Statoil Awards Statfjord Contract

Statoil has awarded OIS Contracting the task of replacing the deluge systems on the three platforms on the Statfjord field in the North Sea. The contract is worth approximately NOK 180 million and includes a complete replacement of systems connected to the main ring, instrumentation and valve stations in many of the modules on the three platforms. Some of the deluge systems were replaced earlier this year. Since the work includes the replacement of vital safety systems, safety will be prioritized, confirms Ivar Lygren, project manager in the project technical services unit in Exploration & Production Norway. Work is expected to start on Statfjord A in March-April 2002.

"We are carrying this out in order to meet our objective of maintaining a high level of safety on our installations. We have seen that the existing systems have been subject to corrosion and plugging in the sprinkler nozzles," adds Mr Lygren. Insufficient coverage in the deluge systems caused a production shutdown on the Statfjord B platform in April last year. These weaknesses were repaired immediately.