Heavy lifting specialist Sarens has recently been hired to weigh and load-out 5080-ton riser platform for the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup oil field in Stord, Norway. The company has been tagged by Aker Solutions to complete the project. 

Johan Sverdrup oil field is the third largest oil field on the Norwegian continental shelf, with expected resources of 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Sarens has been associated with the project since past few years and has performed some of the significant lifts.

For the latest weigh and load-out, Sarens deployed 20 500-ton jacks and load cells, 160-axles SPMTs, 12 ramps and 16 ballast pumps. The 5080-ton riser platform measured 110 metres in length, 61 metres in width and 26 metres in heights.

Commenting on the job, project manager, Tor Arne Næss, said, “The module had to be weighed, moved on-site, rotated 180 degrees, and loaded-out on the barge in a closed dock.”

When the second processing platform comes into operation in 2022, production capacity is expected to increase to 720,000 barrels per day, while the second processing platform will also provide space for an onshore electrical power inverter.

Although Johan Sverdrup is already powered from shore, in 2022 the field will also distribute power to other platforms at Utsira High, including Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen and Gina Krog.