules for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform will be completed in Thailand, Grimstad and Haugesund.

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The main support frame (MSF) will be the first module completed. It will leave the yard in Thailand in early August. Photo: Aibel.

It is only eighteen months since the first steel was cut in Thailand, and we are now nearing the end of construction of the three big modules that together will make up the drilling platform for the Johan Sverdrup field. But before the modules can be sent to Klosterfjorden for the spectacular assembly, some hectic summer months of hard work remain.

“On a general basis, we’re doing well, but we still have a very tight schedule that requires targeted and focused work until the very last day at all our construction sites. That’s why it will also be a busy summer, and many of us will have to postpone our summer holidays,” says Bruce McPherson, Construction Manager of the Johan Sverdrup project.

Thailand first to finish

The first module to be completed will be the main support frame (MSF) in Thailand. This spring, Aibel has set one record after another in terms of installation time and amounts of work at the Laem Chabang yard. All major lifting and structural work has been completed. Now, almost 2,000 regular and contract workers are hurrying to complete the final details before handing over to mechanical completion and sailaway in early August.

“People have put in an enormous effort in Thailand. We must not forget that this is the biggest module ever built by Aibel Thailand - and the largest mobile unit in the whole of Thailand. It’s a great achievement and everyone deserves praise,” McPherson points out.

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The final stages of work on the MSF in Thailand involve much activity with many workers in small areas. Photo: Aibel.

The MSF module was originally scheduled to be ready for transportation and departure in July. However, due to optimisation of the transportation plans and the operation in Klosterfjorden, transport to Norway has been postponed to the beginning of August.

Maintaining focus

All indications are that the drilling support module (DSM) in Haugesund and the drilling equipment set (DES) in Grimstad will be delivered on time. The plan is for the DSM to be mechanically complete on 22 August, while the DES will leave Nymo on 25 August.

“Haugesund has generally been ahead of schedule all the time. Planning and implementation have both been exceptionally good, so I’d be surprised if we don’t complete on time. At Nymo in Grimstad we’ve had one or two complications in the course of spring. But Nymo is doing a good job and together we have a good plan for how to deliver on time,” explains Project Director Stig Jessen, who is certain that the project is ready to solve any challenges that may arise during the summer months.

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Bjørn Pedersen, Construction Manager for the DSM, and his team in Haugesund are ahead of schedule when it comes to delivering the module on time. Photo: Øyvind Sætre/Aibel.

“We’re almost guaranteed challenges in a project like this. That’s why we need to maintain our focus and identify the challenges in time to enable us to take action to avoid compromising quality or delivery. Fortunately, we have an experienced team, who know the importance of good planning and follow-up, so I feel quite calm and confident that we’ll deliver a very good product,” says Jessen.

Assembly of the three modules in Klosterfjorden, north of Haugesund, will take place in course of the first half of September. Afterwards, the barge with the three modules will be towed to Haugesund, where it will lie alongside the quay. The integration work at the yard begins 25 September. From November and until the platform leaves the yard in Haugesund in June/July next year, Statoil will be testing the equipment on board.