Gulen Industrial Harbour in Sogn og Fjordane county has been awarded the contract for assembly site for the floating Hywind Tampen wind turbines before they are transported to the field in the North Sea.
No work will commence prior to an investment decision for Hywind Tampen.
Hywind Tampen could become the world’s first project to use wind turbines for electrification of oil and gas installations. Reduction of CO2 emissions from the five oil and gas platforms at the Snorre and Gullfaks fields is estimated at more than 200,000 tonnes per year.
“Equinor on behalf of the partners, have awarded a contract to Wergeland Base in Gulen Industrial Harbour in Sogn og Fjordane based on assessments of i.a. topographic suitability, safety as well as technical and commercial conditions,” says Equinor’s project director Olav-Bernt Haga.
The contractor shall provide onshore and inshore areas for storage, assembly and commissioning of all the components for the floating wind turbines, as well as necessary infrastructure and facilities in the project period. The floating wind turbines will be towed to the field where they will be anchored, connected and put into operation.
With a combined capacity of 88 MW, the 8 MW turbines will meet around 35 % of the annual power demand of the five platforms.
“This is a challenging project requiring optimal technical solutions and further cost reductions before the partners can make an investment decision” says Haga. The licensees are currently maturing the project towards any investment decision to be made this year.
Hywind Tampen partners
Gullfaks licence: Equinor Energy AS, Petoro AS, OMV (Norge) AS
Snorre licence: Equinor Energy AS, Petoro AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS, DEA Norge AS, Vår Energi AS