A first cut of steel and an offshore module are being celebrated in coastal Norway for their expected boost to jobs, industrial development and the energy transition.
The utility module will become part of the PWP-Fenris platform at the offshore Valhall Field Center, so Aker Solutions, Worley Rosenberg and Aker BP have marked the module’s significance with a steel-cutting ceremony. Valhall PWP — the Valhall production wellhead platform — comprises three large modules that will together weigh over 15,000 tonnes.
Rosenberg Worley will deliver the 4,800t equipment module. The entire platform will be assembled at Aker Solution’s Stord yard.
“We couldn't have a better start to 2024 than this,” says Knut Sandvik, Director of Projects at Aker BP.
“The project ensures activity in Norway and in the Stavanger region,” Sandvik says, adding that it also safeguards jobs and develops local expertise “in the period before renewable projects increase in scope”.
Sturla Magnus, Aker Solutions Executive Vice President, New Build, says the Valhall module ensures high activity levels for all in Stavanger, “Where we are also heavily represented”.
Future builders
“The apprentices contributing to the project will help build the future of the industry,” Magnus says.
“The collaboration with Rosenberg Worley is a very good example that we, even though we are competitors, are able to utilize the supplier base for the best of the industry in Norway,” he says.
Worth around 50 billion kroner of investment, Valhall PWP-Fenris is one of the largest undertakings on the Norwegian continental shelf. The development comprises the central PWP and an unmanned installation at Fenris, some 50 kilometers away and connected to Valhall by subsea equipment and pipelines. Production start is planned for 2027.
Field operator Aker BP and license partner Pandion are carrying out a coordinated development in the Valhall area. The Valhall PWP-Fenris project (Polish PGNiG in the Fenris license) is being delivered by the fixed-installations alliance of Aker BP, Aker Solutions and ABB.
“This is a significant assignment for Rosenberg, and the largest newbuild we’ve had in 20 years,” says Jan Narvestad, Managing Director at Worley Rosenberg. The project secures work for over 1,000 people at the Rosenberg yard in Stavanger, Norway.
“This is not just a vote of confidence for us, the project is important for the entire region,” Narvestad says.
At the height of construction, Valhall PWP-Fenris is expected to be 65-percent local content, as several hundred Norwegian suppliers lend their weight to build a module that’ll be 55 meters high, 32 m wide, and 54 m long.
When finished, the module will be lifted onboard a barge and transported to Aker Solutions Stord base. There, it’ll be joined to the platform deck before beginning its journey to the Valhall Field Center in the summer of 2026.
