KBR Lands Work On BP, ADNOC Projects

BP has awarded KBR Inc. a pre-FEED and project support services contracts for development of the Tortue (Ahmeyim) Field offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Under KBR’s global services agreement with BP, the contract covers design of the subsea, pre-treatment FPSO facility, inshore hub/terminal and interfaces for floating LNG for the Tortue project, according to a news release. This work will build on the earlier concept phase work completed by KBR’s subsidiary Granherne for BP’s partner Kosmos Energy. The pre-FEED work is expected to be carried out over the next six months.

The contract award followed receipt of another contract—a project management consultancy contract from Occidental of Abu Dhabi Ltd. on behalf of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) to manage the FEED phase of the Dalma gas field development and the detailed design and surveys phase of the Hail and Ghasha Islands project at Abu Dhabi.

ADNOC is developing both of the fields offshore Abu Dhabi. Together, the Hail and Ghasha fields are one of the largest sour gas fields the company has undertaken. The project is forecast to produce about 28.3 MMcm/d (1 Bcf/d) of sour gas.

KBR said its work for the projects will be performed over 24 months. The contract, the value for which was not disclosed, has a 12-month extension option.

Norway Clears ConocoPhillips To Start Dismantling Historic Ekofisk Platform

ConocoPhillips has won permission to prepare for the removal of the first permanent oil platform built offshore Norway more than 40 years ago, the country’s industry regulator said.

The U.S. company applied in July to remove Ekofisk 2/4 A, which started producing oil from the North Sea in 1974 and shut permanently in 2013.

Production at the Ekofisk Field began in 1971 from the Gulftide jackup rig, a temporary installation standing on removable legs. Gulftide was replaced with production platforms permanently fixed to the seabed in 1974. Discovered in 1969, Ekofisk was the first oil field to begin production off Norway.

While the field’s oldest installations are being removed, new equipment was put in place and production is ongoing, with the field expected to continue pumping oil toward 2050. The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority said it had granted consent for ConocoPhillips to prepare for the removal of 2/4 A and three other installations.

With the exception of some smaller parts, the actual removal will depend on a later permit, it added.

ConocoPhillips plans to start preparations in fourth-quarter 2017. The removal plans also include two accommodation platforms, Ekofisk 2/4 H and Ekofisk 2/4 Q, and a riser platform called Ekofisk 2/4 FTP.

Dutch company Heerema was awarded the removal contract, and all four platforms will eventually be taken to AF Decom yard at Vats on Norway’s western coast for dismantling and steel recycling, a spokesman for ConocoPhillips said.

Operator ConocoPhillips has a 35% stake in Ekofisk with Total (40%), Eni (12.4%), Statoil (8%) and Norwegian state-owned Petoro (5%).

Cosmo Expects Abu Dhabi’s Hail Oil Field Startup In October

Japan’s Cosmo Energy Holdings said the Hail oil field offshore Abu Dhabi is set to start production in October.

The startup has been slightly delayed from last year’s projection of the end of June; however, the Hail oil field operated by Cosmo’s joint venture (JV) is set to reach full output by the end of this year, company officials said.

Cosmo has an undisclosed stake in the field through its 63%-owned JV with other Japanese firms. The company declined to comment on production targets, but industry sources have said the field is likely to produce more than 20,000 bbl/d at its peak.

Cosmo, owned nearly 21% by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned investment vehicle, expects Hail project to contribute about 20% of this business year’s projected $238 million profit from upstream business, Senior Executive Officer Kenichi Taki told reporters during the first-quarter earnings conference.

Bumi Armada Seals EPCI Deal With Lukoil In Caspian Sea

Malaysian player Bumi Armada’s wholly owned subsidiary Bumi Armada Caspian has signed a supplementary agreement with Russia’s Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft for more engineering, procurement, construction and installation work in the Caspian Sea.

The additional scope will involve two of Bumi Armada’s subsea construction vessels laying subsea pipelines and undertake post trenching and back-filling works on sections of the Filanovsky Field in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea.

The company plans to use its Armada Installer and Armada Constructor vessels for the job, which is expected to be finished in second-half 2018. The contract is valued at $134 million.

Kvaerner Wins Subsea Compression Pilot Decommissioning Contract

Kvaerner has landed a contract with A/S Norske Shell to dispose and demolish the Subsea Compression Pilot at Nyhamna plant, according to a news release.

The scope of work consists of removal and demolition of about 2,200 tonnes of modules, which Kvaerner said will be transported from Nyhamna to its facilities at Stord for dismantling and recycling. The work was scheduled to begin immediately with the first part of the project—removal of modules from the test pit—to be completed this year. The rest of the modules will be removed in 2018, the company said.

Currently, Kvaerner serves as the main contractor for Nyhamna plant expansion project. The company also pointed out that it was the main contractor when the first part of the plant was built in 2007.

BOEM Publishes Draft EIS For Liberty Oil, Gas Project In Beaufort Sea

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Hilcorp Alaska’s proposed Liberty offshore oil and gas development and production plan in the Beaufort Sea.

Similar to artificial islands where oil and gas are produced in nearby state waters, Hilcorp proposes to build a small artificial gravel island in 6 m (19 ft) of federal water in the Beaufort Sea, about 32 km (20 miles) east of Prudhoe Bay, on a nine-acre site.

The company plans to install a pipe-in-pipe subsea pipeline to deliver oil to shore. The offshore portion of the pipeline will be laid in a trench, and then buried, BOEM said in a news release. Onshore the pipeline would connect with the Badami pipeline, which connects with the existing oil and gas infrastructure at Prudhoe Bay.

Hilcorp’s offshore pipeline will have automatic leak-detection and temperature-monitoring technology, according to BOEM. The company also has committed to minimize disruption to subsistence activities, including whaling.

The EIS, which analyzes the possible environmental impacts of the activities of the proposed development, is open for public comment through Nov. 18. The draft EIS and instructions for commenting may be found at boem.gov/liberty.

—Staff & Reuters Reports

Offshore