Hull Designed For Equinor-Operated Bay Du Nord Project

Norwegian offshore vessel design company Salt Ship Design has designed the harsh environment FPSO hull for Equinor’s Bay du Nord project offshore Canada.

Salt Ship has been working closely with Equinor for quite some time to develop an FPSO with enhanced motion characteristics and purpose made for operation in the exposed weather conditions in the Flemish Pass basin.

“It has been a great experience over the last 8 years to be working with Equinor being a major international energy company with vast experience in developing, building, and operating FPSOs. Salt’s contribution has been our expertise in the design and shipbuilding of complex vessels for demanding operations at sea. The result is a ship-shaped FPSO concept with unique design solutions.” says Egil Sandvik, CEO Salt Ship Design

In February 2022 Equinor and Salt entered a pre-FEED contract to mature and further develop the hull design in cooperation with Equinor, topside and turret contractors, class, flag, and other authorities. This work will carry on until the start of FEED.

The development of FPSO designs and concept studies are an important part of Salt’s business, and being a part of the Bay du Nord FPSO development represents an important breakthrough in an interesting new segment.

Delays and uncertainties surrounded this project, but Equinor received approval from the Canadian government to develop the Bay du Nord project back in April 2022. According to Equinor and the Canadian government, this will be among the lowest carbon per barrel of oil projects in the world.

The Bay du Nord project consists of several oil discoveries in the Flemish Pass basin offshore Canada. The first discovery was made by Equinor in 2013, followed by additional discoveries in 2014, 2016, and 2020. Confirmed discoveries in 2020 in adjacent exploration license EL1156 are potential tie-ins in joint project development.

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