The base of the world’s largest ‘Spar’-gas platform, called the Aasta Hansteen-platform, which floats on pipes,today began the two-month sea voyage from South Korea to Norway.
The huge construction has just left Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea, and is now on the high seas, headed for Norway and Stord.
The base alone weighs 46,000 tonnes, and measures 200 meters in length, and 50 meters in diameter.
‘This is the world’s largest platform, and the first of its kind to produce on the Norwegian continental shelf. The planned start-up for gas extraction is the last quarter of 2018’, said Eskil Eriksen, the Press Officer for Statoil.
The start-up in the Aasta Hansteen field had originally been planned for 2017, but was postponed to the final quarter of 2018.
‘Now, the 2 month, 14,500 nautical mile, transport is underway for the world’s largest heavy-duty vessel, ‘Dockwise Vanguard ‘, said Eriksen.
In Klosterfjord, the structure will be ballasted and set on the top before being towed to Digernessundet, outside Stord.
‘The platform’s deck, which will arrive at Stord slightly later than the base, is now under construction at Hyundai-Heavy Industries.
The plan is for the platform deck to be set over the base by the autumn.
Then Kværner Stord will complete assembly before the platform is towed to the Norwegian Sea (Norskehavet) for ultimate connection in 2018’, said Eskil Eriksen.
Source: nrk.no / Norway Today