Wintershall awards two subsea contracts for Nova field

Germany's Wintershall has awarded Aker Solutions and Subsea 7 work on subsea facilities for its operated Nova field (formerly Skarfjell) in the Norwegian North Sea.

Nova was discovered in 2012 and is situated in the Quadrant 35 area in the Norwegian North Sea.

Wintershall Norge handed out the Subsea Production System (SPS) contract to Aker Solutions and the Pipeline and Subsea Construction (PSC) contract to Subsea 7 Norway. The contracts have a combined value of approximately US$230 million.

A Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the Nova field shall be submitted in the first half of 2018. The two awards support the selected development solution for the field as a tieback to the nearby Gjøa platform, and further positions Wintershall as a growth operator in the subsea arena. In 2017, Wintershall successfully took the subsea Maria field into production in the Norwegian Sea, and is operator of the Vega field, which is already tied back to Gjøa.

“A key part of our strategy in Norway is to cost-effectively build our position through smart engineering and through the utilization of existing infrastructure. We believe that working with strong and committed suppliers like Aker Solutions and Subsea 7 helps provide the experience and expertise we need to continue building our strengths as a subsea operator in Norway,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Norge managing director.

Based on the proposed plan, hydrocarbons from the Nova reservoir will be developed via two subsea templates tied back to the Gjøa platform for processing and export. Gjøa will also provide lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support. One template will be used for water injection, while the other will be used to produce hydrocarbons.

“These contracts allow us to push towards the execution phase of the project, and build on our strategy of cost effectively developing fields that utilize local infrastructure,” said Andre Hesse, Wintershall Norge Head of the Nova Project.

Aker Solutions AS will deliver a standardized SPS System for the Nova development. This includes engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). The Nova SPS consists of two template manifolds with their respective trees and well systems. It also includes the integrated service umbilical and the subsea control system.

Subsea 7 Norway AS will design, procure and install four pipelines linking Nova to Gjøa. These comprise two pipes in pipe production flowlines, riser base structures, a water injection pipeline and the pipeline that will supply lift gas to the field. Furthermore, the contractor will install the SPS structures supplied by Aker Solutions AS, including the subsea templates, subsea manifolds, control umbilicals and auxiliary equipment.

In PL 418 Wintershall Norge AS (operator) owns 35 per cent, Capricorn Norge AS (part of Cairn Energy PLC) 20 per cent, Spirit Energy AS 20 percent, Edison Norge AS 15 per cent and DEA Norge AS 10 per cent.