Equinor Awards Wisting FPSO FEED To Aker Solutions

Energy giant Equinor has signed a contract with Aker Solutions for front-end engineering and design (FEED) of an FPSO to be deployed on the Wisting field.

The contract is valued at around $41 million and includes an option for engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) calculated between $935 million and $1.4 billion.

The Wisting field is a standalone field development in the Barents Sea, containing close to 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Capital investments are expected to be in the range of $7.1-$8.8 billion. The concept chosen for the development involves a circular FPSO and a power-from-shore solution to be integrated into the technical solution, resulting in very low CO2 emissions from the field.

A floating production unit is to be developed in the FEED phase and Aker Solutions will be responsible for creating an overall solution covering topside facilities, living quarters, and a hull.

Involving up to 270 people, the FEED work will mainly be carried out in Norway. Leirvik AS and Sevan SSP AS will contribute as sub-suppliers of engineering services for the living quarters and hull respectively.

It is worth noting that the two companies agreed on the FEED following a letter of intent given by Equinor to Aker Solutions in October 2021.

“Equinor is cooperating well with partners, the supplier industry, and the authorities to ensure the successful development of the Wisting field, meeting the requirements expected for future oil and gas production. We plan to submit the plan for development and operation (PDO) to the authorities at the end of 2022,” Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s SVP for project development, stated.

“A decision to develop the Wisting field will generate considerable value for Norwegian society and spin-offs for Norwegian supplier industry both in the development and operations phases,” he added.

“We have secured a supplier with extensive and relevant experience in engineering and construction of complex offshore projects on the Norwegian continental shelf,” said Mette H. Ottøy, chief procurement officer at Equinor. “The contract strategy is based on using Norwegian suppliers by early involvement and will allow for utilizing the local supplier industry in North Norway, contributing to further development of this industry. The contract may help provide jobs for Norwegian yards and businesses for many years ahead.”

Equinor is also cooperating with the Petro Arctic supplier network, which is mapping and having a dialogue with the supplier market in North Norway. Together the two are planning a supplier seminar to be held during 2022.

Several FEED studies have been awarded following the Wisting partners’ decision to pursue the project (decision gate 2). The studies have been awarded to FMC Kongsberg Subsea, Technip Norge, Aker Solutions, OneSubsea Processing, IKM Ocean Design, Subsea 7, NOV, and Baker Hughes Energy. The main part of this work will be carried out in Norway.

The PDO for the Wisting field will be submitted to the Norwegian Parliament after the partners have made an investment decision sometime in late 2022. Equinor with 35 percent is the operator of the development. Its partners are OMV with 25 percent, Petoro with 20, while Idemitsu and Lundin Energy hold 10 percent each.

OMV might not be a partner in the project for long as it announced back in October 2020 that it was selling its stake in Wisting to Lundin. That way Lundin will make Wisting its core production area. The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com