Statoil outlines Norway modifications plan

07.01.2011 + + + Statoil plans a total of 990 modification projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) this year, incurring costs of $1.51 billion.

Last year the company says nearly 500 modification projects were completed. Around 300 were HSE projects designed to improve safety, working environment on offshore installations, or to reduce emissions. The remaining 200 projects were implemented mainly to increase production, improve regularity of throughput, and cut costs.

“One important challenge is to find solutions and methods that allow the projects to be completed without shutting down production. This way, we can reduce the scope of planned shutdowns," says Hans Jakob Hegge, Statoil’s senior VP for Development and Production Norway.

The projects are wide-ranging in scope. One on the Kristin platform in the Norwegian Sea last year involved ventilation of produced water close to decks and walking areas. This type of ventilation can contain small amounts of the carcinogenic substance benzene, inhalation of which can cause nerve damage.

Statoil’s solution was to extend the outlet pipe 20 m (65.6 ft) up the flare boom, so that the deck area could be opened for regular work. This, it claims, gives personnel on board greater assurance, knowing they are not exposed to chemicals.

Source: Offshore Magazine